Yah that does sound a little high doesnt it? But that particular hosta can only be had from the Hybridizer himself at this time, and it is a streaked breeder hosta. He has a better picture of it on another forum.

http://www.hostaseedlings.com/viewtopic.php?t=2945&highlight=chatham+harbormaster

Actually kinda cool!!

Paul

I cannot view photos there, probably because I am not a member. I am not a seed grower. I viewed a leaf at the Hosta Library which looked very, very nice. Is there a way I can see the plant otherwise, or must I join a forum that I cannot contribute to? Or should I wait and hope to see a photo in the Hosta Journal? Help?

-Babka

I copied it to another site... lets see if this works!

Chatham Harbormaster from Hosta Seed Growers.

Thanks! Streaks, bumps, sheen and SEEDS. Now I understand it a little better.

-Babka

Yeah,I see it,but $701.00; I don't think so. I like hostas,but I see there are still people out there with more money than brains! Just MHO! I have a few hostas that are nicer looking. Still,MHO!! Phil

But, keep in mind that all that $$$ goes to the AHS, which publishes wonderful, informative, and photo-rich journals. Better than donating a vehicle to a charity that only nets 10 cents on the dollar.

Does anyone know if this is the highest price ever paid?

-Babka

Not by a long shot! I haven't been to the last couple AHS Conventions, but I was at the one in Philly. A 3 eyed Humpback Whale sold for $3500. It was from Mildred Seaver's garden OS and the agreement was it would never be divided or TC'd.

Alexa

Caliloo,
If you come to the 2011 AHS Convention in New England, you can view Humpback Whale for free! in one of the tour gardens...

hosta_freak,

Your comment "I have a few hostas that are nicer looking." What might those be? I would really like to see some pictures and hear some details. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder they say, and to me as someone who loves the streaked hostas, this looks to have a lot to offer.

Regards
Jerry

I am close enough that I will definitely be at the 2011 convention, and I can't wait to see that monster after a few years in the ground. The photos are awe inspiring and it has got to be phenominal in real life.

Thanks for the heads up!

Alexa

Jerry,there is another fact that many people ignore. Streaked hostas are unstable,and this $701.00 gem may revert back to what it came from! I think my Queen-of-the-Nile is just as pretty,and is waaay cheaper!You are probably a hybridizer,so you think everyone should pay homage you them. I am an old person,who just happens to like plants,in general,and hostas in particular. You forget about the economy,or are you just wealthy? Anyway,here is QOTN,from last April. Phil
{{gwi:936810}}

Phil,

I am not wealthy nor am I unaware of the economy.

While your plant looks nice; I don't even think it compares. Sorry, no offense intended. Eye of the beholder.

Regards
Jerry

Huh...looks suspiciously like a Jewel of the Nile to me.

If you are going to try to make a point, at least get the name right.

It is all a matter of personal preference.
I have told many a garden visitor that there was nothing wrong with my "Praying Hands" it was not sick ,ugly or had a virus after they have walked by it and made excruciating faces and negative comments. Personally I think that it is unique and just cool.Some have said that they hate gold Hostas because they look iron deficient.Some on this forum have expressed their dislike for the rugose leaves while I prefer them. Takes all kinds to make a world and the Hosta world is no different. To each his/her own.

Denny

Seedlings do not revert they stablize, sports revert. 'Chatham Harbormaster' is a seedling. 'Jewel of the Nile' is a sport and it does revert back to 'Dee's Golden Jewel' very often.

paphman is right on this one.... that does look like Jewel of the Nile (mine looks just like it) and no where near as appealing as Chatham Harbormaster NOR is it likely to produce interesting seedlings or at least mine hasn't.

Sorry Phil - that is a swing and a miss IMHO.

Alexa

All the plants were donated by folks who are extremely generous and all bids were of the bidders own choice!! I salute all who donated and submitted bids. Bob Axmear and AHS volunteers do a bang up job with this auction every year to supplement funds for an additional issue of the Hosta Journal. The live auctions at the conventions are also spirited and bring well above average prices for the plants offered. It will not be long until the First Look auction begins and it would be wonderful to see lots of donations and big bids since those funds go for a good cause also!!

Lee

Yes,it is Jewel-of-the-Nile! I misspoke,but did I mention that I was old? I'm sure none of you,being all-knowing,and all-omnipotent has ever had a brain fart! The fact is,there is no hosta on God's green earth,that is worth $701.00!! To quote Jerry,"beauty is in the eye of the beholder"! I have another quote. "A fool and his money are soon parted"! And,with that I will go back into hybernation,and may,or may not emerge in the Spring! Phil

Phil-

Relax, and please don't go away. We are all hostaholics, and I'm sure that more than one of us has hit the submit button occasionally without double checking every fact. A hosta (or anything for that matter) is worth what the buyer is willing to pay. Old is good...when you consider the alternative.

-Babka

I dunno - I think Phil was out of line and probably owes an apology in general....

Let's see, we (and I use "WE" as the hosta-holics in general) have been called
"People with more money than brains"
"A fool and his money are soon parted"

Taking a shot at hybridizers

"You are probably a hybridizer,so you think everyone should pay homage you them."

Being accused of
"being all-knowing,and all-omnipotent"

Based on that, I think Phil should hibernate a little longer, it seems he woke up quite grouchy!

Alexa

Everyone take a deep breath-

Little hosta on the hillside,
Little hosta made of ticky-tacky,
Little hosta, little hosta,
Little hosta, all the same.
There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one
And they're all made out of ticky-tacky
And they all look just the same.

Alright now exhale.

There doesn't that feel better.

Paul

Paul,
I just can't sing "There's a pink one". How about.."There's a green one and a streaked one and a blue one amd a yellow one and they'll all grow out of driveway crackies and not one looks quite the same".
Phil,
Don't hibernate! We only have a couple of months to go and we need your humor to help us make it through to the Spring!:)
Noxtra,
Well put as always!

Cabin fever! Give me somethin to hoe!!
Denny

Okay!!! THIS IS GETTING QUITE WICKED!!!! IT IS NOT YOUR MONEY SO WHY DO YOU CARE? AFTER READING ALL OF THIS BS I MIGHT NOT COME BACK TO THIS SITE!!!!! DID YOU NOT UNDERSTAND ONE OF A KIND BREEDER?? NEVER OFFERED AGAIN???
WHERE DO YOU THINK ALL OF YOUR NICE HOSTA COME FROM? IT IS PLANTS LIKE THIS!!!! BELIEVE IT OR NOT!!! IF IT WERENT FOR PLANTS LIKE THESE WE WOULD BE STUCK WITH MOSTLY GREEN THINGS IN OUR YARD!!!

please!! how can we be like a school of pirahna?? that is how i see it here. I thought that this was such a nice site. and then someone gets honed in on and attacked by a bunch of sharks? I am only a back yard seed grower and dont ever plan to have the "hosta of the year" but GEESE!! I am appalled here!!

PS Where does JEWEL OF THE NILE COMPARE TO THIS???

done here,
Paul

I am so discusted with all of this!! I cant beleive that anyone here would jump on someone like this! What is going on here? I thought that we were all like friends, enjoying the same hobby!! How can you just assume someone is a hybridiser and trash them? I think that we all need to take a BREAK and stick our noses in the corner, and wait until the teacher comes back and lets us know that we can play again. Isnt that why we are here? WE DONT JUDGE PEOPLE HERE!!! this is where i like to come to relax and forget about the Jones (the neighbor, if you dont get it)!! I just dont know how else to explain this bizarre situation that is going on here.

Paul (I have been known to cross pollinate hosta plants in the past, and got a lot of GREEN ones, so SUE ME)

or just revoke my priveledges from this site.

Denny - There's 4 verses to the original song - write it up and we'll get Weird Al Yankovic to sing it at the convention - lol. It'll go platinum I'm sure. Or at least variegated.

I thought it would lighten the seasonal affective drama, but I guess not. We all need a little sunlight therapy.

Paul

Here is a link that might be useful:

Paul,
My apologies! There really is a pink one!!! I too thought that it would bring a little levity to the forum. But it seems to be muted by the shouting. Maybe we could try "LITTLE HOSTAS" in all caps to equal the playing field.

Denny

I think it's time to change the subject a little. Is Chatham pronounced chat ham or chath am?
Thank heavens for generous buyers.
Peggy

sorry about all the caps

paul

The American Hosta Society Auction is an auction that the money raised goes to the AHS. Many of the hostas on the auction can be bought for a lot less. This auction is to raise money plain and simple.

People are donating money....many bidders made some very nice donations to the society.

Why is that so difficult to understand?

The gorgeous hosta in question originated in New England, near or even on Cape Cod (I'm not sure of the exact longitude and latitude), so I'm assuming (and you all know where that can get you!) that it is chat ham. However, perhaps the hybridizer had other ideas....

Denny, nice attempt at trying to lighten things up. I did have a good laugh when you suggested we try Little Hostas in caps.

hostafreak, some pretty strong word there. what happen? were you bidding on it and it got away from you? from a hybridizers standpoint. there's a lot of work that goes into it. 3 to 7 years from making the cross and germinating. then culling until you have that special one that you think might be worthy to put on the market. I say $700 sometimes is not near enough. Jim King

I might be able to add some perspective here, having run the AHS National Convention plant auctions back in the early auction days, 1984-1992.

We raised +$20K at some of those auctions with a lot of effort on everyone's part - with bids often north of $1,000 for the latest and greatest introductions from the early hybridizing efforts.

Many people sat in those auctions and just gasped when the bidding went over $100, but others with experience in auctions, the quality of the material offered and the spirit of supporting the AHS would bid within their budget.

Was it beyond my budget? Most of the time.

Was I serious about generating as much funds for the AHS as possible? You betcha, and we have the AHS still today because of that reason! Membership fees wouldn't cover the Journal and other AHS needs.

1987 Wilmington Delaware AHS National Convention auction story: as AHS auction director back then, supervising the auctioneers and clerks, cash/check flow and plant delivery, if I wanted to bid on a plant, I would properly announce that I was stepping out of my role and would bid from the floor as everyone else, just so they knew.

I bid for a gorgeous very large deep blue seiboldiana seedling, can't even remember the name now, but the plant was 3 ft tall, leaves about 2 feet across each and a very thick single division.

When the bid crossed $50, I took a deep breath and entered the fray. Recall my mother Pauline Banyai was in charge of the auction clerking: boy, did she throw me a dirty look.

My dear wife Lois sitting next to Mom as the record keeper of the auction had gone white with fright at what I was doing! Three small boys to feed at home and this meathead husband is bidding $50 for a blue seiboldiana seedling - he has 100's just like it at home, and his mother even more! What was he thinking.......

The bids proceeded by $5 to $75, then some bidders dropped out with just me and one other man (who I didn't know - if I had known him I would have probably deferred to him out of respect!). I finally won the bid at $100 and he was clearly frustrated at not getting it!

My mom and wife could barely sit through the AHS Convention Awards dinner and speaker(which directly followed the auctin), they were so mad at me.

After that final Convention night dinner and cleanup, I was packing all the AHS Cut Leaf show bottles (we supplied them ourselves back then, and I had to provide 400+ Perrier type bottles!)in my pickup truck, along with that auction plant.

As I put the plant in the back of the pickup truck, who should come up but the man who had lost the final bid!

He introduced himself, said he would really like to have that plant and would pay me any price to have it! I said he could have it for the same $100: he promptly paid me and was all smiles, as were my mom and dear wife Lois when they finally had a chance to chew me out and hear the rest of the story.

I became close friends with that gentleman, who will remain unnamed! He continued for a few years to be a very large AHS auction contributor - that's how we came up with the Big Bucks award to honor both the plant material contributor and the persons buying the most!

Bruce

Bruce,
I very interesting story, but you left us all hangin'- what ever became of that plant? Is it a cultivar we'd all recognize? Did you ever end up with a division of it at some later time? Did it turn out to be a real beauty, well worth the $100 ???

OK,everyone,I GET IT! I will apologize for saying what I said about hybridizers,but I still think $701.00 is still an exhorbitant price for a single hosta! I think I am entitled to my opinion,but apparently if my opinion,is different than yours,I get jumped on with both feet! It's my Italian temper,but I get defensive when people start getting on my case just because I say something,ya'll don't like. I'm sorry for that. I've met Bob Solberg a couple times,and even bought some of his plants,including Ginsu Knife,Little Miss Magic,and Orange Marmalade. He has a really nice hosta called Sharp Dressed Man,which he sells for the paltry price of $50.00. I guess I should jump on that one,the next time he comes to our area! It sounds like a real bargain! Lol! Seriously,though,I get nervous when I pay $25.00 for a one gallon hosta,no how matter how rare! I am writing this to clear the air,hopefully,and get back to why we come to this forum in the first place. I may not ever offer any opinions again,but I will come back. Phil

Hey Phil...by the way, you will love "Sharped Dressed Man".
Stunning hosta that is not for sale in to many hosta places.

Everyone has an opinion, but when it comes to saying that someone shouldnt of spent there hard earned money in a way that one wishes....

Appreicated your words in the last post Phil :)

Yea for Phil...many happy returns and opinions welcome.
The air is cleared!

Thanks,ya'll! What I meant to put in the last post,was in Bob Solberg's newsletter,about streaked hostas. He said"everyone loves streaked hostas,but they are unstable,and if you don't keep removing the plain green leaves,you will lose the streaking. They tend to stabilize into a marginally-variegated hosta,whether outside margin,or centrally variegated,or even plain green." I'm not willing to take that chance,if I paid big bucks for it. I do have Korean Snow,and so far,it is remaining streaky. Yes,I do know about Dee's Golden Jewel,and,so far my Jewel-of-the-Nile is staying stable,but I've only had it 2 years;this year will be it's third. Hope I've cleared up what I've been trying to say. Phil

Don, I have been racking my brains since I typed that note to you all. Maybe it began with a "C" but still looking for my records. I believe I bought a division a few years later, at much less than $100, and it developed nicely but in retrospect maybe just ok for that price.

Any plant should be worth exactly what you paid for it! Gold Standard at $2-3 per plant is all it is worth in the marketplace today, due to mass production, although it sold in that first auction for $80 if I recall correctly.

Phil, all opinions are welcome - some apparently more than others?

No sense holding back - these forums generate a lot of steam, but certainly not enough to impact global warming!

Streaked hosta plants have inherent risk - which, like the stock market and many recent investments, can turn on you when you least expect it. So if you have a stomach for surprises and deeper pockets than the next guy, go for it.

My mother traded to get a "true Galaxy" when it was first introduced back in the 1980's: she then had to battle not to divide it when everyone who saw that clump growing in her yard was staggered by its beauty - including me! Before "Dorothy Benedict" became available at very high prices, 'Galaxy" was probably the flashiest hosta available in that color and size of leaf presentation.

Finally she divided that big clump for all the promises she made to people - and sure enough, when they came up the folowing year, NO, NONE, NADA steaks or coloration in ANY of the divisions!!!

I still have many of those original Galaxy divisions - noted as "unstable Galaxy" hoping they will revert back to that gorgeous parent - but I may have been waiting 15 years now.

I have several cultivars like that - probably should throw away the all green forms. BUt maybe they will come back....

Maybe I should give up? The photos and memories, like the recent high valuation of the stock market, still bother me!HOw could it happen to me???

Bruce