I thought the new growth was looking better until I saw this:

sure.. the guy was a boor ... but you got your store credit ...

i suggest you give it a week .. and then decide if its really worth irritating yourself anymore .... dont act rashily ...

ken

I totally agree. Perhaps us commiserating with you will be enough and if after a week you are still upset....

Rather than approach the manager, consider contacting your state agriculture bureau. They might not be aware of or concerned about HVX, but they certainly should be about the potential for TRV. You don't need to tell them about the unwarranted rudeness you encountered, but you could ask them to send out an inspector, and make clear that your plant was a hosta. You could also forward your photos to these people.

If you do decide to complain to management (and I would have asked for a manager and expressed my lack of appreciation on the spot), you might tell them that you were treated with indifference and rudeness, and that you hope they will speak with all their employees about customer interaction and service. That will make it a more general complaint, rather than a specific incident, and will hopefully generate some response.

Rather than approach the manager, consider contacting your state agriculture bureau.

==>>> she said its the only local nursery ... she doesnt want to put them out of business ...

ken

Worst that will happen with an Ag Bureau is that they will give the place a notice of infected plants, and then they generally re-inspect in a few months. Never heard of anyone being put out of business, might be a small fine, but varies from state to state.

All of you have given me something to think about. Thank you for the support!

Call me naive, but I thought they might have wanted to know more about HVX and be concerned about what they were selling, rather than shrug me off. I am very glad to have received the store credit (so I had better use it before I put them out of business!) LOL

Let me add, that approximately three years ago I saw what looked like some virused Sum and Substance at this same nursery. They let me know days later that I had been correct and they removed all the Sum and Substance hostas. I have not seen one S&S being sold there since. I thought this was the proper way to handle this matter.

Then about two years ago I saw another suspicious hosta. I also informed this same nursery. Later on when enquiring, nobody knew what I was talking about! So I don't know whether the hosta was virused or not.

This experience I write about today is the third time I am concerned about HVX or TRV in a hosta.

I have purchased about 10 hosta from them this year, and I am concerned about another hosta I purchased there THIS year. It has the crumpled look to it, like the Island Breeze hosta. I think I had better return it too. Maybe I should ask for the manager this time. Now I wish I had some Agdia strips!

Great Expectations

I would return the GE as well. Hopefully you will be greeted more amicably Good luck.

I am a firm believer in customer service. Maybe that’s because I have family which own a restaurant. Without our business, they DO go out of business! So, I agree with dhaven , I would have spoken to the manager/owner at that time as well. Generally speaking, they should be to receive the information. It’s good that you received credit, but I ‘d be afraid to purchase a hosta from them anytime soon! Good luck!

I agree with you Shadow, I'm taking the GE back. I wish I had asked for the manager at the time, but I'm too much of a thinker---so a lot of thoughts run in mind about what to do that I sometimes don't end up dealing with the situation in the best way.

I don't want this nursery to go out of business. I just want them to do better. I am going to call and see if the manager is in. Then I will bring in the GE and explain my concern.

Last year I saw mislabeled hosta plants. This year and last year, I saw mini hosta that were reverting with practically nothing left of the original hosta. I think this nursery's standards have declined.

What will I do in the future? Oh, I'll still go and look at the available plants as they are almost within walking distance of me. But for hosta, I think I'll round up a friend or two and make a trip to a good hosta supplier. Just like most everyone else, I have no more room! But the hosta lover in me won't accept that. I just need to purchase a few hosta on my wish list and deal with the ones that I have.

As for the ones I have purchased from this nursery already, I'll keep them in pots for a couple of years at least.

This year and last year, I saw mini hosta that were reverting with practically nothing left of the original hosta. I think this nursery's standards have declined.

Reversion is NOT the nursery's problem, it's the nature of the beast, accept it.

Pieter

"Two major garden nurseries in my area have just closed their doors forever"

Smaller nurseries are closing up left and right too. Apparently a very tough business. Labor is probably the largest variable expense and finding conscientious retail employees is probably really tough in a tight labor market.

Regardless, asking to speak with the manager is the only way to hold employees accountable; and you get to find out if management really cares! The worst that can happen is the surly employee tells you he is the manager; then you just throw up your hands and walk away. At my local grocery store if the employee speaks English I consider that a bonus.

I wonder if your nursery grow their own hostas or get them from a grower! My experience is large commercials growers cannot afford to be caught selling diseased plants. That hostas come out of the commercial growers mislabeled is a different labor cost/language issue. And pointing the mislabelings out to big box employees got me a blank look (and rightly so). Most likely the ONLY person in that store who knew the correct labelings was me. Went back a few later and they were sold out. Apparently even the buyers didn't care, or know! On the plus side at least they weren't labeled in Latin so as to avoid any confusion!

The two major garden nurseries sold in order to have condos built on the land instead. Apparently we need more housing, so I bet each of them got a good price---so it was the perfect time to sell.

I know for a fact that the employee I spoke to is the head of the perennials department. Will be interesting to see what the manager says. I will ask whether they grow their own hosta. I think I remember being told that the nursery grows their own hosta, but do get in new ones.

"Reversion is NOT the nursery's problem, it's the nature of the beast, accept it."

Not sure what you mean Pieter. If you're saying it's a natural habit of some plants, then I agree. But if, for example, I am wanting to buy a Snow Mouse and what the nursery is selling is a two eyed hosta---one eye Snow Mouse and one eye a reversion to BME, I am supposed to pay the same price or not care?

Tried to see the manager. He was away today. Decided to bring in my Great Expectations hosta. Spoke to the assistant manager. I got more satisfaction talking to him. He told me that since I had kept the hosta (that I purchased in May) in the same pot, it may have become stressed. You have got to be kidding!

The part I didn't appreciate was when the guy I spoke to the other day walked by. They looked at each other and gave a slight gesture. I felt, at that point, that they were trying to say to each other "here's that crazy lady again!" I got a gift card for the amount that I paid and left it at that.

Have those hostas always been in pots? It looks more like a pot bound plant with some winter freeze damage than anything else. Repot or plant and I bet they would have looked fine. But if a nursery has a 2 year no question guarantee then it shouldn't matter. Sounds like they offer the guarantee but don't actually want anyone to test them on it.

Have those hostas always been in pots?

Yes for both. The Island Breeze was purchased in 2017. I took a picture of it in 2018 and it looked perfectly fine. It had had one repot since purchasing. I have another Island Breeze, and unfortunately, did not take a photo side by side. The Is.Bz. in question looked very different. It looked very corrugated---something my other Is.Bz. did not have nor do the photos on the Hosta Library have this. The coloration was different too (darker, even though my two Is. Br. hosta are in the same location). When I saw the new leaf with distorted veining, that's when I really got concerned.

As for the Gr. Ex. hosta, I purchased that in May of this year. The garden nursery I purchased from often have hosta in pots until October. If this effect was from a pot bound hosta, then wouldn't we be seeing more of this kind of crumpled look in other hosta? And as far as Gr. Ex. hosta go, we know it is not a fast grower.

As well intentioned as I am, I don't always get around to repotting my hosta when I should. I have about 50(+) hosta pots. Never seen this kind of thing happen before.