West Virginia University will join forces with the American Hosta Society to presentHostas, Hot and Getting Hotter!The educational program, scheduled for Saturday, April 2, will focus on the increasingly popular landscape plant.

Hostas are easy-to-grow, shade tolerant, herbaceous perennials. The plants are grown mainly for their beautiful foliage, and hosta leaves come in a wide range of shapes, colors, sizes and textures. Hostas are native to Japan, Korea and China. They were first imported and grown in Europe in the late 1700s. By the mid-1800s hostas were growing in the United States. Today, there are hundreds of species and thousands of cultivars available to the home gardener as a result of hybridizing and tissue culture propagation.

This will be an excellent opportunity of all those interested in learning more about hostas, particularly gardeners, horticulture students, nursery professionals and landscapers,said Todd West, assistant professor of horticulture at the WVU Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry and Consumer Sciences.Attendees will have an opportunity to buy unique hostas and also purchase other hosta information at discount rates.

Sessions run from 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon and 1 to 4 p.m., and will feature presentations by Bob Solberg, owner of a nursery specializing in hostas and other shade plants, current Hosta Society President Kevin Walek and cultivar specialist C.H. Falstad, who has introduced many new hosta varietals. The program will be held at the National Research Center for Coal and Energy on WVU s Evansdale Campus. Cost for the days events (including lunch) is $35.

For additional information or for reservations, contact West at 304-293-6023 or via e-mail at Todd.West@mail.wvu.edu . For more information on the American Hosta Society and the plants themselves, visithttp://www.hosta.org.