By the Numbers - 60 to 79 Cultivar Introductions by Originator

No.	Originator/Registrant	Cultivars	State/Country	- - - - - - - - - - - - - About the Originator - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1	Fransen, Joyce	79	Netherlands	Owner, with her husband Marco, of the Fransen Hosta Nursery. Creator of the "Paradise" series of cultivars.
2	Smith, Eric	77	England	Noted for creating the Tardiana Group of hostas, Eric (1917-1986) was awarded an Honorary Lifetime Membership in the AHS in 1982. He introduced several hosta series including "Dorset", "Hadspen", "Gold Leaf" and "Sherborne". Four of his hosta introductions have been included in The American Hosta Society Popularity Polls out of only 151 plants that have appeared at least once in the polls.
3	Asch, Stuart	75	Michigan	Retired teacher who was introduced to hostas by hosta pioneer Pauline Banyai in the early 1980s.
4	Beilstein, Mardy	75	Ohio	Wife of Doug Beilstein and co-registrant of many hostas.
5	Mirka, Vladimir	72	Czech Republic	He is originator of the "Bohemia" series of hostas.
6	Kuk, Bob	71	Ohio	Owner of Kuk's Forest Nursery, Bob (1947-2012) was awarded the Eunice Fishcer Distinguished Hybridizer Merit Award in 2011.
7	Tompkins, Chet	71	Oregon	As owner of Morningside Nurseries in Sioux City, IA and Fleur De Lis Gardens in Oregon, Chet (1912-2001) hybridized hostas and iris. His mother, Cynthia, was an early pioneer in hostas. He introduced the "Lakeport" series.
8	Minks, Eldren	69	Minnesota	Eldrin (1924-2003), owner of Fairway Enterprises in Minnesota, was the second president of The American Hosta Society (1978-1982). He was awarded the Alex J. Summers Distinguished Merit Award in 1989.
9	Meyer, Bill	67	New Jersey	Bill Meyer, originally from New Jersey, now lives in Connecticut. He and Carol Brashear were the originators of the First Look competition for new hosta cultivars.
10	Schulz, Ed	67	Iowa	Originator of the "Ohh!" series of hostas.
11	Sligh, Barry	67	New Zealand	Barry (1947-2019) was instrumental in introducing hostas to New Zealand at his Taunton Gardens nursery. He introduced the "Kiwi" series.
12	Gilligan, Madelon	66	New Zealand	Madelon Gilligan (1933-2021) was the owner of Keel Gardens in Kaiapoi, New Zealand from 1971 to 2003.
13	Ziarek, Ken	66	Wisconsin	Ken is a member of the South East Wisconsin Hosta Society and is noted for collecting rare hostas and originator's stock (OS) plants
14	Savory, Robert	65	Minnesota	Owner of Savory Gardens nursery, Bob (1917-1997) was awarded the Alex J. Summers Distinguished Merit Award in 1994 and Eunice Fishcer Distinguished Hybridizer Merit Award in 1990. Six of his hosta introductions have been included in The American Hosta Society Popularity Polls out of only 151 plants that have appeared at least once in the polls.
15	Anderson, Jim	63	Georgia	Dr James (Jim) Anderson is a retired Professor of Crop Science and Botany and was owner of Winterbury Farms Nursery in Georg. The nursery specialized in tissue culture propagation until it closed in 2007.One of the 28 Hosta of the Year winners through 2023 has been from this originator.
16	Balitewicz, Bob	63	Indiana	Bob Balitewicz (1936-2014) known as "Indiana Bob" was introduced to the hobby by fellow Hoosier, Bill Brincka.
17	Freeman, Franc	61	Iowa	Franc is in the Quad-City Sports Hall of Fame for his success as head wrestling coach at Bettendorf High School (Iowa) from the 1960s into the 1980s. He introduced the "Coach" series of hostas.
18	Vaughn, Kevin	61	Massachusetts Mississippi	As a teenager, Dr Vaughn was friends with hosta pioneers Florence Shaw and Mildred Seaver in Massachusetts. He was awarded the Alex J. Summers Distinguished Merit Award in 1999 and Eunice Fishcer Distinguished Hybridizer Merit Award in 2012. Three of his hosta introductions have been included in The American Hosta Society Popularity Polls out of only 151 plants that have appeared at least once in the polls. Two of the 28 Hosta of the Year winners through 2023 have been from this originator.