Ed was an amazing person. Before I went to graduate school we would trade introductions so I had a complete set of the plants Ed had introduced through '76 plus a number of seedlings that weren't introduced but were useful in breeding. My 'Mulberry Wine' comes from his #51, for example. He came East to learn how to cross but decided it was way too much work. Somehow his approach of raising thousands of seedlings seemed like lots of work too!
Ed's plants were very important ones in bringing new colors, patterns and sizes to the group. We are still using his plants in hybridizing. He produced so many new hybrids that the US became the center of hybridizing, not Europe.
As you know Semps are relatively inexpensive plants. He became interested in hostas later and one of his seedlings went for $700 at a hosta society auction. He thought the hosta people were insane! (Having worked extensively with both groups there does seem to be more obsessive people in the hosta world!)
Kevin
