Under a canopy of dense towering beech trees, Gus Krossa’s Livonia yard developed its own microclimate. Seventy years ago, the late Krossa did what today’s gardeners would do in the shade. He planted hostas and experimented with seeds.
• Dec. 03, 2006 — Seeds of Livonia’s garden innovator still grow
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• Mar. 04, 2006 — Hosta Spring Break – “Hostas, Hot and Getting Hotter!”
Date: Saturday, March 25, 2006
Time: Registration (at the door) from 8:00 – 9:00 A.M.
Morning Classes: 9:00 A.M. – 4:20 P.M.Location: West Virginia University – Evansdale Campus, Agriculture Sciences Building
Cost: $35 includes full day of classes plus lunch.
This event is an educational program supported by The American Hosta Society with West Virginia University. It will be an excellent opportunity of all those interested in learning more about hostas, particularly: gardeners, horticulture students, nursery professionals, landscapers, etc.
Attendees will have an opportunity to buy unique hostas and also purchase other hosta information at discount rates.
Download the class list and registration information: 2006_hosta_spring_break.pdf
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• Feb. 17, 2006 — Hans Hansen Garden Featured in Midwest Gardening Magazine
“This Minnesota gardener shows us that growing great plants reaps the greatest reward of all - friendships that last a lifetime and lead us on a journey that reaches around the world.”
Article excerpt at www.midwestgardeningmag.com.
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• Feb. 05, 2006 — First Look Online Auction to Fund Hosta Virus Research
To Hosta Lovers Everywhere,
Last summer most of us got a good look at just how much Hosta Virus X has already spread. There are very high numbers of HVX-infected hostas turning up everywhere. This year we will undoubtedly see more of them. With the long period before symptoms can appear, it is safe to assume there are many more infected plants than those we see that show symptoms.
This year all funds raised in the First Look Online Auction will go to the new Hosta Virus Research Fund which is being set up by the American Hosta Society. They have reached an agreement with Dr. Ben Lockhart to begin serious in-depth research into this virus, also known as HVX. Please consider donating directly to the fund or donating plants to the First Look Online Auction. If you care about stopping this disfiguring disease, there is now a way you have an impact. Helping here will help us all.
As many of us have seen, HVX has reached epidemic proportions in hostas both in the U.S. and around the world. We need desperately to gain a better understanding on how this disease spreads so that we may all handle our plants in such ways as to avoid spreading this incurable and disfiguring disease. Hosta Virus X is an insidious disease because of its ability to hide without showing any symptoms in a hosta for several years. Contact with that infected plant’s sap could infect other hostas in your garden before you even know the virus is present. For hybridizers and collectors of the rarest hostas, keeping this virus out of the garden is of critical importance.
Dr. Lockhart’s initial research will focus on how it can be spread in the nursery and garden, and the first stage will require a working fund of at least $40,000 for the next two years. Our goal in this auction is to raise as much as possible of that total so research can begin soon this Spring. Please donate a special plant or two if you can spare them to help with this worthy cause. The American Hosta Society will be soliciting donations from other societies, trade organizations, nurseries, and others in an attempt to build this fund as high as possible so that further avenues of research can be conducted.
This research will probably be the only research done in the U.S. We are on our own without any financial assistance. There will be no huge research grants from the government or from the agriculture industry. This is a hosta problem and it is up to us as collectors, hybridizers, and nursery operators to find a solution.
You can truly make a difference this year in helping us stop HVX. Be a part of the fight against HVX by donating to our auction if you have an extra plant or two, or directly to the research fund if you prefer to donate funds directly.
To donate to the First Look Online Auction, simply send an E-mail to both Carol Brashear (CBCTPLANT@yahoo.com) and Bill Meyer (njhosta@comcast.net). Please send a photo if you have one. In the E-mail, add a description of the plant or plants you are donating, including the number of divisions (one is fine), rough estimate of maturity (small young plant to mature full-grown one), and whether it is OS (Originator Stock as opposed to Tissue Culture propagated). If the plant has hybridizing interest, please mention if it sets seed and how well if known. We will then post the item to the auction. There may be a delay of a day or two before your item goes up, but don’t worry as this does not affect the bidding.
STOP HVX
The First Look Online Auction Team
First Look Website - http://www.hostalibrary.org/firstlook/
Clicking the auction banner will take you to the auction once it has begun.Comments Off
• Jan. 16, 2006 — AHS Online Auction ’06 is gearing up for January 15th through January 29th
Tests have been run, changes made, and barring any unforeseen glitches, the site is up and running. You may now go to www.hosta.org/ (the AHS Homepage), select AHS Activities, select the AHS Auction button and register (if registering from outside the contiguous U.S., you must make a selection in the “state” space - choose “non-U.S.” and enter the rest of your data).
Once registered you may submit donations directly to the site. There is information including a model description found by selecting the “Making Donations” button found at http://auction.hosta.org/ .This has been provided to help you and answer anticipated questions. You will receive a message on your screen if your donation has successfully gone through. They will be proofed and assigned a start date by the Auction Administrator (me). REMEMBER that NO donations will appear before January 8th at which time bidding will commence. Some donations may be opened to bidding after the 8th for the purpose of staggering start dates (we want everyone to keep coming back to the site and keep bidding J). Donations will continue to be accepted and activated up to the final 72 hours of the auction.
Bid often, bid freely, and bid like you want the plant(s). Remember that it all ends on January 29th. The time however varies for each item as will be shown with the item posting. ALL TIMES ARE CST TIME!
It takes donors, bidders, and all of us to spread the word about this event since E messaging is the only form of communications being used if this is once again to be a success. Enjoy this year’s event! Those who participated last year had a ball! Join in if this is a new experience for you. Thanks in advance for your help.
AHS Online Auction Coordinator
Don Dean
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