Review of Shady Oaks
January 1998
by Steven C. Chamberlain
105 Academy Street
Manlius, NY 13104
Steve_Chamberlain@isr.syr.edu
Shady Oaks Nursery
112-10th Avenue S.E.
Waseca, MN 56093-3122
Phone (800) 504-8006
FAX (888) 735-4531
http://www.shadyoaks.com
Catalog - $4
Owners: Gordon and Clayton Oslund, Members AHS
In the past I have purchased the following hostas from Shady Oaks:
I have received H. 'Blonde Elf' and H. 'Wheaton Blue' as bonus plants. Most of these are thriving in my garden. Several of them, however, are struggling, and I have lost one of them. This year I have ordered some hostas and some other perennials.
The Shady Oaks catalog has been evolving yearly. This year's catalog took my breath away. It is 83 pages of exquisitely designed, full color listings. The cover is H. 'Patriot' in Patsy Stygall's garden backed by Acer palmatum dissectum. I counted 164 identified photographs of hostas. All of the pictures are of the quality published in The HOSTA Journal! The rest of the catalog has illustrations of their other perennial offerings. There are 22 pages of alphabetical hosta listings, a page of new hosta introductions, a page of coming hosta attractions, and 2 pages of hosta garden design information. Altogether there are 229 hosta species and cultivars offered. These include three new introductions from Hans Hansen/Shady Oaks Nursery H. 'Pandora's Box' H. 'Millie's Memoirs' and H. 'Fire and Ice'. This last one is the reversed sport of H. 'Patriot' and appears to be a stunner! There are some other cultivars not commonly offered, including H. 'Aristocrat', H. 'August Beauty', H. 'Flame Stitch', H. 'Kifukurin Ko Mame', H. 'Lemon Delight', and H. 'Paintbrush'. Very complete information is given for each hosta. Even if you have no plans to buy any hostas by mail, buy this catalog. For $4 it is a bargain.
Prices are in flux. Although some of the most expensive cultivars have come down in price from last year to this year, e.g. H. 'Striptease' was reduced from $75 to $50, many of the more common cultivars have increased in price. Of those plants I have purchased in the past that are still available for 1998, 7 are now less than I paid for them, but 11 are more expensive. Perhaps this represents a true increase in the size and quality of the plants offered, but I worry that it may be a way of subsidizing the new, beautiful, expensive catalog. At any rate, I suspect that Shady Oaks will rarely have the lowest prices for a given cultivar in the 1998 Hosta Finder. Knowledgeable buyers looking for good prices will have to be careful when ordering from this catalog but good buys are possible. The most expensive hostas listed are their new introductions at $65. There are numerous good cultivars at $5, $5.50, and $6. Volume discounts are available on all hostas offered.
Hostas are shipped bareroot, either as dormant crowns packed in peat moss or as divisions with leaves. They sometimes have arrived a bit before it was possible to plant them outdoors here in Central New York. Three of the dormant crowns I received last year were difficult to get startedH. 'Purple Lady Finger', H. 'Purple Profusion', and H. 'Vilmorianiana'. H. 'Vilmorianiana' never emerged and I lost it. The other two emerged weakly and have now been relocated to my 'tender loving care' bed to encourage them. Other cultivars shipped as dormant crowns have emerged and grown just fine. Of more than 1,200 hostas in my garden, I have only lost three and they were all received from the supplier as dormant crowns. Whether this represents a problem on my part or a general reflection of reduced viability of such crowns, I'm not certain. All of the hostas I have received from Shady Oaks have been true to form so far as I can determine.
This supplier also offers a nice selection of other shade perennials including numerous Astilbe, Pulmonaria, and Tradescantia cultivars.
Main Page Hosta Mania!! The Orchid Window Water Gardens Garden Tour