

Doug Beilstein,
AHS President
President's Message
January 2013
Can you believe it? It's
2013...
Well, the snow is a-fallin’,
and the winds they are a-blowin’, and all is well for our midwinter's nap. But
before you do, please check your "Bucket List". At the top has to be your New
Year's Resolutions, and topping that list:
Renew your
American Hosta Society membership
For us to continue our success as a society,
it is imperative that our membership numbers increase. Please, help us
accomplish that and renew today.
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Next up on the "Bucket List"...
plan to attend a premier hosta event this year! Choices include (but are not limited
to) the MRHS Winter Scientific Meeting in Lisle, IL (Winter Scientific Meeting) in just a few days, Hosta College in Piqua, OH (Hosta College) in mid-March, and in mid-June, the American Hosta Society’s National Convention in Milwaukee, WI (Escape to Wisconsin).
Finally, as thoughts of spring
enter our heads (if you’re still taking your midwinter's nap), don't forget that
your local club is dreaming of your attendance, too!!!
Happy New Year to all, and to
all a good night.
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Don Dean,
AHS Online Auction Chair
Hard
to believe yet one more year has elapsed and brings us to our eleventh
annual American Hosta Society online auction; mark your calendars for January 12th - 26th.
Events such as this require the efforts of many volunteers,
representing numerous hours of dedicated time. Thanks go out to those
who are instrumental in providing support, creating the site, spreading
the information, donating materials being sold, and all those choosing
to support the AHS with their bidding. Special thanks to Bob Axmear for
allowing us to use his Hosta Library site again this year.
Each
year many of you have kept our hosta society in mind and given
generously. Let’s give it a go again this year. Besides, now that the
hustle and bustle of the holidays has ended, we all love to look at
great pictures and dream of our next treasure to arrive in the mail
next spring.
If you would still like to donate to the auction, contact me NOW.
Include a paragraph description and digital photo. I can help with both
of these, often getting back to you via email with questions or
verification of info.
All
proceeds go directly to the society’s treasury. Auctions are a primary
source of revenue to bring one of the world’s best horticultural
journals to its members and libraries across North America and abroad. The Hosta Journal can only stand to increase its standing as a premier publication as a result of all of your support.
Joanna Kovalcsik, AKA Jojo, has joined me again this year to assist with donation descriptions!
We are set up to receive payments through the AHS website, something that has worked well the past few years. All other elements of the auction remain intact. Auction access and instructions will be available via a link found on the AHS home page and on the Hosta Library website. Once
again, I will post any critical information, reminders, and tips in the
“Non-bid Important News” category of the auction site. Be sure to peek
at these periodically for updates or corrections as well.
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Sandie Markland,
AHS Membership Secretary
Membership
The mailing list for the first issue of the 2013 Hosta Journal will
be generated early in the year, and the issue is expected to begin arriving in
members' mailboxes in early spring. As usual, your 2013 AHS Membership Card
will be printed on the mailing label which accompanies that issue. If you do
not receive your copy of this Journal by the 15th of May, please contact the
AHS Membership Secretary to secure a replacement issue. There will be no
membership card with the replacement issue.
It is important to keep the AHS Membership Secretary informed of
changes in your contact information. If you do not receive AHS mailings due to
an unreported change of address, a $6.00 payment is required to cover the cost
of shipping and handling for the replacement issue. Please send address changes as
promptly as possible to AHSMembershipSecretary@charter.net. Individuals who travel between summer and winter homes
should advise the Membership Secretary of their change of address approximately
6 weeks in advance.
All AHS Memberships run from January 1 through December 31
regardless of when an individual joins or renews. The year of your membership
expiration immediately follows your name on the mailing sheet which accompanies
each mailing you receive from the AHS. The second Journal mailing of each year
(due out in late summer/early fall) is always accompanied by a renewal form. It
is important to renew in a timely manner in order to avoid the $5.00 late fee
which MUST be applied to all renewals mailed or entered online after January 15th
of each calendar year.
If you have not renewed for 2013, please do so as quickly as
possible - we don’t want you to miss out on a single thing! If you are uncertain as to the current status
of your membership, please do not hesitate to contact me via email, and I will
get right back to you!
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AHS Memberships make great gifts for your gardening
friends - or great door prizes for your local club events!
Sandie
Contact Sandie Markland
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Josh Spece,
AHS Web Editor-in-Chief
2012 AHS Popularity Poll
It
is time to cast your votes for the annual AHS Hosta Popularity Poll!
Think of warmer days and take a 'mental' stroll through your garden to
refresh your memory of your favorite hostas, then log on and vote.
Popularity
Poll voting is only open to AHS members so once you are on the American
Hosta Society website (click on the link below), click the “Members” link along the left side of the page. You will then need to enter the member's password. The password is published in The Hosta Journal.
If you do not have your journal handy, you can contact the AHS
Membership Secretary for the password. Once you enter the password,
click “Submit”. AHS Website
You are now logged into the "Members Only" area of the website. You can access the Popularity Poll voting page by clicking the “Popularity Poll” link on the left side of the page.
Once you are on the Popularity Poll voting page scroll down to the bold heading that says “OnlineVoting” and follow the instructions on the page to cast your votes.
It is very important to NOT press
the Enter or Return key on your keyboard after you begin entering your
votes! Doing so will submit your ballot before it is complete. (Unfortunately, this is a “feature” of the polling service the AHS uses and is beyond our control.)
Anyone who has trouble voting is more than welcome to contact me for help!
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Michael Shadrack,
Vice President Awards and Honors
Awards and Honors
The
President's Wall
The American Hosta Society would again like to honor, for their
distinguished service, those members of local Hosta Societies who have for
years been the backbone of their local group. Last year was the first time I
asked local societies to nominate members for this award, and I have to admit
to several teething problems in my system. I am determined to do better this
year.
The most up-to-date list of contacts with local
societies that we have is the one maintained by Mary Bardens of the Newsletter
Editors. By now, all editors on that list should have received from me a letter
which I have asked you to bring to the attention of your Society’s President
and Board.
The letter again asks local Societies to nominate two such people before
the 1st of April this year. Last year it quickly became obvious that we were
going to be unable to include all the wonderful things said about the person
nominated on the certificate sent to local societies. The certificate is merely
an expression of appreciation – the kind words of thanks will need to be said
locally.
By now, all but one Society will have received signed certificates on
parchment for each of the members they nominated and the names of those people
appear on a brick in the ‘President’s Wall of Honor’ that can be found on the
AHS website at www.hosta.org.
Nominations can be sent to me by mail or email before
April 1, 2013. The only difference in the procedure this year is a request that
included with the nomination is the name and address of the person to whom the
signed certificates are to be sent. They will be mailed soon after the AHS June
Board meeting for local presentation.
The Alex J. Summers Distinguished Service Award
The Eunice Fisher
Distinguished Merit Award
Readers are also reminded that nominations for the
AHS Top Awards - The Alex J. Summers Distinguished Merit Award and the Eunice
Fisher Distinguished Hybridizer Award should reach me before April 1, 2013.
Nomination forms can be found in the 2012 Online Journal or can be forwarded on
request.
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Rob Mortko,
Vice President Genus Hosta
New AHS Nematode Research Program
At
the recent Fall AHS Executive Committee Board Meeting, a new foliar
nematode research program was presented, proposed and approved. We
might normally wait until the current HVX research project was complete
to introduce a new research program. However, the feedback from both
you and the AHS Board was clear - get some answers to the growing
nematode problem and get them ASAP.
Letters
have been sent to all local and regional hosta societies formally
announcing details of the proposed research program and soliciting
their financial support. We would also appreciate your individual
support.
The
research will be performed at The Ohio State University under the
capable leadership of Dr. Parwinder Grewal. You may recall that Dr.
Grewal has performed previous nematode research for the AHS. Dr. Grewal
has served on the Executive Board of the Society of Nematologists and
continues to be the leading foliar nematode researcher in the U.S. As
we looked at Nematologists around the country to lead this effort, it
became clear that Dr. Grewal was the most qualified candidate.
The
proposed research will focus on the entire nematode life cycle. Most
important is defining their seasonal movement both upward and downward
before we begin testing and development of an integrated approach to
manage foliar nematodes. Our hope is that they may in fact be much
easier to treat if we know when they are on the move.
The
$100,000 research program will be funded in major part by a matching
grant program available from Ohio State. We hope to hear about the OSU
matching grant award in early April. That still leaves $50,000 to be
funded by the AHS, local/regional hosta societies, and interested
individuals. The AHS approved $5000 in its 2013 budget to help fund the
project. The remaining $45,000 will be a challenging amount to raise
during these economic times, but hopefully achievable given the level
of prior interest expressed by our membership. Since foliar nematodes (Aphelenchoides fragariae and A. ritzemabosi) are not specific to hosta alone, we are also soliciting support from related plant societies and plant trade associations.
We
hope that we can fund the entire proposed scope of research. Our intent
is to confirm our available funding level this spring with the research
to begin shortly thereafter. We expect completion of this project
within two calendar years.
You
can read more about the nematode research program on the AHS website.
Also included are a donation form and a copy of Dr. Grewal’s proposal.
Foliar Nematode Research Program
Thank you in advance for your support. Together, let’s beat the growing foliar nematode problem.
Rob
Contact Rob Mortko
HVX Research Correction
In
the last AHS e-Newsletter, I included a progress report from Dr.
Lockhart. It was reported that Dr. Lockhart had collected seed from an
HVX-infected Hosta ‘Krossa
Regal’. Many astute hybridizers were quick to point out that ‘Krossa
Regal’ rarely (if ever) sets seed. Dr. Lockhart responded that this was
in error and that seed was actually collected from ‘Tokudama
Flavocircinalis’.
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Josh Spece,
AHS Web Editor-in-Chief
The AHS Website – A Year In Review
The end of the year is a natural time to look back over the
past twelve months. We hostaholics love
to reflect on our gardens…what grew well, what challenges we faced, and what we
want to change or add in the season ahead. One of my favorite things to do is look back through my photos from
hosta conventions and other garden events from the season past and remember the
great times I shared with hosta friends.
In between browsing hosta catalogs and dreaming of spring,
here are a few interesting statistics about the AHS
website from 2012.
54,369 different users viewed the website
227,944 pages were viewed
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The top 10 countries the AHS
website was viewed from:
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The top 10 cities the AHS
website was viewed from: |
An interesting side note…the little town of Pella, Iowa
(population 10,360) is 1/263 the size of Chicago,
Illinois (population 2,707,120),
but is just 180 website visitors behind Chicago. Pella
must be home to an extraordinarily high concentration of hosta lovers or a few
disturbingly fanatic ones. Likely a
combination of both!
The top 10 most viewed pages on the AHS
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Mary Ann Metz,
Vice President Member Services
Member Services
Hi All,
Happy New Year! I’m the new kid on the
block, and although I have been a member of the AHS for a while, I have never had
the opportunity to serve. This is quite an honor.
My first task is to find out what the
members of the AHS expect from their society and from me. I welcome any and all
ideas about what you would like to see or have happen throughout the year, at
conventions, in The Hosta Journal or the Online Journal.
As I write this, the Executive Committee
is working diligently to improve several issues that have been presented to us.
One very important issue is that we actually don’t know enough about our
members. Do you have an expertise or passion that you would like to share with
the AHS? We probably don’t know if you do. Computer expertise, botany
expertise, accounting expertise, advertising know-how, growing plants,
photography - absolutely anything that you might want to share is important.
My
first question: would you fill out an online questionnaire? My next
question: if a questionnaire were kept on the AHS website would you
update your
information?
So, in case you haven’t guessed, we are
actually trying to move into the 21st century. The committee is
considering an electronic membership. This would be a full membership, but with
no printed material mailed. Only electronic communications would be available
for this type of membership. That means no The Hosta Journal or other printed
materials. What do you think? Please let me know.
We would like to create a website that
has instructional videos. If you have any ideas about instructional content, or for that
matter website design, or what you would like the website to be, please share them with me. Thanks!
Best
Regards to All,
Mary
Ann
Contact Mary Ann Metz
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Chuck Zdeb, Vice President Judging and Exhibitions
Judging and Exhibitions 2013
is upon us, and the time for a new Benedict Garden Performance Award
ballot is here. Randy Goodwin is sending reminders to the list of
originators/hybridizers and registrants with known addresses. As we are
rebuilding the address list, there may be some current addresses which
are unknown to us. If you do not receive a nomination ballot, please
contact Randy Goodwin or me, and we will get a nomination form to you. Last
year, because of some cloudy history with regards to whom credit should
be given for the introduction of certain hosta cultivars, there was
some ballot confusion. Because some felt that the Benedict Award system
should be used to deny the entry for some cultivars, a committee was
formed to determine, if possible, who should receive credit for these
cultivars. A preliminary report has been issued, and a final report
should be complete this summer. Until then, the names that were
attached to these cultivars will still be used. Judy
Burns, Judges Records and Classification Chair, reports that we
currently have 164 active judges. As the records were just updated, the
only updates required for the next two years (per the Judges Handbook)
will be for a status change. Please contact Judy with any status
updates.
For active judges, the cold months of January and February are a good time to review your Judges Handbook. Chuck
Contact Chuck Zdeb |
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2013 AHS Convention Escape to Wisconsin

You
are invited to "Escape to Wisconsin" June 13-15. Rest assured, this
will not be a cheesy affair. A full schedule is planned with all of
the events expected at an AHS convention. There is a link on the homepage of
the AHS website at American Hosta Society,
or go directly to our website at 2013 AHS Convention.
The cost of this hosta
extravaganza is only $139! The venue is the Milwaukee Sheraton Brookfield
Hotel, just west of downtown Milwaukee, and we have an enticing rate of $105 per
night which includes a hot buffet breakfast. Book your rooms early as there
is an automobile race in town that weekend and rooms are sure to be at a
premium!
We have 9 beautiful tour gardens to visit. Tours will be by carpool and
complete directions and maps will be provided. Attendees who do
not have rides will be matched with attendees who do have rides. Hostaphiles
are friendly people, and we are confident attendees will be happy to accommodate
attendees that need rides.
To whet your appetite, here are a couple of the gardens that will be on the tour.
Bill Radler Garden
The name Bill Radler may be familiar
to some gardeners. Bill is the creator of the Knockout Rose. Bill is a rose
breeder with an extensive collection of roses of all types. Bill's goal is to
develop roses that are showy, disease free, and easy to care for. Thus far, he has
developed seven varieties of Knockout Roses. While much of his garden is
dedicated to roses and his breeding program, he loves all types of plants.
His
2 acre garden is extensively landscaped with all types of interesting plants.
There are many interesting and unusual trees and shrubs, both deciduous and
evergreen. He primarily uses perennials, but he also grows many varieties of
annuals as well to fill in the garden.
In addition to unusual plants, the
garden includes ponds, waterfalls, sculpture, and an extensive stream that
meanders through the yard. The sloping garden uses stone to create terraces,
raised garden beds, waterfalls, and a very large outdoor fireplace and seating
area. There's even an outdoor shower.
This is truly a gardener's garden that you surely
will enjoy.
  
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Joy and Dave Collura Garden
Our garden began in 1990 with a raised bed butterfly garden on the sunny front
lawn, which broke the suburban bluegrass vista. The backyard had lots of
shade. This was fortunate because Hosta virus humanicus had infected Joy in the
early '90's. Genus Hosta kept jumping into her cart at garden centers from
Milwaukee to Washington, D.C. Dave did the hardscape and Joy placed the hosta,
ferns, primula and other companion plants.
Many of the specimen hosta have been
in place since 2003. Gardens are always a work in progress with new
introductions being added with a recent interest in mini hosta in troughs. The
sunny spot in the backyard features a pond with naturalized hardy plants. Dave
keeps trying to grow alpine plants and cacti in sometimes too warm/humid low
altitude conditions.
Come, sit
and enjoy the yard. Watch the birds and the fish. The yard's path is flat and
walker/wheelchair accessible.
  
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For more information, contact Tom Micheletti or Jack Barta, co-chairs of the convention.
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AHS Membership
The
American Hosta Society (AHS) is a society dedicated to the study and
improvement of the genus Hosta, and the dissemination of general and
scientific knowledge about them. There are many benefits for the
members that result from these efforts - both social and in nursery
trade. AHS members receive several publications a year including two
colorful issues of The Hosta Journal (mailed), four E-Newsletters
(emailed), The Online Journal (posted on the AHS website for AHS
members only). All of these publications offer articles on cultivation
tips, propagation techniques, landscape uses, new cultivars and old
species, pioneers and personalities, scientific advances, convention
awards and gardens, and news about the AHS. |
OTHER MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS:
*
An opportunity to attend national meetings and conventions which offer
educational and scientific presentations, garden tours, judge's
clinics, and a chance to see the latest and best hosta in the hosta
show.
* A Biennial AHS Membership Directory
* The priviledge of visiting display gardens throughout the country, many of which are only open to AHS members.
* An invitation to exhibit your favorite hostas and compete for
recognition in various AHS National and Regional hosta shows.
* Developing friendships with people who share an interest in growing hostas.
* Access to the "Member's Only" section of the AHS website.
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Photos courtesy of Terri Meyer,
Edgerton, Wisconsin
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