Hi Jackie,

This post probably should have been submitted in the Exchanges portion of this forum. Although there are some extreemely generous people on this forum, don't set your sights too high on getting takers on your request to trade. Many who frequent this site have hundreds if not thousands of dollars invested in their collections, and if they were going to do a trade, would rather trade for a hosta they do not have rather than your offerings of Glads and Iris. I for one do not feel it fair for one to play on anothers' emotions for your gain, and I'm not accusing you of this, but I've seen it happen in the past. The fact that "you simply cannot afford" these plants is akin to me saying "I simply cannot afford a car, can I have yours?" I have no intent of hurting your feelings, nor am I questioning your sincereness, but requests such as yours have been the butt of jokes in the past on another forum. When I was new to this addiction, I had little knowledge of the value of some of the specimens available, and when I first inquired about a particular rather rare and somewhat expensive plant, I was told in no uncertain terms: "If you want to play with the "big dogs"......", and I instantly came to the realization that the person I was dealing with had no intention of belittling me, he simply was telling it like it was. Occasionally I glance through the "exchanges" section of this forum and see a "want" request of a plant in the "Dorothy Benedict" class (a rather expensive hosta, if you can find one for sale) and the trader states they have plenty of "Diamond Tiara" (a fast multiplying, rather inexpensive hosta that probably over 90% of the collectors have in their collection) to trade, and it makes me laugh. The trader simply is uniformed. For little more than the cost of the postage you would spend to ship your trader your excess Glad's and Irises, you can purchase many of the older, time tested and diverse varieties of hostas from any of a number reputable online vendors, some of which even offer free or reduced shipping early in the season. Again, this reply is not intended to slight you in any way, but "I simply cannot afford" to collect antique cars, rare coins, valuable prints, etc., so I collect Hostas. :-)

I hope someone takes you up on your offer.

Mike

(anyone else out there feel the same way I do, or am I totally outta line here?)

Hi, Jackie. I don't see any way to contact you in your member page. I don't know if I'll have anything to offer yet until I see what survived the winter, and I know many of us are in the same boat. Maybe if you wait a couple of weeks, and add an email or something to your member profile, and use the Exchanges area, you'll have better luck. I see some folks are posting there already, so saying "wait a couple of weeks" may be bad advice! :) Yes, most of us hosta folks want more hosta, but I wouldn't turn my nose up at iris and glads.

Since you're new, take a look around the Hosta Library below and see what you like. Read the "Virus X" warning but don't let it scare you to death. Once you have a "shopping list," come on back here and ask for advice on what the ones you want should cost; sometimes you can get a trade offer that way, too. Good luck! Welcome!

Here is a link that might be useful: Hosta Library

Hey, Jackie, I'm new to hostas too, just got started last fall, so I definitely have nothing to trade. However, I've discovered the real advantage to being new is that it's easy to fall in love with common hostas that everyone has and are old news to everyone else. That means the price is generally in the $6 to $10 range. So you can get gorgeous hostas - like June or Paradigm - fairly cheap. Last year I got beautiful Royal Standards for $4.99 a gallon. And they were big enough that I could divide them when I planted them. So I got 2 for $4.99. Can't beat that with a stick.
People have also generously shared seeds and starter plants with me. So between cheap taste on my part and extremely generous people, I am now looking for places to plant all the hostas.

Mike,

You were right on.

Cowboy

Mike,

You are sure full of yourself.

Well said, Mike.

Alexa

Mike,
I think your comments are both accurate and compassionate, very nicely said.
It reminds me of my start in collecting, when a friend of mine invited me to see her garden with an 'enormous' collection of about 50 varieties (I have about 470 now).
At the time almost all of my landscaping had come from pieces of other people's plants.
She gave me starts of about 7 plants which included Gold Standard, Golden Scepter, Venusta, Gold Crown...
My favorites that she had but wasn't willing to divide were Frances Williams and Great Expectations.
That year I decided to give myself permission to actually pay for a plant (Frances Williams from Pete and Jean Ruh) and then I started shopping big time.
What a ride!
Dave

Jackie - as others have said you may have better luck at Exchanges. And if money is tight, you might not want to get too interested in hosta because as many of us know it can fast become an addiction!

Mike - I think what you wrote was well intended as well as well put.

Julie_grow - I see you just registered at the forum a week ago. Your comment "Mike - You are sure full of yourself" is out of place. I don't think you will last long at this forum with an attitude like that.

Jackie65, I couldn't find an email for you. So email me and maybe I can help you out. Kay

If you have an orange iris I would be interested.