Wendy’s World

pril is always such a busy month for CIHS! We

have so many activities being planned that it’s

hard to keep up. It means we have an active and

vibrant membership. We were fortunate to have several

new members attend our March meeting which is always

great news. We hope to reach more people every month so

we can help them enjoy their hostas.

Thanks to Bob Streitmatter and Ella Maxwell for a very

comprehensive program in March about shade garden

design with hosta and common ailments that love hostas as

much as we do. It was an enjoyable presentation!

So, what’s going on? If you missed last month’s meeting,

you still have time to order hostas offered for sale through

CIHS at our April meeting. Members can save up to $30 a

plant on select hostas compared to normal retail prices.

This is one of the great reasons to become a member.

Maggie Keesey will be on hand to answer any questions

about the sale and take your order. There will be two

opportunities to pick up your order. First pickup will be at

Luthy Botanical Garden on June 5th between 5:00-6:15 pm

and second pick up at the June member meeting on June

18th.

It was also announced last month that our Annual Bus Trip

will be traveling to Cantigny Park in Wheaton IL on

Saturday June 22. This established park has a newly added

American Hosta Society Display Garden. We will also be

stopping at two garden shops to look for more additions to

our home gardens. Please see more detailed information

inside this newsletter. Deb Schoedel and Debbie

McCollum are working hard to plan this year’s trip.

Reserve your seat early because signups will be opened to

the public in mid-May. You can sign up at our April

meeting.

We will have our annual potluck during the April 16th 6:30

pm meeting at Freedom Hall in Morton IL. The potluck

meeting is always lots of fun. This year it will be special

because we will be celebrating our 30th year as an

organization! It’s certainly an amazing milestone for us. We

hope to reminisce about past activities and members who have

been important to us. You can also look at a scrapbook of

photos taken during the 2018 Midwest Regional Hosta

Conference. Many photos were taken by our Historian Roger

Becker and they will be displayed nicely in the scrapbook.

Many members volunteered or attended the conference so I’m

sure they will see their picture now preserved for CIHS.

Please bring a side dish or dessert to share. Fried or baked

chicken and water will be provided. You don’t want to miss

this April meeting!

Just a reminder that April is when hosta begin to emerge in our

gardens. It also means we will be facing the annual war on

menaces that love them. At our March meeting Ella Maxwell

showed us examples of damage that can be caused by slugs,

cutworms, nematodes, diseases, rabbits, and deer which are all

common in Central Illinois. This month is the best time to

apply products to control nematodes. These products usually

are applied as pips begin to show and then twice more about 2

weeks apart. Be watchful of critters in your garden. As leaves

open you may want to apply either purchased deterrents to

make your hosta less tasty or add physical barriers such as

netting, fences or motion sensitive sprinklers. It’s so

disheartening to walk out to look at your garden in the morning

and find some plants literally eaten to ground level. I know -

it’s happened to me!

I also want to mention the new and improved American Hosta

Society’s online Hosta Treasury. It’s one the places I go to find

detailed information about a specific hosta and see photos.

This website used to be known as the AHS Hosta Registry, but

its name has been changed recently along with several search

capability improvements. The name is easy to remember. Go

ahead and check it out: www.HostaTreasury.org Hope to see

you at the April meeting!

Wendy Kamischke, CIHS President

A

Central Illinois Hosta Society April 2019

www.cihshostaclub.org Volume 25, issue 2

GREAT EXPECTATIONS

2

________________________________________________________________

Our Next Meeting

April 16, 2019

Potluck, 30-year Celebration Freedom Hall

349 W. Birchwood

Morton, IL

This is always a fun meeting, but this year we are celebrating the 30th anniversary

of the Central Illinois Hosta Society…so don't miss out. Founding members have

been invited to share insights into the history and field a few questions about the

organization. Bring a side dish or salad to share. CIHS will provide fried

chicken, baked chicken and birthday cake (dessert), along with paper goods,

utensils and water.

Directions: From interstate 155 take the Birchwood exit, turn east towards

Morton. The Birchwood exit is the first exit south of the I-74 and I-155 junction.

Morton Park will be off to your left and the building is at 349 W. Birchwood

Street.

________________________________________________________________

2019 CIHS Calendar If you are interested in opening your garden

for a meeting in 2019, please contact Jane Mottram

renaire@msn.com or any board member.

We’d love to see your garden.

April 16, 2019

Potluck, 30-year Celebration

Freedom Hall, Morton

May 21, 2019

Sue Dion/Pat Poertner (2 gardens)

139 Barrington Lane

East Peoria

June 12-15, 2019

AHS/MRHS Convention

Green Bay, WI

June 18, 2019

Paul Dale’s Garden

1262 Hickory Hills Road

Germantown Hills

June 22, 2019

Bus Trip

Cantigny & shopping

July 16, 2019

Janette Smith

248 Whispering Oaks

Groveland

August 20, 2019

Roger & Kathy Becker Garden

6328 S. Navajo Drive

Peoria

Sept. 17, 2019

Banquet

Johnny’s Italian Steakhouse

Speaker Bob Solberg

East Peoria

Officers President

Wendy Kamischke

cihshostaclub@gmail.com

Vice President

Jane Mottram

renaire@msn.com

Second Vice President

Kay Dye

kdye1@aol.com

Third Vice Presidents

Deb Schoedel, Deb

McCollum

parttime94@aol.com,

debmccollum@gmail.com

Recording Secretary

Fran Stroemer

cfstroemer@itv-3.com

Corresponding Secretary

Maggie Keesey

309.264.2253

magskeesey@gmail.com

Treasurer

Dan McConnell

309.360.4188

drdtm1976@gmail.com

To Join: Central Illinois Hosta Soc.

$10 or $15/year

form on back

Midwest Reg. Hosta Society

$20/2 years

Send dues to:

Barbara Schroeder,

Treasurer

1819 Coventry Drive

Champaign, IL 61822-5239

American Hosta Society

$30 individual, $80/3 years

$34 family, $90/3 years

Send dues to:

Sandie Markland

AHS Membership Secretary

Post Office Box 7539

Kill Devil Hills, NC 27948

3

____________________________________________

The budget, below, has been submitted for review by

Dan McConnell, CIHS Treasurer.

Income

Auction $0.00

Banquet $2,500.00

Bus Trip $2,200.00

Club Hostas $1,700.00

Dues $1,500.00

Hosta Publications $100.00

Hosta of the Month $500.00

Interest Income $35.00

Garden Walk $0.00

Newsletter Advertisement $280.00

Misc. Income (donations, grants) $12,800.00

Transfer from savings $1,000.00

Totals $22,615.00

Expenses

Auction $0.00

Accounting $325.00

Banquet $3,100.00

Bus Trip $2,200.00

Club Hostas $1,700.00

Donations $2,500.00

Hosta Publications $200.00

Hosta of the Month/Door prize $300.00

Hosta for Officers $300.00

Meetings $1,000.00

Insurance $625.00

Miscellaneous $250.00

Newsletter/Postage $1,500.00

Garden Walk $0.00

Totals $14,000.00

Investments

Savings Account 12189.16

Need to renew your membership? We offer access to

the electronic newsletter for $10/year OR a paper copy

mailed to you for $15/year.

If you have any questions regarding your membership,

please contact us. CIHS Membership Co-Chairs: Kaeli

McIntire (kmac1342@yahoo.com or 309.202.4728),

Debbie McCollum (debmccollum@gmail.com or

309.361.4284)

he snow is

melting, and

spring is on

the way. You’ve been

anxiously waiting for

the chance to walk through your gardens and dream

about the new plants you’ve ordered from your favorite

mail order websites. And you can’t wait to put your

gloves on and get your gardens cleaned up. Hold on.

Tip #1: Don’t remove that winter mulch until the last

frost is gone. Early arrivals, like Hosta montana

‘Aureomarginata’, may require additional protection

from that late season cold and wind. When all danger of

frost is gone, then go for it. Get your rake and

wheelbarrow.

Tip #2: Thoroughly clean your gardens. All debris

should be raked and added to the compost bin to

eliminate a breeding ground for slugs. Be careful not to

rake or step on the shoots that are just popping up to

avoid damaging the leaves which are about to unfold.

Tip #3: Look to see if the frost has heaved your plants

out of the ground, especially young hostas which were

planted last year. Are your plants in good shape? As the

ground freezes and thaws, freezes and thaws, and freezes

and thaws (get the idea?), those plants may need to be

tucked in on several occasions.

Tip #4: Make sure all plants, including new arrivals, are

accurately labeled and the tags are in good condition.

Continued on page 4

T

Membership

Memo 2019 CIHS Budget

Spring Hosta Tips

4

Can your friends easily read those plant labels? Or has

the name tag completely disappeared? Remember that

large hostas will cover up name tags that are too close to

the mound.

Tip #5: Spring is the best time to prune most trees, and

shrubs after flowering. Perhaps you have trees and shrubs

which need to be pruned. Those branches which are dead,

or make it too shady, should be cut off cleanly, chipped

up, and added to the compost bin or reserved for a

woodchip path.

Tip #6: Turn over your compost pile. That pile of leaves,

garden wastes and grass clippings from last fall should

be flipped over now. You may want to add a little sand.

The warm, rainy weather will turn all that debris into

black gold. Then when those hot summer days reach 70

or 80 degrees, apply that free mulch around the base of

your plants.

Tip #7: Take an inventory of your gardening supplies.

How is your supply of fertilizers, herbicides, and

pesticides? Take inventory of tools, gloves, hoses,

sprinklers, wheelbarrows, fencing, tomato cages, etc.

Shop and replace worn out items now so that you’re not

stuck in the middle of a job when summer arrives.

Tip #8: Spring is the best time to dig in your hosta bed.

Spring is a great time to divide and transplant your

hostas. Did you promise to give a hosta to a friend, or

donate a plant for the hosta auction? You can create

interest and educate others about gardening, and

eventually turn your neighborhood into a hostaholic

community. Review your garden records from last fall to

see which ones need your attention. How wonderful to

see those long awaited hostas shoot up, bigger and

stronger than the year before!

Tip #9: Don’t neglect to apply a slow-release fertilizer.

But don’t over-fertilize and keep those granules off the

crown and newly emerging of the plant. Above all, enjoy

the fresh spring breeze, the chirp of the robins, and the

signs of life as they appear, knowing that Old Man

Winter is giving way to a new season of gardening and

fun everywhere!

Written by Don Rawson; reprinted from the April issue

of the Michigan Hosta Happenings, newsletter of the

Michigan Hosta Society

did what my

mother had

done before

me. I taught

my daughters about vegetables by growing them in a

garden. It is something just short of a miracle to think

that you can put a snap pea seed in the ground, water or

not, and by June you can go to your garden and eat a snap

pea right off the plant. Children learn that vegetables

taste best when they have been planted by dirty fingers

and washed by a spring rain.

My trees kept getting taller and soon there was more

shade than sun. I was already on several mailing lists for

seed and perennial plants. There were plenty of plants to

choose from. Van Bourgondien had two hosta collections

for sale totaling nineteen plants. After convincing my

husband that a perennial garden would look better than

weeds and blackberry, Eric tilled the area with our tractor

that would be my first hosta garden. We had no horses at

that point, so I bought some compost and peat moss.

Imagine that I had to buy compost!! The plants arrived

as dried sprigs in plastic bags. I tried to put them in the

ground right side up and they grew!! I watered them

occasionally, but they seemed to like the soil that was

made richer each year with leaves and I mostly neglected

them.

The first nineteen were followed by five more the next

year and my husband had to bring the tractor up again to

till another area. Well, now I had them all – a blue one, a

green one, and a yellow one. I even had one with a white

edge!! The next year I saw some more hostas in a

catalogue, so I thought maybe a few more would

complete my garden. Just like any addiction I started out

slowly and rationally collecting a few hostas here and

there to add a little variety to my garden.

Ten years later I had 200 hostas and I told my husband

that I was joining the Western New York Hosta Society

because I heard they had a 12 Step program to help

persons with hosta addictions. Eric laughed and shook

his head. Soon I was surrounded by dealers and other

addicts, all justifying their addictions without any guilt

or remorse. I had found a family of people who

understood me. Each year I ordered more plants.

Continued on page 5

I

Why Hostas are like

Lays' Potato Chips

Chips

5

Now there was this thing called the “Internet” that

connected me to hosta dealers who would mail me the

latest and greatest hostas for only an insignificant charge

on my Discover Card.

Joining the WNY Hosta Society did not help me

eliminate my desire for more hostas. Instead they taught

me how to grow and divide hostas, design gardens, and

prevent hosta diseases. The one thing I have accepted

since becoming active in our local hosta group is that I

cannot possibly own all 5859 hostas that are currently

registered by the American Hosta Society or 7541 hostas

on the Hosta Library. After all, some of those hostas no

longer exist. But just like a Buffalo Bill’s fan, I have hope

that I can come close to that goal.

By Sue Sickels; reprinted from the Western New York

Hosta Society newsletter, Hosta la Vista, November

2018

They can be ordered at

the next meeting, but

quantities are limited…so

order yours soon! The

hosta are $15-20 each and

include: Gabriel’s Wing, Viking Ship, World Cup

(pictured above), Lemon Snap, Holar Purple Flash, Love

of My Life, Fairy Dust and Mouse Madness

Plants can be picked up at Luthy Botanical Garden on

Wednesday, June 5th, starting at 5 pm; or at the June 18th

Meeting (Paul Dale’s Garden).

______________________________________________

Garden

Calendar

Open Every day, 10-5

Located at the corner of

Gift & Prospect, north of

Peoria Zoo

April

Spring Floral/Lily show 3/22-4/21

May

Spring Plant Sale 5/3-5

Mother’s Day @ the Garden 5/12, tours @ 11, 1, 2, 3, 4

2019 American Hosta Society

Convention

undreds of garden enthusiasts from around the

country and the world are expected to attend the

51st annual American Hosta Society (AHS)

National Convention, being held June 12–15, 2019 at the

Radisson Hotel & Convention Center in Green Bay,

Wisconsin.

Founded in 1968, the AHS is a non-profit organization

that has grown from a handful of members in its early

days to about 3,000 active members today. As the

world’s leading association promoting the Hosta plant,

their purpose is to foster the development of the genus

and its public interest and, of course, share with others

the enjoyment that hosts and gardening in general offer.

Wisconsin Roots

The first AHS "convention" took place on July 7, 1968,

at a society member’s home in Swarthmore,

Pennsylvania. Since then, the event has grown to occupy

entire convention centers and is held at a different city

each year. Past host sites include Marlborough,

Indianapolis, St. Louis, Nashville, Washington D.C.,

Cleveland, Spokane, and many others. Last year’s 50th

anniversary event was held in Philadelphia, and the 2020

convention will be in Minneapolis.

“It’s appropriate that the event is coming to Wisconsin

this year,” says convention organizer, Tammy Borden.

“One of two AHS co-founders, Eunice Fischer, was from

Oshkosh and was an early pioneer in hybridizing the

genus. Her contributions were so significant that the

society has designated annual awards in her honor, the

Eunice Fisher Distinguished Merit Award.” Continued

page 6

H Solberg Order

6

This multi-day event is jam-packed with activity for all.

Attendees get a chance to tour several private and/or

public gardens; attend educational seminars; compete in

the Leaf Show; attend Hosta Judges Clinics; shop several

vendors featuring the latest and greatest hosta additions,

companion plants or garden-themed accessories; bid in

the auction for that unique "must have" hosta; and best

of all, meet up with old friends and make new ones.

In addition, the Society holds its annual business

meeting, the Board of Directors meets to establish policy,

and annual awards are presented.

The annual convention is hosted by a local society, who

plans and organizes all aspects of the convention with

guidance from the American Hosta Society Convention

Committee. The Green and Gold Hosta Society of

Northeastern, Wisconsin is proudly hosting the 2019

AHS Convention. Unique to this AHS convention is the

inclusion of the Midwest Hosta Society. The Midwest

Hosta Society will hold their annual members' meeting

and a silent auction at the 2019 AHS convention.

Each convention is a unique experience for all, defined

by the location and the heart of the planners. Plan on

attending another great convention where we celebrate

the uniqueness of the genus hosta and the 'friendships' it

grows.

Details

American Hosta Society National Convention, Radisson

Hotel & Convention Center, Green Bay, WI June 12–15,

2019 http://www.ahs2019event.org

- Registration form on page 7

- Ten private garden tours (see below)

- Hosta Show — Hundreds of leaf varieties and design

displays

- Seedling Competition — Vote for your favorite new

introduction

- Live hosta auction — Bid on mature and rare

varieties

- Awards presentation

- Lectures on Hosta and Gardening

- Large exhibit hall with vendor sales and raffle (Open

to the public)

- Green Bay Botanical Garden (https://gbbg.org/)

Outing with a Wisconsin Spanferkel Pig Roast

- And

much

more!

7

8

CIHS Membership Form (please print)

Name(s)_____________________________________________________

Address_______________________________ City__________________

State__ Zip_______ Phone__________ E-mail______________________

How did you find us?

Friend/Word of Mouth Website Newsletter Event/Presentation

Facebook Newspaper (which one)____________________________

Other________________________

Dues (circle one): $10/year for electronic newsletter or $15/year for paper

newsletter: New Renewal Amount enclosed__________________

Make check payable to CIHS and mail check/form to: Central Illinois

Hosta Society, P.O. Box 3098, Peoria, IL 61612-3098

Newsletter Deadline: 20th

of the preceding month

Submit items for

publication to: Bob

Streitmatter

309.264.4813

goldaandbob@hotmail.com

Central Illinois Hosta Society

P.O. Box 3098

Peoria, IL 61612-3098

First Class Postage

Check us out on

www.cihshostaclub.org

For information regarding dues or membership,

contact: Deb McCollum debmccollum@gmail.com

or Kaeli McIntire kmac1342@yahoo.com