Focus — The Pros at Home
ILCA Visits Industry Members at Home
When it comes to horticultural pursuits, Hans Hansen has no problem
Editor’s Note: This series features the private landscapes of green industry professionals—landscape contractors, plant breeders, nursery owners, public garden staff and educators. After all, who wouldn’t like a little perk at what peers are doing around their own homes? Nina A. Koziol
If you’ve used Fire and Ice or Stained Glasshosta, Blueberry Sundae baptisia, Berry Awesome hibiscus, or Monarda Sugar Buzz Rockin’ Raspberry in your projects you can thank plant breeder Hans Hansen. That’s just for starters. He’s created a multitude of cultivars with agastache,
buddleia, clematis, digiplexis, helleborus, heuchera, heucherella, hibiscus, hosta, lagerstroemia, mangave, nepeta, salvia, sedum and veronica. Soft spoken, tall and lanky with an ever-present baseball cap, Hansen has worked with hostas since 1993. He introduced his first two hostas—Pandora’s Box and Fire and Ice—in 1997 while working as director of research and development at the former Shady Oaks Nursery in Minnesota. He moved to Zeeland, Michigan, in 2009 where he became the Director of New Plants for Walters Gardens and manages their perennial plant breeding program. The 450 or so plants he bred or selected are found in garden centers across the country and overseas, many sold as part of the Proven Win-ners brand.
A true plant collector and breeder, Hansen’s garden changes with the seasons.
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The Landscape Contractor January 2022
