Virus non alert

16 years ago

How about some good news? I had a chance at Convention to visit with my old friend Clarence Falstad who heads Walters Gardens tissue lab. Then I followed up with Dave Walters who is retiring for those who know him, about their virus indexing of hosta. Which means the plants will be virus free, VIRUS FREE. If you ask your supplier if their plants come from Walters virus indexing program you can be sure they do not have any virus.

While I was selling for Walters they started the tissue lab to get rid of virus in BabyÂs Breath which was Mark ZilisÂs main job at the outset. Then they started the tissue culture of hosta, Mark left and started his own lab, a little hosta history.

A new history begins now, virus free hosta!

What will you worry about now you little "hosta monkey"?

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Comments (13)

lindac
16 years ago
And where can we find those plants from Walters?
I never worried about a thing with hosta...dig a hole and bury them...shovel on a bit of compost....water often and there you are. Getting too big for the spot? Heave it out of the ground pry it apart with a couple of spading forks or carve up with my special "hosta knife"...never worry about sterilizing the thing, stick the pieces in the ground and there you are...
I really would look forward to those days again.
Nothing to worry about now but slugs and wabbits.
Linda C
esther_opal
Original Author
16 years ago
I don't worry about it now? But it exorcises many.

Ask the supplier if they are using Walters virus indexed liners? It doesn't mean they will have virus if they don't but if they start with Walters virus indexed plants those plants will not have a virus.

Email me and IÂll look in to it if enough are interested.
Wilddog_202 at yahoo.com
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This is a true threat but is easily identified. Executable attachments (ending in ".exe") should never be opened from an unknown source without at least scanning it. This shows the danger of using one email address too. Whenever I use a throwaway address and get an email that says there's a problem with my account, I laugh. Vendors do not contact people this way. People really need to educate themselves to the basic dangers. Lately there's been a big downturn in the number of viruses out there because people did get affected enough to start using antivirus programs. Then it turned more to "malware" including spyware and the like. Now however, people have become complacent and forget about the importance of securing a computer. All too many get a new computer and rather than doing the correct thing, that is to secure it, they immediately go online to try it out and tell everyone about the new machine. And they get infected. Now that there's a numbness to the true threat of viruses, people not having, using and/or updating antivirus, firewalls, etc, we can probably expect more to come but at the same time, there'll likely be the hoax problem too, which can be just as bad, if not worse. Think of it this way: When you open email, and for that matter surfing the net to a point, you're having sex with everyone on the internet. Are you going to use protection? You should have a good firewall. Windows is not a good firewall. You should have an antivirus program and update it regularly. You should have an antispyware program and perhaps more than one. It's a good idea to avoid using Internet Explorer as your browser, but if you do you should at least secure it as best you can. Also keep in mind that when you receive emails that are suspicious, it's not difficult to do some checking. Look at the attachments before you open them and never let your computer open them automatically. One of the most dangerous phrases out there is "send this to everyone you know" because people feel a need to do this. I get a little worked up about this because for some reason people feel compelled to do whatever an email says to do. Accordingly, they normally send far more hoaxes than they do factual information. And 2 minutes of basic research would usually show the difference. Operating a computer is much like operating a car. With the right comes responsibility and if you don't show the responsibility you can easily lose your rights. You owe it to yourself, but more importantly, you owe it to others to use the vehicle responsibly, whether the vehicle is a car or computer. People wouldn't be writing the viruses, spyware, etc, if they weren't effective. Taking simple precautions will render them much less effective. Don't be afraid of computers or the internet but be informed enough to protect yourself. Not trying to come off as a lecture, just a precaution. Here's wishing you happy and safe computing.
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ctopher_mi
16 years ago
Hi,

It is nice to know that a big supplier like Walters is taking plant viruses seriously. Or at least the TC side of their business is - I've had virus problems with their bare root plants... That little bump in the road aside, it really is nice that a wholesale company is doing this much work to protect the consumers in this difficult day and age of global plant commerce (and cross state trading). Unfortunately there are still way too many wholesalers, nurseries, and gardens that have this and other viruses for us to begin getting complacent.

One small note - Virus Indexed and Virus Free are two different things. You can index, or screen, for a set of known viruses, but if a plant has a virus that isn't part of the regular screening then it won't be picked up. I've seen it in other plants where they were Virus Indexed but still ended up having a virus since it simply wasn't part of the battery of tests.
esther_opal
Original Author
16 years ago
ctoper, Good point except they are indexed against known hosta viruses.
Carole Westgaard
16 years ago
ctopher: Curious - why does it matter if the plants are indexed for viruses that effect hosta?

Westy
ctopher_mi
16 years ago
When hostas are virus indexed they are looking for specific viruses that are known to infect hostas, however there are other unknown viruses being found in hostas as well that simply haven't been identified yet so they aren't part of the battery of tests.

So it is just a matter of semantics. Virus Indexed is great, but it doesn't mean Virus Free.
esther_opal
Original Author
16 years ago
ctopher, you have me on a technical point. Nothing is virus free including you and me. If a hosta is symptom free and is tested for viruses and one is found it is assumed not to effect hosta in a negative way so it would be ignored. IÂm sure that some viruses have a positive effect so no one would want hosta to be virus free without knowing the effect of such a radical procedure.

Back to the value of virus indexing, Walters is testing for viruses that are known to cause problems in hosta such as HVX. They can say to a high level of accuracy that these hosta are free of known harmful virus.

I felt I had really good news and find myself in a semantic discussion.
esther_opal
Original Author
16 years ago
More good news, I've found that Hallson's goes to great lengths to be virus free which is of course an over statement but that's all anyone can do. White Oak is another nursery that works to avoid virus.

This is not promoting anyone because there are many nurseries working to grow and sell clean stock.

Please Please don't take this as a complete list or a recommendation.

I can tell you that the big boxes pay little attention to quality or even hardiness of the plants they sell. Searching for and finding sellers who work to get, maintain and sell clean stock is worth the trouble. Instead of searching for HVX at the big boxes, don't even look.
Carole Westgaard
16 years ago
I talked to my botany professor today re viruses and while she didn't know of a similar example in hosta, she said the colors of the leaf of the Tri-color Beech tree that is so expensive is the result of a virus - discovered and propagated. I thought that was pretty astounding. Maybe not news to you experts?

Westy
ademink
16 years ago
Wow, I had no idea Westy! That is really interesting! Kind of "one man's trash is another man's treasure" in the botany world. LOL

EO, Hallson's not only is great about combating diseases, they also sell HUGE plants w/ roots that hang to your knees. LOL Plus there's always that nice surprise of a bonus plant!!!

Speakin' this Dutch girl's love language w/ free stuff. LOL
esther_opal
Original Author
16 years ago
"Speakin' this Dutch girl's love language w/ free stuff. LOL"

That's why you little sawed off white skined girls are shade gardeners.

Red; Dutch tan!
aka_margo
16 years ago
I boughts hostas from Garden Crossings this year, and was VERY pleased with the hostas I received. Big and Healthy. They recieve their stock from Walters.
ademink
16 years ago
EO, I don't burn - must be the swiss-german side of me or something...LOL

lmao...sawed off white skinned girls...well that is a first,for sure!!!

Virus non alert

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