Greenscape Gardens Green Blog

HOSTA GROWERS

This is the story of two hosta pioneers, two hard working women who shared an intense passion for breeding hostas that every home gardener could grow successfully. Though they were born in different parts of the country, both were raised in farming environments and learned their trade the old fashioned way--through hands on experience. Neither was out to become rich and famous; they just needed to sell enough plants to support what stared out as a hobby and became their life long passion. The fame was just a bonus.
Pauline BanyaiAt first glance, you might not recognize her as one of the greatest women in the history of hostas, her bare feet permanently soiled by the rich black, organic soil that she built up in her garden one amendment at a time. She loved to garden barefoot. She said it helped her maintain a unique personal connection to her plants that simply could not be gained while wearing rubber soled boots. In her garden, brimming with seemingly every hosta ever invented, she knew each and every one by name and could tell you their stories from memory. This knowledge, combined with her uncanny ability to spot new sports among a sea of hundreds, made Pauline Banyai one of the most prominent hosta breeders in the country.
Literally born and raised in the greenhouse business, Pauline learned how to grow hostas from her father who was a contract grower for the original Wayside Gardens in Mentor, Ohio. She didn't just have green thumbs, she was green to the core! Though she dabbled in breeding several kinds of plants, in the 1950s she decided that all the new houses being built in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan would someday need shade plants in their landscape. So she started breeding and registering new hostas, 40 in all over her lifetime.
Arguably the best of all her hosta introductions was Hosta 'Gold Standard' which she registered 30 years ago in 1976. Named inadvertently by Paul Aden and Eldred Minks when they saw the plant and exclaimed that it would be the "gold standard" by which others would be judged, Pauline discovered the sport in a batch of Hosta 'Fortunei Hyacinthina'. In her ongoing mission to provide hostas at a reasonable cost so everyone could afford them, she sold a batch of 1,500 originator stock plants to Walters Gardens, Inc. so they could be mass produced for all to enjoy. Pauline had previously been a loyal customer of Walters and knew she could trust them with her prized plants. Honoring her mission, Walters continues to offer #1 Grade bare root Hosta 'Gold Standard' today for just a penny more than it cost 20 years ago, selling more than 1 million plants since its introduction.
Pauline's legacy lives on for hosta enthusiasts everywhere through the many organizations she developed throughout her lifetime. To name a few, she was a charter member in the founding of the American Hosta Society in 1968, founded the Michigan Hosta Society in the early 1980s, and co-founded the American Hosta Growers Group in 1988 which later developed the "Hosta of the Year" ranking. She was a friend and mentor to many of today's hosta greats including Stuart Asch of the FOoSF hosta breeders group among countless others. She died doing what she loved most at the age of 72 in 1992 and her loss was deeply felt by all who knew her.

Mary Chastain

No serious hosta gardener in the United States or Europe would be caught without them. They are, of course, Lakeside Hostas hailing from Lakeside Acres in eastern Tennessee, owned and operated by Mary Chastain and her husband Roy. Together, their work represents some of the most advanced hosta breeding in the world. Mary will tell you that, much like people, each Lakeside Hosta has its own unique personality, each one distinct from the next.
Though Mary spent most of her working years as an elementary school teacher, growing plants has always been an integral part of her life. Growing up on a farm, she always found time to collect and study wildflowers in between her usual chores of chopping the cotton or corn and driving in the dairy cows. Roy and Mary met at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville where Roy was majoring in agriculture. Together, they became involved in the world of hostas in the 1980s after Mary visited her first hosta garden while on a regional daylily convention tour. She claims the inspiration she received then has stayed with her and continues to flame her passion for breeding hostas today.
Right from the very start, Mary and Roy quickly learned that many of their favorite hostas grew beautifully in the north but performed miserably in their own Tennessee garden. Not easily discouraged, this led them to their life's mission of developing quality hostas that perform well in the heat and clay soil of the south. They define "quality" as having four key components: the ability to thrive in most conditions, an average or greater rate of natural increase, foliage with good substance, and a personality that sets it apart from all others in their class. Lakeside Hostas must possess all four traits before they are registered as new hybrids; each generation is expected to be better than what came before it. Most take 10 to 15 years to develop from birth to sale.
Like Pauline Banyai's Hosta 'Gold Standard', Mary's first introduction, Hosta 'Lakeside Symphony', was a huge success when it was registered in 1988. Though it arose literally by accident when she overfertilized some Hosta 'Piedmont Gold', it turned out to be a lovely sport with a soft green edge. Since that time, Mary has registered 125 Lakeside Hostas. Walters Gardens, Inc. is proud to currently offer seven of Mary and Roy's Lakeside Hostas: 'Lakeside April Snow', 'Lakeside Dragonfly', 'Lakeside Elfin Fire', 'Lakeside Looking Glass', 'Lakeside Love Affaire', 'Lakeside Shore Master', and 'Lakeside Zinger'. True to Mary and Roy Chastain's mission, each selection offers a unique set of physical characteristics, though all share the heat tolerance that is so critical for southern gardeners. Be sure to keep an eye out for future Lakeside Hosta introductions on their website, www.gardensights.com/lakeside/.