i get around doing bussines, today i stopped at several different nurserys accross the puget sound. Every single nursery had cases of hvx. Most were gold standard and the next most infected was sum and substance everyone also had halcyon which ,though i couldnt tell, was also infected im sure. How saddening...i tell these people and they think i am trying to get a free hosta by complaining about it...or just think i am crazy . At least in the midwest overthere people have heard about HVX right? Well it just reinforces the fact that we have to stick to quality growers such as hallsons and naylor. Im thinking about making a flyer and just sending it to the affected nurseries, that way at least i have done my part.
If you want to send me their name and addresses (email or through a private message) I would be happy to send them a copy of my HVX DVD. They may not watch it, but who knows?
It is really sad seeing this many reports already. I had hoped that we would be seeing fewer problems by now... Doesn't look good for the coming year if it plays out like this across the rest of the country.
Hosta 'Halcyon' is getting to be high up on the list of plants to avoid along with 'Patriot' and 'Minuteman'. 'Gold Standard', 'Sum and Substance', and 'Golden Tiara' were already up there but these other three plants started to show up infected at the wholesale level in 2005 but were NOT showing any symptoms. They again showed up in wholesale batches infected in 2006 and again did not show symptoms. So this year we will most likely see a flood of those on the market looking really bad.
Thanks for sharing the reports. As soon as I get my DVD updated with the new information on seed trasmission I will send them copies.
That really is sad that some of those nurseries just think you're trying to get a freebie when you point out something like that to them. I saw HVX on some S&S last year at a reputable nursery and told the lady that worked there about it. I also told her that ,as a hosta collector, that I wouldn't buy any hostas from a nursery that had virused plants on the shelf for sell. I would have no idea of how they handled their plants and would fear transmission to other hostas. She was VERY concerned and said she certainly understood my attitude about it. She also said she'd go pull the S&S off the shelf. I can only hope that she followed through. It's a nursery quite far from me ,so I don't frequent it often.
Everytime I read these reports of nurseries with HVX infected hostas and the attitudes they are taking with their customers, it scares me.
. At least in the midwest overthere people have heard about HVX right? Well it just reinforces the fact that we have to stick to quality growers such as hallsons and naylor. Im thinking about making a flyer and just sending it to the affected nurseries, that way at least i have done my part. 
