Got the scare of my life last night. I had ordered (won) a couple of hosta's on eBay, I was biding on back in January, the email I got 01-03-12 said shipping would be mid April. So yesterday I was thinking gee I have not heard from her or gotten a shipping confirmation. So I go to eBay and try to look it up on the History and it was not there, I tried to look it up on my confirmation emails and they had all been deleted. I typed in my order number and it said it was invalid. Seems that a transaction over 90 days is just non existent, I could find no trace of my order. I was baffled. I called customer service at eBay and they helped me to send an email to the seller. How could she forget my order and why did eBay wipe out my transactions? If you buy a plant to be shipped in spring it will disappear. Those are the facts, every transaction over 90 days is void, you no longer have rights. This Hosta I ordered is rare and She was nice enough to email me today but I am wondering who got my Hosta and what kinda seedling is she going to send me to replace it with. I have no buyer protection, can not take a transaction over 90 days to the resolution center. I will have to take what I get I suppose.
No more plants off eBay, I have learned a hard lesson. I will probably never go back period, this whole thing just had me dumb-founded.

Susan, that stinks. I'm sorry for that happening. Thanks for letting us know about it.

You welcome Leslie, No more eBay for me!

You might check out the Hosta Library Auction. Those guys are usually all very reputable hosta sellers.

www.hostalibrary.org

OK, thank you Diann.

Got this beautiful but small Great Expectations last fall and it did well and when the others are thriving this one starts going down hill. I think it is the Coco pot, I removed it from the pot because it did not decompose and the roots had no where to go. Re-potted it , so I will hope for a good recovery.
- First sprouts in spring.

- Yesterday

Oh no. I hope it gets better for you.

Keep us posted!

Oh, forgot to mention that it was 'Bluestone Perennials', a lot of people don't like the coco pots and I was open minded and did what they said but the things just don't dissolve fast enough for the roots to grow out. I had the same problem last year with the peat pots, they were the only Hosta that did not grow at all.

If I get something in those cocoa pots, I always remove the pot before planting. Don't even put it in MY compost, but rather the city yard waste.

Talking places NOT to buy hostas, in Canada, Loblaws has a large garden centre and a friend recently bought a plant there with HVX. She tested it to be sure. Canadian Tire regularly has plants with obvious HVX. I would avoid buy hostas at both places.

OK, thanks Ann, great tip! You say your friend tested the plant? Is there a test for HVX, I had a scare recently over Gold Standard and still have mine isolated. The plant looks good and healthy though.

Yes - you can get test strips which are quite easy to use and quite accurate. https://orders.agdia.com/Inven...

Great advise. I will have to check this out. After Susan told me about hosta X virus. Scared the daylights out of me.
Susan,
Wait a few years for Great Expectations to really show off it's beauty. Same with Frances Williams. Same only opposite. Nothing more beautiful than a 5 to 8 year old clump. Some of my Sagae looks great the first year planted. Same with Whirlwind. I hope yours is doing great. My clump doesn't even show any signs of my cut up this spring. Also those peat pots and coco pots sounds great for house plants. May still have to put into a plastic outside container.

The peat-pot and coco-pots are not good for any plant because they don't decompose fast enough causing the plant to be root bound, then the plant starts getting sick looking.
Whirlwind is looking better by the minute and I have decided to plant more hosta's in my corner garden with Sum and Substance at the center beside a birdbath and the smaller 'Grand Tiara's' in front seems like some good contrast. Show pics later.

Susan,
I have kept records of all hosta purchases I have made in the last 15 years or so. I have not bought any but one last year at Lowes. I will. keep an eye on it and lucky it is away from my other hosta. Most I have had for years and didn't buy any in the last 4 years. Didn't know about this virus and I don't know when it started hitting us. I am going to tell all my friends about this. So far I believe my plants are safe. I am scared now to purchase any hosta. I was releaved to learn that insects or deer can't spred this virus. Just us using tools and hands. Still very scary stuff.

I hear ya Stush, I have bought all mine from reputable nurseries, no box stores what-so-ever! I am thankful to say. I hear on one forum that there was a lot of 'Gold Standards' turning up with the HVX. I bought mine from 'Bluestone perennials' last fall and it is doing great, just keep it away from the other Hostas for now. Just in case, I really don't believe there is any problem with this Hosta, it is beautiful and very healthy looking.

CareBear - the virus hit a peak around 2006-2007. At that time, people weren't so aware of it and many good nurseries bought plants they thought were perfectly healthy because the virus often doesn't show up for awhile. And then they passed those plants on to others. Nowdays most reputable hosta nurseries are buying from sources that test for the virus and they are testing anything in their own stock that looks suspicious while box stores are frequently still buying from Dutch suppliers that are not controlling the virus.

I've had 3 plants show the virus in my garden. All three were purchased in that time frame from good nurseries and none showed the virus at first. Since then I've had nothing though I've tested a few plants.

Please do tell others and keep an eye open when you see hostas around. I've seen a number of badly diseased hostas in other gardens and if possible I tell the people responsible.

Thank you Ann, I have told some about this. I will continue to inspect all my hosta now.