Here's a pic, with a 'Formal Attire' (not from Hallson) on far left.

Don B.

Don, do you know how hard it is for us that are trying to hold steady.... with what we have, when you keep buying nice things ;)

I love Hallson Gardens' hostas. I need more room!!!

-Babka

Nope, I have no concept of what you are trying to say......But hold the course, buddy! : )

Don B.

I've visited Hallson and spent time with Chris and Brian... consider them "electronic friends" - folks you can feel connected to even when you don't actually get to see each other...

Their facility is impressive. Their knowlege and concern for the health of the plants is impressive.

Most importantly, I've lived through the period of retailers only selling realtively mature divisions to selling small one eye plants to actually selling tissue culture babies right out of the lab... and a lot of hosta buyers have suffered by getting plants to immature for them to grow in a typical garden setting.

So kudos to Hallson... they grow all their hostas in the ground... they take the (usually) three years to grow them on. They throw away the weak and the not-true-to-type plants rather than palming them off on unsuspecting consumers. They take all the risks, then send you the successful plants that have survived.

How's that for plugging - from somebody who sells hostas!

Yeah, Jim, you sell but you are still "one of us." All us hostaholics like to talk about hosta, gardens, soil, bugs, companion plants, garden art, projects for shade, problems with roots, .....and how to take good pictures. :)

I'm not connected to any nursery, so I feel no pressure to refrain from commenting when I get a good plant where it came from.

In like measure, I try not to be quick to criticize a nursery for a plant that fails in my garden, given that there are so many hardships the hosta face here--not the least of which is my ignorance of growing them, plus removing environmental factors I have here which are not so bad in more hosta friendly locations.

I use pots, as many already know. I also try to minimize the exposure of hosta to plants from other nurseries which might lead to trading germs that contaminate and spread a virus. Thus I have my hosta primarily in clusters ... the Hallsons, the Plant Delights, the GreenMt, the MasonHollow, the MITS, the AvalonAcres, the Solbergs, the Wade Gattons, the Hornbakers, the Bridgewoods, and most recently, the Jim Hartmanns....who I became aware of through the recent benefit auction, by the way.

I can spot your Dark Shadows, and the Gone With The Wind, never saw a Formal Attire before that I know of...but I bet Myrle has one. :) Don, you were so moderate in your two plant order, I think a congratulatory order is called for. Do it again. :)