To Babka- Thank you for the good reference- it saves time when there are so many things to do pertaining to Hostas.

Babka - Thank you for the information. This will come in very handy this spring, I am often driving to 3 or 4 different places to find one in particular.

I will save time and (gas) money!

Jo~

Babka, Thank you for that info. Does the Hosta Finder also designate which sellers are VHX free do you know? I got the impression that a 2009 book would be available in February. Do you know if that's right? I can see where this book will be really handy. I am out to "capture" Clovely next spring so want to order it early! :O) Mary

Greenthumb: There are, for all practical purposes, no sellers who can guarantee that their plants are virus free. It can take many years for a plant to show signs of virus, so unless a seller has a completely closed garden, and never sells divisions until the parent plant is at least 5 years old, or tests every plant they sell, it is not possible to guarantee hostas as virus free. This is simply not practical, since most sellers stock what sells best--newer varieties. There are sellers who carry only older varieties, and even some sellers who do divide mature clumps in order to sell divisions, but these are few and far between and quite frankly, they are not likely to have the hostas most people are looking to buy.

The reality of modern hosta commerce is that most hosta specialist nurserys buy small tissue culture starts and grow them out for a period of time, either in pots or in the ground. When these plants reach marketable size, they are sold. Very few nonspecialist nurseries will have plants for sale that are more than a year or two old, and many general nurseries try to sell out the majority of their potted stock every year so they don't have to over winter the plants. To supplement their stock in the spring, many sellers, even hosta specialists, bring in large numbers of plants that are already market size, grown in greenhouses for a number of months in order to be large enough to market very early in the season.

Most of the labs that produce the tissue culture plants have become very good at using only virus free plants, since HVX is not killed in the tissue culture process. However, there are still some labs that apparently don't test, and you will occasionally find very young tc plants already showing signs of virus. The other side of this is that in Holland the tc plants are field grown for a period of time, then mechanically dug and processed. This has been a major source of infected plants, since the virus is spread through the machines.

Your best chance of getting good hostas is to buy from someone who is aware of the HVX problem, acknowledges that they cannot absolutely guarantee each plant they sell as virus free, but who will refund your money if a plant you purchase from them shows signs of virus within a reasonable amount of time. You will find that there is a huge range of sellers out there. I've found some who adamantly deny that there is a problem with HVX, even when badly infected plants in their gardens are pointed out. I've even run into one or two who would be happy to sell you a plant showing major virus symptoms--often at an inflated price, because it's so unique. Then there are those who are honestly not really aware of the problem, but who care about the plants they sell and are willing to learn about the problem and do what they can to eliminate any infected plants they find. Finally, there are the extremely concerned people who are very distressed about the threat this problem poses, and who do whatever they can to insure that the HVX problem is as limited as possible in their stock. Of course there are also the big box stores, who seem to take the don't know/don't care approach.

So how do you ever buy hostas with complete confidence? Quite simply, you mostly don't nowadays. Every hosta I buy is scrutinized carefully for virus symptoms before I buy it, if possible, or upon receipt if I've mail ordered. I buy only from people who are very much aware of the virus problem, acknowledge that it's out there, and are concerned about the health of the plants they sell. Even doing this, if you buy enough hostas, you will at some point find a virused one in your garden. The only solution at that point is to dig it up, discard it, and thoroughly sterilize the tools you used to dig the plant. You will also probably want to throw away the gloves you wore to dig the plant.

If you happen to be fortunate enough to find someone with a healthy 10 year old clump of a variety you would like to own, by all means, buy a division and count yourself very lucky. But watch the plant for 5 years anyway, unless you are confident that every other plant in that garden was also virus free, preventing contamination with the tools. Be aware that the term "field grown plants" does NOT mean that the hostas didn't originate from tissue culture. It only means that whatever the source, the plants have been in the ground for a period of time. Originator stock should mean that the plant offered has not been tissue cultured, but if the original plant was virused, that doesn't help either. Really, the best way to be sure a hosta you have purchased is virus free is to buy a test kit and test every single plant you add to your garden. It's an expensive proposition, at about $5 per test, but you might sleep better at night knowing you don't haven't just planted a virus time bomb in your garden.

As difficult as this situation is for a hosta buyer, please remember that it's just as hard on the hosta specialist nurseries. Even the most concerned, reputable hosta sellers are going to find themselves with virused plants now and then. If you stopped buying hostas from every place that ever had a diseased plant, you would have to stop buying hostas. These sellers take a financial hit every time they discover that a batch of hostas that looked fine when planted shows up as definitely virused the next spring, or the year after that, and has to be dug up and destroyed. You might cringe at having to dig up one plant--imagine digging up a batch of 25 or 50 and destroying them. And believe me, it happens to pretty much all large sellers. So try to be understanding if and when you do find yourself with a virused plant and don't put all the blame on the seller. If you have purchased your hostas from a truly reliable, reputable seller, they will work with you to do whatever they can to make the situation right.

Finally, when you do find a virused plant in your garden, take the time to contact the seller and let them know. The good sellers prefer knowing about an infected plant, so they can take action to prevent further problems with their stock.

Well said, dhaven!

Dhaven~I am so grateful that you took the time to write such an informative post--I just hope lots of others get to read it also. From threads on this forum I assumed that some H growers were virus free--I know Hosta Direct for one, advertises as such. You make such sense when you state that it's really impossible to be so. I am assuming, after reading your post, that from the minute a H is tissue cultured, it can be infected at the start, and it will always be infected of course. And plants that are tissue cultured without the virus can get the disease from direct contact with an infected one. So the sellers who stick with tc HVX free stock do have a chance to sell plants that are virus free for the most part. From now on, when I buy a really nice H, I now know I can test it immediately and get the truth on it's condition. Oh, how that knowledge helps me to stop worrying and wondering. I have 4 tests left for this year, so am going to pick 4 of my babies to get the tests---ummm wonder who the lucky ones will be? :O) My friends are amazed at the amount of knowledge I have about Hosta. What they don't know is that altho I have been raising H for 14 years, I have learned most of my information just since spring when I joined this forum. Tee hee. And I am so indebted to so many of you who helped fill up this "sponge". Thanks again--I am very grateful to you. Mary