About Changes to the "Aden Plants"
   In March of 2012, Kevin P. Walek, the Registrar for the Genus Hosta announced that he is changing all hosta registrations made by Paul Aden to show that he is not necessarily considered the originator of those plants. Paul Aden is known to have acquired most of the plants he registered from others, but the registration forms of the time did not require that the originator be listed as they have since 1995. This has caused many to think that the plants involved were created by Aden himself when others deserve the credit for their creation.
   In his efforts to insure a correct historical record, the registrar will make the addition of the originator to those registrations where there is sufficient evidence to determine who they were. Some may eventually prove to be Aden's, but until the evidence is gathered the only certainty is that he was the registrant on those plants.
   Paul Aden was an important figure on the hosta scene for his introduction into the trade of many of the finest plants of the day, but is not thought to have actually created any of the plants he registered. Most of the prominent figures of the time have always known this, but it has not been common knowledge. The primary hybridizers who did create many of the "Aden plants" are Kevin Vaughn, Florence Shaw, and Chet Tompkins, with other plants coming from Japan, England, and other sources, including AHS founder and first president Alex Summers.
   A committee is working to determine who the originators were, so that the registrations can be supplemented with the most accurate historical information available.
   A second committee of AHS officials is also looking into the matter.
   Hostas listed in the Library follow the rule of having the originator's name first after the plant, along with the year it was registered with the International Cultivar Registration Authority. Plants not yet registered have the name followed by "NR" to stand for "not registered". Occasionally a second name follows to show that someone other than the originator named the plant. 
   When the registrations are changed to show the originators of the "Aden plants", the listings in the HostaLibrary will change to match. In many cases, Aden's name may still follow the originators' names to show that he had named or renamed the plant, and not as a co-originator.