Marlee Sander, a great client as well as a hosta guru gave me some amazing hosta information the other day. I had asked her for some suggestions to beef up my shade garden. She gave me excellent information on new and old hosta I should plant but what she told me about a hosta disease as well as where to get the best hosta made me want to pass this info on.
Do be careful to ensure you are buying from suppliers who are aware of HVX (hosta virus x), buy clean stock and practice good gardening procedures such as cleaning garden tools with bleach between each plant. HVX is the aids of hosta and can spread throughout your entire collection if you have a single infected plant and are not diligent about taking precautions. In fact, latest research shows that the virus can live in the soil for at least two years so once you remove an infected plant, you should not plant a new hosta there.
There many good reliable hosta providers out there – I love Hallsons, Naylor Creek, New Hampshire Hostas and White Oak Nursery for mail order. Venero Gardens out on Highway 7 is also great, although I think they might have sold or are selling. And there’s always Savoy Nursery in Edina, although I find them higher priced than normal. I have found virused plants at Linders and Marshalls (Co rd 4 and eden prairie road) so don’t buy hostas there. Bachman’s seems to be okay. But NEVER buy hostas at Home Depot, Lowes, Costco, etc. You are asking for trouble.
http://www.hostalibrary.org/ is a terrific site and great resource. You can peruse the alphabetical roster and see pictures of most of the hostas.