What to ask a Nursery?

Ducks_57 · Post by **Ducks_57** » Oct 30, 2007 9:16 am

I am rather new to Hosta gardening and I purchased several cultivars from what I believe to be a very reputable on-line nursery prior to knowing about HVX. This particular grower has a fairly extensive and informative website, but does not say a thing about HVX. I wrote them an e-mail asking “how there stock was” and I received a short return e-mail that started out with …

“Obviously, we would not sell a plant if we thought it had a virus infection or any other disease.” And then somewhat played down the problem saying that some of the articles make it sound scarier than it is.

So my questions are…what should we expect from growers? Is it too much to expect that they e-mail buyers of cultivars that they discover HVX in? What specific questions should we ask?

Thanks,

eastwood2007 · Post by **eastwood2007** » Oct 30, 2007 10:54 am

Welcome, Ducks_57! You have found a great place to visit, share gardening experiences, and get good advice. Hope you enjoy it!

Regarding your question, HVX is definitely as 'scary as it seems.' There are many, many reputable nurseries playing down the significance of the HVX epidemic. If you read thru alot of the posts on this section, you will hear story after story of similar responses.

I hope more 'experts' (which I am not) will answer your question here, but my opinion is I would not buy from a supplier who responded to my question with the response you received, and I would tell that supplier that I will not buy from them and why.

Then, I would buy only from sources who vigillantly police their suppliers and inventory for not only HVX but nematodes. There are a bunch of good hosta growers out there that you will come to know from hanging out with this bunch. The one I can recommend the most highly is right here....Hallson's Garden with Chris Wilson and Brian Hall at the helm. There is no one more proactive about healthy plants than these guys.

Hope this helps! Again, welcome, and happy gardening!

newtohosta-no more · Post by **newtohosta-no more** » Oct 31, 2007 8:23 am

Welcome to Hallson's! I agree with Charla. I would not buy from a nursery ,online or local, that played down the problem of HVX. I now have several nurseries that I use to buy from that I now will not. I just don't think it's a good business practice to lie to customers about the problem or make light of the problem. To me it just shows that the bottom dollar is their only concern...not customer satisfaction...so why patronize their business?

thy · Post by **thy** » Oct 31, 2007 8:48 pm

My question would be.. if they test for HVX

If Yes:

What methode they use ?

If Eliza... they are maybe great, maybe have learned the lesson...

In US, bye from Hallson... they were the first to tell all their custumers and forum members about it..and have continued to be open about it

If someones hostas are a bit to cheap.. generally. they do not spend money on testings

Welcome to the forums

Pia

Post by **Chris_W** » Nov 03, 2007 4:15 pm

That's also what I was thinking: Do they do any testing? Do they have any quarantine procedures? Do they buy from Holland and/or West Coast growers and if so are they testing those plants in particular?

And I agree, it isn't good to downplay the situation. There are a lot of good vendors out there and then there are some that have not been as good (I won't name names, but I've been dismayed by a couple mail order company responses to HVX recently).

These questions can apply to local nurseries too.

Enjoy the forums by the way

Chris