Hi all,Karenillionois has received her seeds. It was a few days ago,I didnt have any computer time to do an update sooner,sorry! I hope you all are having fun with your new seeds and thanks to all of you for being so thoughtful and prompt!:) 1-pulldownclaw -seeds arrived!:) 2-kiddo_1 -seeds arrived!:) 3-retiredprof -seeds arrived!:) 4-susantexoma -seeds arrived!:) 5-syman- seeds arrived!:) 6-karenillinois- seeds arrived!:) 7-soonergrandmom - seeds arrived!:) 8-paradisa - seeds arrived!:) 9-dobiemom - Still waiting on the usps to deliver her envy to me,they are taking their good ole time! 10-moon458 - seeds arrived!:) I also want it to be known that dobiemom did send her envy out in a very timely manner. It is coming from Canada and I am hoping that is why it is taking so long, and that the USPS didn't lose it out there somewhere! I am hoping it will be here by Saturday,so she can have her seeds before summer!:) Have a great day all of you! :)

Actually, this is probably about 90% of what I have for trough material. Some are just seedlings, and there is always things not listed that have come and gone-like my more poor Rhodiola. I wish I had jack rabbits intead of cottentails. Somehow they seem to be less enamoured by exotics. Draba athoa Erinus alpinus Gypsophila bungeana G. aretoides Achillea teretifolia Antennaria alpina A.howeli ssp. nedoioca A.rosea var. confinus A.neglecta var. gaspensis Aster coloradoensis Esobaria viviparia Pediocactus simpsonii Delospermum nubigeum Hesperis kotschyi Linaria tristis Pnstemon hirsutus var. pygmaeus Iris pumila 4-6inches Veronica gentiana V. armena Saxafraga crusata Semiaquilegia ecalcarata Adiantum venustum Buxus sempervirens Buxus sinica(microphylla) var. koreana Hosta venusta Fragaria vesca Ruegen no runners on mine Hepatica americana Iris cristata Mentha requienii Vancouveria hexandra Betula nana Sedum obtusifolium Sempervivum 'Bronco' S. 'May Imp' S. 'Red Ace' Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Minima' Picea abies 'Kellerman's Blue Cameo' With respect to hardiness, everything I have I expect or hope to be hardy here, but not in little pots sitting on the ground all winter. So they all go in my box. It's nice because I can go out on a "warm" day in January, open it up and pull out some bloodroot, or whatever for forcing. If I may gloat, one March our Society's banquet program was on Iris; I forced a dozen of my 5 inch Iris pumila and the timing couldn't have been better. And Lori, I would not call that parasitic - joining NARGS for the seed exchange. It's in their mission statement to "get the word out and promote rock gardening" or some such similar. Seems to me like that's what happens if you buy their seed. About donating to the seed exchange, I would encourage you Far Northers especially to participate, even if you think your plants are common. There is a good chance your strain is more cold hardy. If there is a lot of seed, what happens is your seed will get mixed with others. And everyone will have a chance at your really good stuff. I wouldn't be surprised if the seed exchange volunteers would take note of your area, and offer it as a seperate choice for those who need the extra cold hardiness. Rick

Hi- I have germinated these from seed. I did nothing special- just stuck it in moist seed starting mix, kept it moist and humid and at about 75 degrees. It took about 30 days. Hope this helps- Gwenn

This one is problematic. I've been told that Tiny Tears is really a selection from venusta rather than a hybrid. It may also be venusta x venusta, and since this is a species plant, the offspring should all be venusta, but as anyone knows who has self crossed a hosta species several times, there is sometimes a little bit of variation in the offspring. Ventricosa is a classic example of this--it comes true from seed, but there are a number of ventricosa selections that have been named and registered, and there are very slight differences in these plants. Now here's the real kicker on this one--there are supposedly somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 or 30 "different" venusta forms. In fact, there are people who collect the various venustas. The differences are fairly subtle, but one of the main variations is in size--some venusta is very small, less than 3 inches, and some gets up to 4-6 inches. All are solid green with somewhat heart shaped leaves, and most have a bit of waviness to the leaf. Complicating this issue is the fact that under different conditions, many hostas will grow slightly differently. Factors such as climate, soil type, light levels, and plant competition can all affect the appearance of a hosta. So it's unclear exactly how many "different" venustas there are, but it is clear that there are at least several that are notably different when grown in the same garden. So where does this leave you with your three plants? My answer would be that for the moment, you aren't going to have any idea which might be Tiny Tears and which are venusta. You will have to grow them out for a couple of years and then try to make a determination. In this case, the two that look the most alike will probably be the venusta, since you know there are two of those, leaving the other one as Tiny Tears. What you aren't going to know until then is whether or not Tiny Tears is going to be the smaller of the two hostas. I happen to have a very small 'version' of venusta that reaches about 3 inches, and Tiny Tears in my garden is closer to 5 inches, so it's the bigger of the two. If you have a taller 'version' of venusta, your Tiny Tears might well be the smaller of the two. Only time and patience will tell. There seem to be a number of hosta growers who have sold venusta as Tiny Tears, because it's a more expensive plant, which doesn't help matters any. It is therefore possible that at maturity you will have three identical plants. However your mystery resolves, you will be happy to know that venusta is a wonderful little hosta, incredibly hardy and quite prolific. My clump has been in place for almost 20 years, and at one point was over three feet across. I've since divided off quite a lot, but the clump is still a good 20 inches wide, and very pretty. It's a great edger, looks good all season, and has pretty flowers. So whatever your three plants turn out to be, you will enjoy all of them.