Review of Miller Nurseries
January 1998
by Steven C. Chamberlain
105 Academy Street
Manlius, NY 13104
Steve_Chamberlain@isr.syr.edu
J. E. Miller Nurseries, Inc.
5060 West Lake Road
Canandaigua, NY 14424
1-800-836-9630
This review is mostly for the fun of it to fill in during the dearth of new catalog arrivals that always characterizes the time between Christmas and New Years. Please note that this is not Miller's Manor Gardens in Ossian, Indiana nor Miller's Perennial Nursery in Morrow, Ohio. Both of these two are major mail order suppliers of hostas and will be reviewed later upon the arrivals of their 1998 catalogs.
In the past, I have bought absolutely nothing from Miller Nurseries; however, several gardener friends nearby who grow fruit trees and grapes for the table highly recommend them, hence my writing for a catalog just to see what they sell. I have just ordered 18 Liatris spicata, which are available in either purple or white for $1.14/plant, for spring planting.
This is a major supplier of trees, shrubs, and vines for backyard fruit and nut growers. They offer, for example, a complete line of virus-free raspberry cultivars and an enormous line of apples including my very favorite, Mutsu (Yellow Delicious x Indo). Since the Finger Lakes area of upstate New York grows commercial quantities of apples, this makes much sense. They sell three hostas which are described in the next paragraph.
The 1998 Catalog has 60 full-color pages. The hostas appear on page 43. On the left, H. 'Undulata Univittata' or perhaps H. 'Middle Ridge' is pictured with a helpful inset showing how to plant them along your sidewalk. The hosta, however, is listed as 'White Beauty Hosta'. In the middle is a picture of H. 'Fortunei Aureomarginata', I think, which is listed as 'Gold 'n Green Hosta'. On the right is a picture of H. sieboldiana 'Elegans', which is listed as 'Elegante' Hosta'. So much for commercial nomenclature.
The hostas are all the same price: $5.45 for single plants; $4.75 each for 2 to 4 plants, and $4.35 each for 5 or more plants. Depending upon whether the plants are small tissue-cultured plants or adult divisions, these prices may be quite reasonable, especially if you need a large quantity for a mass planting. Miller Nurseries accepts all major credit cards and doesn't charge the order until it is shipped. Hostas are shipped in the spring between March 15 and May 31 "at proper planting time for your area".
I can hardly wait to see what my Liatris look like when they arrive next Spring.
The inclusion of hostas in this catalog, along with a few Meidiland roses, a few David Austin English roses, 3 cultivars of double peonies, 5 lilac cultivars, and 7 clematis species and cultivars strongly suggests that hostas have indeed arrived on the gardening scene. Apparently the nomenclature brochure was 'lost in the mail'.
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