Not exactly what I ordered

8 years ago

I saw Gabriel's Wing at a hosta convention last year, liked it, and ordered one from Made in the Shade. All the hostas that came were small, but Gabriel's Wing was just one leaf. I figured, OK, first year T.C.s tend to be small.

It grew like mad, but instead of being green with gold edges, it was all gold. I wrote asking if it developed variegation as the leaves aged. It took three tries to get an answer.

Apparently some of the T.C.s came out gold, and they're being evaluated for possible introduction. One six pack got mixed in with the Gabriel's Wing hostas, and that's what I got. Of course, the plant had sold out.

The owner said he'd found a couple true Gabriel's Wings during inventory and would send one on Tuesday. Two weeks went by, and I got a note saying the one they have is smaller than the one I got, and would I rather wait. So fingers crossed for next spring.

Here's my oops hosta. If they do introduce it, don't you think Gabriel's Horn would be a great name?

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Comments (5)

popmama (Colorado, USDA z5)
8 years ago
It's a really pretty "fresh" green whatever it is!
MadPlanter1 zone 5 thanked popmama (Colorado, USDA z5)
lindalana 5b Chicago
8 years ago
I think I would like gold with such upright habit! I heard that Made in Shade changed hands... not sure what future holds?
MadPlanter1 zone 5 thanked lindalana 5b Chicago
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Esther-B, Zone 7a
8 years ago
Gee, I didn't know about the change of ownership! Glad I found out here. Here is the Made in the Shade Facebook page about the change of hands. I bought a lot of hostas over the years from Rob and consulted with him over the phone many times about something or other re my hostas. He always sent me nice plants and was always happy to answer questions, whether over the phone or email:

It is with mixed emotions that I must announce that I am no longer the owner of Made in the Shade Garden’s retail/mail order hosta business. I was honored to serve you over the last 19 years. As of January 1, 2018 the new owner is Trey Rutledge. Please join me in wishing Trey every success. I trust you will afford Trey the opportunity to gain your confidence just as you afforded me that same opportunity 19 years ago.

To avoid any confusion, I will be taking down my Made in the Shade Gardens Facebook page. You can continue to follow me on my new Made in the Shade Tissue Culture page. There I will try to give you a behind the scenes look at what goes on in a plant tissue culture lab and a look ahead of new hosta introductions that we are working on.

Hosta’ly,
Rob Mortko
Made in the Shade TC
MadPlanter1 zone 5 thanked Esther-B, Zone 7a
MadPlanter1 zone 5
Original Author
8 years ago
Yup, Rob is doing tissue culturing for several other nurseries now. The new guy seems to be having a hard time. Rob made it look effortless, but he started small and grew. Trey is new and has a steep learning curve.

What I'll really miss is seeing Rob as a vendor at conventions.
Babka NorCal 9b
8 years ago
One of the big problems with getting "the latest and greatest" is that when they go to tc they all don't come true to type. The cool part is that some sports come out of the tc process too. If you really-o, truly-o want a specific hosta....wait for the grower to grow it a few years to make sure it comes up out of the ground looking the named hosta it is supposed to be.

I would give that new little one a few years to see whatcugot. Many sports come out of tc these days.

-Babka
MadPlanter1 zone 5 thanked Babka NorCal 9b