I went to the going-out-of-business auction at Sunset Greenhouse, Inc. in Monticello, Iowa today. Sunset Greenhouse has 3 locations, Monticello, Farley and Maquoketa. They've been in business for 16 years. Closing due to health problems. This was a huge auction with lots of trees,shrubs, perennials and over 300 varieties of hosta, as well as Pottery, fertilizer and all the other stuff you'd expect from a garden center.
I was looking for some ornamental grasses, not really interested in the hosta ( hard to believe, but true!), but I still had to check out what they had for hosta just in case...
It took less than 3 minutes to find that some were infected with HVX! I talked to one of the auctioneers as the auction had not yet started. He directed me to the owner, Rich Schneiter. I explained that I had seen HVX in some of his hostas and he indicated that he was aware of it and that he was going to sell them anyway. I pointed out the infection to a few people who seemed interested in the hosta but didn't know what else I could do.
If anyone else attended this auction and purchased hostas, I would suggest putting them in quarantine for a long time or purchasing test kits.
I did not bid on any plants at this auction because If he was willing to sell HVX infection, what kind of quality was the rest of his stock! Makes ya wonder....
Gary
