Hi guys, been having compuer problems
just got back online this morning
Does anyone know if Wal-Mart in the U.S. has acknowledged that virus HXV is a problem ?
I have been at two W.M. here and every hosta they have shows severe virus X symptoms
I talked to their plant managers, both said they will leave the plants on the shelf untill someone with a degree in plant pathology tells them something is wrong
I would love to send them a link showing the US stores are aware of the problem.
these hostas are comming from Pan American Nursery Products Inc.
Imagine that, WalMart not caring about anything whatsoever. I use to work there, and they would throw away thousands of plants, shrubs, trees and perennials rather than water them or care for them. That was a very crappy response from them.
So glad you are back have missed your pictures very much. Have you tried turning them in to your county extension office,or the equivilant for your area? I have been complaining about the Wal-Marts in my area having virised hostas and also selling what looks like maybe So Sweet as Thunderbolt. Wal-mart told me the where not responsible for errors made by their supplier. Hopefully the county extension office will see it differently. I will try my best to remain a squeaky wheel until they give me some type of answer.
Maybe a class action law suit ....all hosta collectors in the world..vs..Pan American Nursery Products Inc./Walmart/and any one else who knowingly sells infected plants
Mr. Leafy
Glad you're back- "we was worried!"
Thanks for the info on your particular Walmart's supplier- I checked online and Pan American Nursery Products, Inc is located in Ontario, Canada.
Last summer I visited local WalMart and they had tons of plants just laying over and wilting from lack of water. I walked inside and told the girl at the register they were all dying if they didn't get watered soon and she just looked at me and said they were OK as someone watered them the previous weekend. In that hot sun they need watered daily. They don't seem to care. If I was a manager of their nursery i sure wouldn't want to have to write off all those plants, but they just don't care. I don't buy there anymore as get nicer things much cheaper at couple local greenhouses.
I haven't checked any Walmarts lately, but there's a Home Despot here in Homewood that I shop in fairly regularly. About 2 weeks ago on a Sunday, I was there on a cold day and happened to check out what perennials they had in. They had some hostas (don't remember the variety- too many other things to think about!) that were clearly virused with HVX. I went inside to look for a garden worker, but found a lady in the paint department instead. It turns out she was actually quite familiar with gardens and even hostas (yes!!) and went out to look at the plants with me. She agreed that they were virused and said she's tell the manager on Monday when the manager was in. Today I went back and I checked the hostas they had and all looked clean and clear. As far as I can tell, they really took my findings to heart and disposed of the diseased stock. Makes me feel better about the money I spend there- but not on the hostas which are typically just the usual suspects.
Sorry, I could help get you a divorce (if you lived in OK), but a class action is beyond my expertise. Besides I think that our newest legislation has done away with class actions lately anyway. I believe that Homer does intellectual property like copyright and trademarks (if memory serves me).
I noticed that my Lowes took away all of the obviously diseased hosta, but...............now all of the (new) tags just say "hosta", but don't have any names-although they were all named just a few weeks before. Go figure.
Leafy, our garden center is still not opened here at Walmart, but I have been keeping an eye out and when I see any funny looking hostas I'm going to be talking to the manager.
I'm also bringing my Hosta Handbook with me too in case the manager can only read pictures.... *G*
Why not go directly to the source. I emailed the distributor @ panam2@panamnursery.com. Here's a copy of the email I sent them. They'll probably ignore it but maybe not. If they get enough emails maybe they'll take action.
My Email:
It has been noted on a hosta collector's forum that your company has been distributing diseased hostas which are infected with the Hosta Virus X. The affected plants were seen at 2 Walmart stores in Ontario. Please act responsibly in accordance with your company's Mission Statement and remove these diseased plants from the market place.
Mission Statement
"We are committed to a customer relationship built on integrity and dependability. This relationship is the foundation of our goal in attaining mutual success."
a few weeks ago, my mother (mamaw2) and I went to wal-mart here in missouri...and some of their hostas had HVX, so we pulled a couple and went and got an employee and told her...she then in turn called the store manager nad we explained everything to him...he gathered up 3 or 4 employees and told them to pull all the hostas that looked virused...they did not pull all the hostas, but they had pulled a good majority of them when I went back the next day...so I guess it just depends on the wal-mart you complain to...
Ahh I finally talked the walmart here into pulling the pallet of virused plants. Took a 20 minute talk with 2 managers, but they did call over 4 other employees to start confining the pallet.. I also explained that just because some of the plants on the pallet aren't showing symptons doesn't mean that there not infected and I requested that they pull the whole pallet.. Just to make sure they pulled all, I took a ride out there today and noticed the plant were confined in a fenced corner with a padlock on the door.. I'm just glad to see they were pulled..
I've also contacted our local newspaper and asked if they be interested in writing a article to WARN all the gardeners in our town. Hopefully I get a call Monday that says they'll be very interested. I highly recommended that all of you get into contact with your local newpaper and try to do the same..
It makes me sick ...someone bringing home a hosta as a mothers day gift and unknowingly, rewarding Mom with a plant that could destroy her whole collection ..so Wal-Mart can make a few more bucks
When you make your next hosta purchase, ask the retailer if they can reconize virus X...if no, off you go
That's a good suggestion , LM. I have several local nurseries that I frequent and I think the next time I'm in there I'll ask them if they are aware of HVX. My niece is managing a small local nursery (a Mom and Pop type affair) and I took my Hosta Journal to her so she could read the article and see the pics about HVX. She was very appreciative and wanted to learn as much as she could about it. She assured me she'd be very careful about sanitizing their tools and watching for symptoms in the shipments they get in. I told her , though, that she may not see visible signs, but the virus could still be present. At least now she will be able to answer people's questions if they ask her about HVS. My son will be working there again this summer , so I have talked to him about it also.
I think Jamie is on to something with his idea of contacting the media. I wonder though if it could be possible to get the 'big guys', to do something nationally? Sometimes the networks will pick up on stories done in local markets.
Imho the serious hosta gardener/collector etc. is more likely than not to be in the know regarding HVX, where the casual gardener might well be clueless. Also since money drives big business if they get hurt financially I should think they would take this issue much more seriously. If the word got out nationally I imagine most folks would go elsewhere for their plants.
I don't shop the box stores so I don't know what the ones in our area are carrying. I'm curious enough though to check them out and see if they're carrying any infected plants .
I did a fair amnt of hosta hunting this weekend.... and at all but 2 nurserys i found HVX. One nursery had a bad batch of Honeybells.... almost every single nursery carrying Honeybells has virus'd plants... but i brought it to the attn of the plant buyer and she gave me some crap like she didn't believe me.... it was pouring rain so she said she'd look into it later as she didn't want me to have to go out there with her to look at the plants.... well she had to get some work done and i decided i wanted to do some more shopping.... I was walking past her and her hosta, in the rain, and she was on the phone with her vendor and things escallated as it appeared the vendor denied any issue and she was yellin' and telling them what was wrong with the plants and they kept denying anything was wrong... I eventually walked past didn't here the outcome but it was interesting.
I visited my local Home Depot yesterday,and checked out their Hosta.Many of the Hosta were infected with Hosta virus X.I waited almost one hour to talk to a MOA ( manager on duty) he listened to my litany,but was not much help,said he did not have the authority to remove the plants etc.However he did give me the phone number of Home Depot Customer Care, and suggested I call them.(a good way to get rid of me) I called the number,talked to a young lady who let me talk for about ten minutes,asked no questions,made no comments about what HD would do about the issue,thanked me for calling,and said have a nice day
This is the phone number I called...800-553-3199
Perhaps more calls would help.
Rocco.
"No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth,and no culture comparable as that of the garden" (Thomas Jefferson) 1811
Rocco
.... And punch #5!
Thanks for the info and yes, I did call. They will contact my local Home Depot manager but will anything be done.....???
Everybody call, please! Bring attention to this.
Brenda B
Sorry, I could help get you a divorce (if you lived in OK), but a class action is beyond my expertise. Besides I think that our newest legislation has done away with class actions lately anyway. 
