GREAT EXPECTATIONS. Central Illinois Hosta Society October Volume 22, issue 8

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1 GREAT EXPECTATIONS Central Illinois Hosta Society October Volume 22, issue 8 Barry s Beat Our Fall Banquet at the Pekin Country Club was a fun, informative, and delicious event. Thanks to Janette Smith for getting us access to the venue. Penny Bocelli did a marvelous job in organizing the event. Deb Schoedel s table decorations were gorgeous, as usual. Our speaker, Rob Mortko, gave us an insider s look at the process of tissue culture, along with teasing us with many of the latest hostas that will be released within the next year or two, some of which caused audible reactions from the attendees. There are some must have cultivars are coming soon. Rob told us where to look for each of them, making future shopping easier for all concerned. He also presented his invitation to attend the Midwest Regional Convention in Kansas City next June. Many of our members and guests took advantage of the voucher they received to buy some new plants from Rob s Made in the Shade vending area. Rob had some very nice plants available for purchase, and lots of folks seemed to be quite happy with their latest acquisitions. Thanks to all who attended and made this event a success. During the brief meeting, members approved the proposed changes in the CIHS by-laws, and elected several new officers. Rita Rowley was elected the Recording Secretary, and Susan McCabe and Deb Schoedel were elected Second Vice Presidents. Thanks to all three for agreeing to serve on the board. As the fall approaches, we can rest a bit and think about fall cleanup. Remember that one of the recommendations for eliminating nematodes is to remove the hosta foliage when it has wilted, rather than wait for spring to clean it up. Fewer nematodes have the chance to overwinter near the hosta crowns by cleaning up in the fall. Also, if you have a problem with voles over the winter munching on your hosta crowns, after foliage is cleared away is the time to drench with castor oil to deter vole damage. Many of us are looking forward to next year s growing season, and planning for the addition of new varieties in our gardens. Personally, I am planning to attack an erosion problem that started with the heavy rains we had earlier this year, that were exacerbated by some heavy storms later in the season. So, winter will give me some time to plan how I will remove one of my larger hosta beds by the rear of my house and terrace the area to stop my erosion problem. I already envision using the unfortunate need to terrace the area as an opportunity to display miniature hostas near the edges of the walls, getting them closer to eye level where they can be enjoyed. I guess there is always a silver lining to our challenges, if we can step back and assess the possibilities. As you read this newsletter, some committees will have begun planning for the 2018 Midwest Regional Hosta Society Convention in Peoria. We would love to have your input in planning this sure to be fun event. Continued on page Midwest Regional Hosta Society Convention in Peoria If you are interested in getting involved at any level, please let us know. 1

2 If you have ideas about a theme for the convention, please contact any of the board members. If you would like to have your garden considered as a tour garden, we will be having a committee that will decide which gardens will be included as tour gardens. If you want to have your garden considered for inclusion, look for information on the website next month. We have already had several members express interest. If you are interested in getting involved at any level, please let us know. We will be posting information about our progress in planning on the website. At your service. Barry Ankney, CIHS President 2016 CIHS Calendar If you are interested in opening your garden for a meeting in 2016, please contact Janette Smith, Deb McCollum or any board member. We d love to See your garden. Officers President Barry Ankney cihshostaclub@gmail.com Vice Presidents Janette Smith, Deb McCollum , cjsmith119@gmail.com debmccollum@gmail.com Second Vice Presidents Susan McCabe, Deb Schoedel Jmsm228@gmail.com parttime94@aol.com Third Vice President Wendy Kamischke kamisgh@yahoo.com Recording Secretary TBA March 21, 2017 Freedom Hall, Program by Ella Maxwell/Hosta Seedlings Program TBA 349 W. Birchwood Morton, IL April 18, 2017 Potluck/Member Meeting Freedom Hall 349 W. Birchwood Morton, IL May 21, 2017 (Sunday at 1:00 PM) Bob Monier 726 Normal Avenue Normal, IL June 7-10, 2017 American Hosta Society Convention Indianapolis, Indiana June 20, 2017 Roger and Connie Kahler 1005 East Queenwood Road Morton, IL June 22-24, 2017 Midwest Regional Hosta Convention, Hostas in the Land of Ahhh's Kansas City, Missouri July 18, 2017 Kay Dye 4017 S. Autumn Drive Mapleton, IL August 15, 2017 Roger and Kathy Becker 6328 S. Navajo Drive Peoria, IL September 19, 2017 Banquet TBA Autumn carries Kill more gold in its pocket than all the other seasons. ~Jim Bishop Corresponding Secretary Maggie Keesey magskeesey@gmail.com Treasurer Dan McConnell drdtm@mtco.com To Join: Central Illinois Hosta Society $10 or $15/year, form on back Midwest Reg. Hosta Society $20/2 years, Send dues to: Barbara Schroeder, Treasurer 1819 Coventry Drive Champaign, IL American Hosta Society $30 individual, $57/2 years $34 family, $62/2 years Send dues to: Sandie Markland AHS Membership Secretary Post Office Box 7539 Devil Hills, NC

3 Membership Memo W e wish to extend a warm welcome to our newest members, Donna Landon and Roger and Kathy Becker. Donna lives in Farmington and heard about CIHS at an ICC event. The Becker s live in Peoria and heard about us through friends. is November 1 at 6:00 at the ICC Horticulture Building. Sandwiches and drinks provided, so you must RSVP. your ideas to Debbie McCollum (debmccollum@gmail.com) or Penny Bocelli (penelopebocelli@gmail.com). Let s make this Convention a fun event for ourselves and all of our attendees from throughout the Midwest Region. Please visit us online at There you will find a members only section which includes a current membership directory, the online newsletter and other useful information. If you haven t already received the new password for 2016 which was issued on 4/01/16, please contact Kaeli or Debbie. CIHS Membership Co-Chairs: Kaeli McIntire kmac1342@yahoo.com and Debbie McCollum debmccollum@gmail.com or Convention The 2018 MRHS Convention Planning Committee held its first meeting Tuesday, September 27, 2016 at ICC. Debbie McCollum and Penny Bocelli were selected as Convention Cochairpersons. Many committee assignments were also accepted by those in attendance. Because we have a talented and creative membership in the Central Illinois Hosta Society, it was determined that we should have a contest to choose a theme and logo for our 2018 Convention. The winner will be selected by our members who have committed to volunteer on the Convention Planning Team. The winner will receive a voucher for $25 from White Oak Nursery. A few previous logos / themes are presented here as examples. We know how smart and talented you all are, so get those creative juices flowing and send us your ideas for a logo and theme. (You do not have to be an artist. Just describe what your logo would look like. We will have the logo drawn by professionals.) Deadline for entries is October 29, 2016! If you want to volunteer to be a part of the planning committee, Debbie or Penny. The next meeting The Wade Method of Hosta Sport Preservation, Advancement and Multiplication in Early Stages I ntroduction: I have developed a very simple method to preserve, help save, or to establish a new hosta sport; a method to help you save that sport you may have just discovered. I have been using this method since 1986 and find that it works very well. I have been able to rediscover and duplicate known hostas, and also have developed dozens of new varieties. Continued on page 4 3

4 Materials and Methods: To discover a potentially new sport, watch all of your hostas very carefully. Any single leaf different from the parent may be the start of a totally new plant. The leaf may be all green on a gold plant, or all gold on a green or blue plant. It may have only a yellow, gold, or white streak in a leaf. It may be a leaf with half green or blue and the other half white, gold, or streaked. It may have a center different than the edge. The new leaf can be of almost any different pattern of color, shape, or form, but different from the mother plant or parent. Watch and study the new leaf, group of leaves, or small new plant! You will notice that it is attached to the mother plant and is a part of it. Determine the value of the mother plant. Is it the only one you have? Could you get another if you should lose it? Find out, or try to determine, what your possible new plant might be. Maybe you are just duplicating what someone else has, or the new plant that is different from the mother might possibly be another known plant, rather than an absolutely new one. Consult an expert or the reference materials on hostas before proceeding to save what you think is a sport. What I like to do is trim back part or all of the mother plant. Keep all of her roots intact. Trim part or all of the leaves back to just above the ground, leaving a few nearest to your sport s leaves a little longer (or full size) at first. The purpose here is to give more strength to the new sport. Be sure that the plant doesn t receive too much sun now. Then you wait Often in a few weeks, the leaf gets bigger, changes occur, and it slowly gets another leaf or two. Other buds may form, but usually they don t sprout the first year. The first year, under normal conditions, you may have to trim back the mother plant several times, often two or three times, because she will sprout up. But, you see, you are forcing more of the mother s strength into your new little sport. Protect it over the winter, the same as you normally might a new plant. Fertilize it in the early spring. As the plant develops, you will notice that the bud that had been forced to develop more fully at the base of the leaf will be more fully developed, or is a more stable plant. Again, repeatedly trim back mother, as she is strong, and this makes more strength available for your little sport, now stronger and better able to survive. It is possible that after a year or so, you can start to remove a part of the mother by cutting her away piece by piece. I usually wait another year, depending on the size, location, and value of the mother. I do not want to cut away the new plant, dig it up and replant it yet. Most people do this in the first or second year. I wait. Remember, if you cut the end off of a new root, it does not get longer or branch. A new root must form from the root rhizome in order for it to benefit the new plant. Just keep your new baby where it is and let all the new roots and buds form as they will, without transplanting it. After two or three years of cutting and trimming your mother plant, and doing all you can to help your new baby sport develop, you will come to realize what it is, and exactly how it differs from your mother plant. Eventually, in two to four years, you should carefully cut a crown or eye away with all of its roots in-tact, leaving the base plant there. I usually like to do this in April or early September. Replant the new 1-2 eye crown plant in a specially prepared site with just the right amount of sunshine. I will often add peat moss, Promix, sand and/or aged horse manure in a partially raised plant bed. I do use Osmocote for expensive new plants. For older, established plants, I sometimes use or a similar general garden fertilizer because of the cost. But for the newest, expensive plant, I spare no expense in the preparation of a good planting pocket. With this method, I have developed dozens of new sports. It is always exciting to dream about your new little sport as to just what it will become. Then when it does develop, you can see just what you ve helped Mother Nature do only quicker! This method probably isn t new or unconventional, but it works. I ve tried to just cut off the new plant, eye, crown, or leaf, but it doesn t always work. You end up losing your sport, or weaken it so much that it doesn t come up the next year. The next time you see a new and unusual leaf or more on one of your hostas, remember this method to preserve it. Try it or adapt your own method, using some or all of the technique described here. You ll have fun trying! Not all are success stories, but you will surely not miss very many times with this method. Written by Van R. Wade, Wade & Gatton Nurseries, Bellville, Ohio This article originally appeared in HostaScience, Vol 1, No 1, It was edited for the Tri-State Tribune, Volume 2016, Issue 3, by Roberta Chopko and now reprinted here. 4

5 2017 Hosta of the Year Hosta Brother Stefan Each year the American Hosta Growers Association selects 'the best of the best', and honors one variety as "Hosta of the Year". These special selections are acknowledged for being distinctive, easy to grow in all parts of the country and beloved by many. They are a good choice for beginning collectors and gardeners alike. Introduced and named by top hosta breeder Olga Petryszyn as a birthday present to her brother, H. 'Brother Stefan' has it all. Although slow growing, this hybrid of H. 'King Tut' x H. 'Mildred Seaver' forms a 22" tall x 3' wide clump of thick, heavily-corrugated, golden foliage edged with a wide border of blue-green. In late spring, two foot scapes of white flowers top the clump. Truly a gift for any garden. A New Scheme for Over-wintering Hosta Preparing my hostas for their long winter nap was much easier last fall. It was a snap, of course, because Shari and I had just moved and new homes were also found for most of the plants in Southaven for Hostas. Other than 50 favorites saved for a greatly reduced townhouse yard, about 80 percent of my hostas went to family, friends and the Hosta Trail, our American Hosta Society National Display Garden at MBG. A few potted inground specimens, most notably an immense and impossible-to-move King Michael, stayed with our former home to welcome the new owners. At our new East Memphis townhouse, I arranged 40-some hostas in glazed blue pots to create a river of hostas flowing past our back door. Unaccustomed to extremely close quarters in a garden, we conceived this stream as an attractive cover to safeguard two retirees from ankle-turning tree roots. It also put garden maintenance within easy reach. At season s end, I knew that I no longer had a garage to overwinter hostas and protect my fine pots. What to do? My solution to keep containers from becoming crackpots (like me) in Mid-South freezethaw-freeze-thaw conditions was to leave the pots outdoors, cover them with a tarp and stake the tarp to the ground. This simple scheme, which others might want to employ, wards off precipitation that can cause root rot, keeps hostas cold enough to maintain dormancy and deprives them of energy-producing light. My pre-winter hosta adventure started earlier than usual with the threat of mid-november chill. Upon hearing forecasts from the TV weatherman known around our house as Panic Pete, plans for garden cleanup ensued. Even under tree cover, the initial round of freezing temperatures produced limp leaves in nearly every pot. Predictably, all but two of the hostas refused to surrender. Cousins First Frost and June put up a valiant fight with their tough foliage and survived the onslaught. Round 2, however, with temps deeper in the 20s, sent them into slumber with the rest of the crowd. Armed with pruners, I accomplished my garden cleanup in less than two hours, much better than the usual daylong task. As I lopped off fading foliage, I wondered which hostas would be the most difficult to trim. Would it be the largest with big, heavy leaves (such as Aphrodite, Olive Bailey Langdon, Potomac Pride and Victory )? Nope! Smaller and medium-sized varieties with hundreds of leaves (such as Allen P. McConnell, Tick Tock, Dark Star and Paradise Island ) took more time and effort. Mature hostas need room to spread their wings, so many of these containers were a foot or more apart when I first assembled the pots. Continued on page 6 5

6 Preparing them for winter required a snug and lessattractive scheme. Pots that had occupied 150 square feet last summer were consolidated into about 70, then covered with a 9-by-12-foot tarp. Now that February has arrived, I m curious about how this overwintering exercise has affected pots and plants. All should emerge in fine shape and be ready to spring into action. Though I haven t peeked at what was parked beneath that big blue blob 10 weeks ago, it s by no means a secret. Shari, on the other hand, would rather believe there s a sports car under wraps for her birthday. Dream on, my dear! MSHS s By Larry Tucker, reprinted from the Mid-South Hosta Society Hosta Hotline, February 2015 Hostas More than Pretty Leaves Editor s Note: Hosta Blue Mouse Ears in flower at right W ith each passing season, I notice more and more the difference among hostas. Part of that skill has been acquired by looking at more than just the leaf. Don t misunderstand me.the most dramatic and significant impact of hostas comes from the leaves. However, by emphasizing only the foliage, we may miss the subtle beauty and some fun. As a hosta society (AHS), we honor the leaves. If one of our hybridizers were to create a hosta with a yellow or red flower, all of us would likely want such a plant. But if its leaf were not unique, it would not win an award in the seedling class at the cut-leaf show. Consider the flower scapes. Some are rigid and some arch. Some have orderly ridges. Some are very tall compared to the plant s height. Others may be so short as to have all or part of the blooming under the plant s foliage. Some plants have several flower scapes per division. The color of the flower scape often mirrors the color of the central part of the leaf and petiole. Some hosta leaves have a waxy coat called bloom, which is what makes blue leaves blue, and which, after time, may melt off and create dark green leaves. Have you noticed that flower scapes and even seed pods also have a bloom? The bloom on the scape persists long after the bloom on the leaf is gone. Flower scapes can also have red pigment. This may vary from a light stippling to an intense uniform color such as seen on H. Sparkling Burgundy (see right). In some cases the purple color also extends to the seed pods. This is the case with H. Purple Passion, making it a very striking plant when the seed pods are left on the scape. Several of my seedlings from H. kikutii var. caput-avis have purple flower scapes. One of them has a very unusual modification: development of the purple appears to be photo (light) dependent. The portion of the scape below the foliage is green and that above the foliage is purple. Some flower scapes have leaves arising from them. These vestigial leaves or scape foliations can be very striking. They often mimic leaves that arise from the crown. Herb Benedict has commented that they are often seen in young, vigorous plants, and become insignificant in established clumps. Splashed vestigial leaves can be a useful guide as to which flowers are apt to produce variegated progeny. We regularly talk about flower color, shape, size and fragrance. Other flower attributes may distinguish one hosta from another. Do most of the flowers arise from one side of the scape or are they regularly distributed around the scape? Do spent flowers readily drop off the scape or are they retained until they shrivel and desiccate? Are the flowers closed? This can be very beautiful because the flowers are not pollinated and seem to be retained longer before dropping off. Orientation of the individual flowers has great influence on the beauty of the bloom. Some flowers droop with their open end facing down, while others face straight out or even face up, making a more dramatic presentation. Continued on page 7 6

7 White Oak Nursery Specializing in Hostas, Daylilies, Bearded Iris and Siberian Iris Please visit our website for an online catalog of offerings. We have over 600 varieties of Hosta We have purchased all of the hostas from The Hosta Patch, and will be adding many more varieties later this year. CIHS Members are welcome to come view our offerings Please call for an appointment and directions. Open Garden Days: June 4, 5, 11 & 12 - Noon to 4 White Oak Nursery Washburn, IL (309) hostas@whiteoaknursery.com Some hosta growers remove their flower scapes, just after they emerge, and miss most of the interest. Many hostaphiles remove their flower scapes as the last few flowers are spent. This, it is felt, puts more energy into the plant and promotes more rapid growth. It is also good to remove the scape unless you want to grow the seeds, before the seed pods ripen and the seeds are spread all over the garden. It can be difficult discriminating between a volunteer seedling and one of your prized hostas. By cutting flower scapes early, you may miss some beauty and interest in the seed pods. Some are a lovely dark purple, some are striped, some are gold, some are large, and some may have a waxy coat or bloom. You don t have to be a hybridizer to understand this wonder and wonder-filled plant. by Jim Wilkins, (Courtesy of the Mid-South Hosta Society Newsletter of August 2001, via Illinois Prairie Hosta Society s newsletter, Prairie Hosta Herald, Volume 11, Number 6, August 2015). 7

8 Central Illinois Hosta Society P.O. Box 3098 Peoria, IL First Class Postage Check us out! For information regarding dues or membership, contact: Deb McCollum, or Kaeli McIntire 8 Newsletter Deadline: 20 th of the preceding month Submit items for publication to: Bob Streitmatter com CIHS Membership Form (please print) Name(s) Address City State Zip Phone How did you find us? Friend/Word of Mouth Website Newsletter Event/Presentation Facebook Newspaper (which one) Other Dues (circle one): $10/year for electronic newsletter or $15/year for paper newsletter: New Renewal Amount enclosed Make check payable to CIHS and mail check/form to: Central Illinois Hosta Society, P.O. Box 3098, Peoria, IL