My absolute favorite place when we lived in NC was a local nursery with thousands of plants and an entire house of Hostas called Big Bloomers.

When I first moved to SC I found a lady with a home nursery with great plants at good prices. She has retired and I'm back to looking for a good source.

We have a few local garden sales that I go to but they are only on specific dates. The big box stores are cheap but the varieties are limited and I always worry about infected plants.

Wish I could find another home nursery where the owner was an addict selling their "extras" to fund the hobby.

I love the local nurseries. They have the old standards as well as hard to find hostas. I bought 2 hostas from a big box store and 5 from a local nursery...2 years later, the nursery hostas have thrived while the big box ones are runts. All in the same bed.

So now I'm 100% for the nurseries.

Online sellers and nurseries have been my source. I am fairly new to my area still looking for a "local nursery" within a reasonable driving distance (not driving 45 minutes one way).

I purchased all of my hostas last year from a handful of online hosta sellers/nursery. I found them through online searches and the hosta library. I did my research and price to size comparisons.

Then I discovered this Hosta Forum... online resources galore. :)

At my local hardware/garden shops, it is slim pickings for interesting plants and hostas.

The plants that are offered in my area are usually small house plants, annuals, rose bushes, bulbs, common greenery, and the usual tomatoes, peppers, trays of veggies... and grape vines that are not truly hardy (I tried 4 different types in 2 years).

I do notice in every garden shop there are tons of grass seeds, weed killers, and lawn fertilizer. The lawn and nothing but the green lawn seems to be sacred to some folks. lol

I bought my first hostas at Lowe's- was looking for something that would be pretty with the red Japanese maple I had just planted, and the Rainforest Sunrise caught my eye. Then I started looking at Pinterest and just HAD to have a Blue Mouse Ears. I bought that at a good local nursery, and put it in a pot, like I had seen online. The next Spring, I was eagerly anticipating the appearance of those 3 RS's, and it seemed like maybe they had disappeared. Since I was aware of gardenweb, I started looking for info- wondering what had gone wrong. .

Bottom line- they're late sleepers. They came up eventually and are still fine.... but by then I was getting hooked on reading and studying about hostas, both in GW, and elsewhere. And because of that, I've given up buying them at big box stores or even the nicer local nurseries because the fear of HVX is ever present. So far- no problems with my RS's or BME's, but the virus can show up after many years' dormancy.

I live close to a great hosta nursery- Made in the Shade. He has a large selection, and I've purchased a number of beautiful plants there. This year I've tried mail order for the first time. Got four beautiful plants from Hallson's. And I'm waiting for some ordered from Northern Grown Perennials.

I shop the other nurseries and big box stores for other plants and shrubs, etc. But I walk past their hostas so as not to be tempted.

I enjoy going to other local nurseries and garden centers incognito

==>>> i never thought of using disguises in relation to hosta ...

boy did i miss the boat on that ...

ken

Whitewatervol,

If you haven't already done so (I'm guesssing you have), check out this place in the Simpsonville/Greenville area. http://www.daylilyandhostagardens.com/index.html A little pricey, but nice folks, good plants, and a nice selection. There's also www.hostaman.com in Spartanburg. Also nice folks, and prices on most things are a little better.

I used to be easily seduced by the prices at Walmart, Lowes, etc. Until I discovered that one of them had HVX.

Terry,

I haven't been to either of those. The place in Spartanburg seems to be reasonably priced for good quality plants. I like that they also sell Heuchera - still looking to add a few of those as well.

The Simpsonville place is pretty pricey but it's close to work so I'll check it out as well.

Thanks!

I get all of mine from my local nursery. They grow their own and offer a good selection, often supplemented with less common ones they bring in from wholesale growers.

But then I am no longer a collector :-) If I was I'd order from Naylor Creek, which is right up the road from me. With a 100+ page catalog, you can't beat the selection!!

Whitewatorvol,

The place in Simpsonville (actually closer to GV) does give a 10% cash discount, which they frequently round to the closest dollar. That helps a bit. Plemmons in Spartanburg sells heuchera, bleeding heart, ferns, astilbe, Solomons Seal, and other shade loving plants. Definitely worth a trip. Pleasantburg Nursery in Greenville also sells some hostas and a lot of shade plants. Hosta prices aren't bad. But, they tend to be a little higher on some of their other shade plants.

Terry,

Thanks for all of the info. I've been to Pleasantburg Nursery several times. It has that feel of a place that was a great nursery about 20 years ago. Much of the stuff they sell looks like it was grown elsewhere to me. I went there a couple of weeks ago looking for a Heuchera Citronelle or similar bright green color. They had some in smaller than quart pots that were $10, which seems unreasonable.

I'll have to put Plemmons on my visit soon list - sounds like it's worth the trip. The place in Greenville is close enough to visit when they're open Friday after work.

Sorry to high jack the thread :)

Plemmons has a lot of nice looking plants. I could have spent a fortune there!