Before You Visit - Please Read

Home Grown Hosta business is different from others. I need your cooperation please. From owner and hostas expert Tom Carlson.

Note, I try very hard so that you can have a safe, fun, inspiring and informative visit and get more over-all value than you might get from other vendors.

Please read the following before your visit. 

Please send us your email address so that I can email you:

·       Our changing sales dates and times.

·       Weather changes that cause sale time changes or cancelations.

·       New price and availability lists.

·       Seasonal hosta tips.

·       My “Hosta Care” document.  It includes tips from what I have learned from 58 years of gardening, owning HostasDirect Inc. for 15 years, doing lots of reading and experimenting. There are also landscaping and equipment tips.  My goal is to save you time, money, frustration and help you maximize your gardening enjoyment and property value

You must select your time slot to visit.

·       Especially for the first few sales, this is for your benefit and mine.  This signup on the Home Page will keep parking and the number of visitors more manageable, limit waiting, improve service, improve safety, reduce stress etc.  As the season progresses, I will let you know via email if you do not need to use the time slots.

Please respect our opening and closing hours.

·       Some days our team has other things going on after sales. 

·       Most sale days I work past dark putting dug hostas back in to the soil and watering.

Cash only at this time.

·       Cash speeds up checkout A LOT. 

·       Cash creates one less technology problem for me.  

·       Some customers change their orders or I can’t fill their order.  Cash makes adjusting much easier. 

·       Credit card processing fees add up for me. 

·       There is a cash machine on the corner of Larpenteur and Snelling at the gas station or others around.  Type in your phone - cash machines near me. 

·       We check larger bills for counterfeits with a pen (like most retailers do). 

Feel free to preorder or leave your paper orders with your CLEARLY WRITTEN contact information so I can dig them later.  With the future website, we are moving towards preordering next year or later this year.

·       I will contact you via email or phone for pickup.   We might also have an online time slot selection system for pickup – similar to the visiting time slots. 

Legal:  By entering my property at 19 Mid Oaks Road, Roseville, MN: 

·       You acknowledge there are inherent risks:  including but not limited to slips, trips, falls or other accidents from hazards including: uneven or slippery surfaces, shifting stones or gravel, plant roots & tools used.  

·       You agree: To voluntarily assume all risks and to hold the business and homeowner harmless from any injury, loss, damages or other harm sustained while on the property.  

·       You also agree to: Wear supportive shoes, keep your kids safe and off the boulders and decks and to be careful getting in and out of your vehicle on on Roselawn Avenue. 

When are you open?  I send emails as to when we will be open.  Being open depends upon a wide variety of factors including:

·       My schedule – I do have other responsibilities:  Although this is a part time business, I do spend many hours weeding, hand watering, fertilizing, planting, raking, hauling, landscaping, preparing for sales, managing data and photos, emails, websites and more.  I have expenses including plants, water, equipment, fertilizer, herbicide, websites, email systems, insurance, plant license etc.  There is a saying amongst plant retailers.  “Plants are a fun hobby – keep it that way!”  Owning a plant business is very hard work, seasonal and full of risks often of your control. 

·       Safety first:  wet conditions and lightning can be dangerous.  We DO cancel or shorten sale hours if the weather looks threatening so please check your emails. 

·       Safety first:  we can only accommodate so many people at a time due to space and parking limitations.  Thus, in particular early in the season, you need to reserve your spot on our website AND please cancel it if your plans change.

Our location: 

·       Please be considerate of my neighbors – and do not drive through the neighborhood.  This hosta business is in my home’s gardens at: 

·       19 Mid Oaks Road, Roseville, MN  55113 and in a neighborhood.  

·       My home is located 1 mile north of the MN State Fair, 2 blocks west of the intersection of Snelling and Roselawn Ave. on the NW corner of Mid Oaks Road and Roselawn Ave.  It overlooks the U of MN experimental land.  Parking on Roselawn Avenue is limited to the north side of the road only.

PLEASE enter under the pergola:

·       On the north side of Roselawn Ave. across from the U of MN experimental land.

PLEASE be careful getting in and out of your cars on Roselawn Avenue

·       There is traffic. It is only possible to park on the north side of Roselawn Ave.

Spring opening dates: 

·       Some years hostas are delayed due to lack of heat, sun, water etc.  In MN a hosta's true colors come out the 2nd through 4th week of June.  If you are purchasing hostas in May or early June, you may want to refer to the pictures on the website to see whath they will look like later in the season.

The weather: 

·       Rain makes it difficult to dig.  After a rain the water needs time to drain from the soil.  My hostas are grown in the ground and divided and dug fresh.  They are not grown in pots.

Your schedules:  

·       I greatly appreciate your friendships and business and know your schedules vary.  For customers in town from a long distance, I might be able to accommodate you – please email me.

My garden’s look: 

·       Peak colors for hostas in MN are about the 3rd week of June.  Some hostas are not showing their final colors or textures in May, or they might not be as large.  Due to their genetics, some varieties are slow to come up and grow.  The latest to emerge are H. ‘On Stage’ and H, ‘Hollywood Lights’.

We are moving towards fewer sales that are mostly in June and preordering via online before I open. 

·       I suggest you start a favorites list for next year.

I can suddenly stop selling some hosta varieties when their quantity runs low so that I have more for future years.  Very sorry and hope you understand.  

Some hostas are not for sale as they need to grow another year or more.  The rule of thumb with perennials is "the first year they sleep, the second year they creep, the third year they leap."

My personality is such that it is difficult for me to say “no.”  Unfortunately, at times I have to set some limitations. 

·       My efficiency:  If I dig even small quantities I often have to go shower, change and wash clothes, which disrupts and limits the rest of my day and work.  So, I prefer to keep sale hours. 

·       Selling plants that are not ready yet or that I need for future years.  Depending upon the hosta’s genetics, some hosta varieties need several years before it makes economic sense to start dividing and selling them. 

·       My health.  I am 70, have two fake hips, had one back surgery and had a bad accident in 2022.  I have to be careful with my own slip and falls – and yours. 

·       My endurance – recovery:  Digging plants can be exhausting for me.  Somedays, in particular when it is hot and humid, I take TWO naps the next day and I am still tired the second day after.

How our plants are priced - hostas that cost more:

• Slow growers:  due to their genetics, they do not set many buds for next year’s divisions.  They are slow multipliers.
• Maturity:  hostas can take 3 to 5 years to mature.
• New to the market:  cost more for obvious reasons.
• Take a lot of space in my gardens:  obviously I can’t grow other varieties in that same space.  There is an “opportunity cost.”
• Do not divide easily:   Due to their genetics, some hosta roots go straight down and are easier to divide.  Others converge more like a V.  When I cut into the V shaped roots the entire root system can fall apart.
• I want to keep the hostas myself:  keep in mind I am a hosta "junkie" too.   I love my gardens and plants – they are not easy for me to part with. 

Hostas in the market place are NOT priced based upon their size.

·       Mini hostas can be more expensive than larger varieties.  In addition, mini hostas can freeze out more easily due to their shallow root systems.  Thus,  there is more of what retailers’ call “shrink” or loss. 

No dogs please:

·       I like dogs and have owned cats for years.  The problem is dogs can poop and pee ruining my hostas (and creating other problems) and their leashes can trip people, pull out plant signs, etc. 

No bathroom access:

·       Sorry, but I can’t have people going in and out of my house as there are safety and other issues, etc.  There are fast food and gas stations nearby. 

Kids are welcome:  

·       But PLEASE keep an eye on them for their safety and so they do not damage the gardens. 

People with disabilities or health problems:        

·       Please have someone escort and hold you.

·       If anyone has a medical emergency, please call 911 and have someone get me ASAP.

Please stay on the paths as much as possible.  Getting off the paths can:

·       Create safety hazards

·       Compact the soil

·       Damage the hostas

·       There are hoses and connectors in the gardens – be careful. 

The paths can have uneven borders of Chilton stone.  

·       Those stone are not flush with the gravel and thus have an uneven surface in some places.  PLEASE watch your step.

I can’t guarantee hostas you purchase from me.

·       Climate change is making the weather more unpredictable.  Plants and animals like predictability.  

·       After your hostas leave here I have no control over how they are cared for. 

·       Hostas are very easy plants to grow if you just follow some basic guidelines. I provide a lot of information that should help you grow our hostas well.   

Please bring your own bags, boxes, pots, etc.

·       It is best for the environment to reduce, reuse and recycle. 

·       It keeps my costs and storage space needs down. 

·       You have more control over how you get your plants home. 

·       Bring a tarp or something to cover the inside of your vehicle or trunk. 

HAND WRITE CLEARLY.

·       When you sign up for e-newsletters. 

·       When you leave your contact information on order forms.  

I love to chit chat, help with your gardens, etc.  

• Unfortunately, if it is busy there are times I need to keep moving as people are waiting.  Please forgive me – it is not you – it is that there are people waiting. 

Why does Tom do the digging?   (Note, that might change in the future).  

·       I have 280+ hostas located around the gardens.  It takes time to learn and a good memory to know where they are all located. 

·       I am fussy about what is sold, how they are divided, dug and put back in the soil. 

·       I do enjoy it – even though it is exhausting.  It keeps me more fit. 

·       It helps me keep an eye on the nuances of the various varieties. Even after 58 years of gardening I learn something almost every day.

Suggestions:  there are LOTS more valuable tips in my Hosta Care document

·       Keep track of your plant’s name.  Make a spreadsheet or something to keep track of all of your plant purchases.  The biggest regret gardeners have is forgetting their plant’s names.  

·       Label your plants:  Just FYI, I will be starting my former IDeal Garden Marker  business in the future. Stay tuned. 

·       Create a future purchase list:   There are so many great hostas it helps to keep track of those you want in the future.  Most people want ALL of them so keep a prioritized list.  You can take pictures of plants in my gardens next to their plant labels if you like.  I am working on a website, too. 

·       Don’t over fertilize:  It can kill your plants.   And, fertilizer can ruin your skin and concerete!

·       Don’t fertilize your hostas after July 31st.  Your hostas need to slow down before winter. 

·       Don’t put a $20 hosta in a $.05 hole:   Take time to study how to plant. 

·       Water:  Hostas like 1” of water per week.  Remember, there can be an “umbrella effect” where rain water or hand watering does not get down into the roots.  I hand water. 

·       Stay ahead of the weeds:  Don’t let weeds go to seed.  Weed every few days.  There is a new herbicide called www.spruceit.com but it does not kill the roots.

·       Stay ahead of the rabbits, slugs and deer. There is information in my “How To” document. 

·       Make sure your hostas are getting some sun!   They do not grow well in total shade.  Hostas prefer early morning, later afternoon or filtered sun. 

·       Planting too close to some tree varieties can stunt the hosta's growth: as the tree roots choke out hostas and compete for water and nutrients.