Hallson Gardens

DSC_0776.JPG Hi Chris, Thanks for being here. Someone just told me you still maintained this site. I bought 3 common hosta (Francee, guacamole and NBC) from a local reputable nursery last spring to see if they would grow after losing most of my hosta to rhizoctonia root rot four years ago. Two of t...

Thanks, Chris. I don't think I've used any Osmokote for a couple of years. The plan this year was to use Miracle Grow Azalea food. I was going to see if it helped acidify the soil, given we have such alkaline water. I think I've had every disease known to hostadom and them some this year. Part of th...

I've read that it's becoming a problem is southeastern production nurseries. I'm not aware of any hosta I bought from SE nurseries. I understand it's the same fungi as damping off. Texas A&M called it "Rhizoctonia Root Rot (Rhizoctonia sp.) ". Cold doesn't kill it, as I understand It's a problem in ...

Chris, they are dying anyway. The choices are either toss them all or try to save them. The fungicides slow it down for a couple of weeks, but it starts again. It just keeps spreading. This is a last ditch effort. I'm moving the bleached ones to the front yard, away from the infected ones. I've been...

I don't think that would work, as the "stuck stuff" is up in the root ball, closer to the crown, not on the edges.

Wonder if a power washer would help or harm?

bk

This has been the year from hell with diseases at my house. I've lost at least 40 hosta, and may still lose more. I had planned to bare root, do a bleach soak and re-pot in new potting medium all my surviving hosta in the spring. However, we still haven't had a freeze and they are still going going ...

Those are conflicting statements. At the end of the season, they either migrate back into the soil and crown (including dormant buds) or they stay where they are and fall to the ground with the dead leaves. As far as I know, Grewal is still doing the research for the AHS (the last published article ...

Great find! Congrats.

bkay

Yes. I think I had both. I was almost sure it was fusarium root and crown rot when I sent the sample. I was shocked to get the answer of root knot nematodes. I even sent some photos to Bob Solberg to ask him if it looked like root knot nems. He said yes. Then, Bill Meyer said here that it looked lik...

Regarding Bill Meyer's comment: I just made sense of this. I had bleach treated the hosta that I sent to A&M about a month before I sent the sample. It did not dawn on me that it was not a good one to use as a specimen, as it was still dying. I had already killed the fungi. Therefore, the only thing...

Is Pizzazz one of those picky hosta? I had one a couple of years ago that grew beautifully the year I acquired it at a local big box store. I thought I had found a real star for Texas in a pot. It just didn't come back, though. Someone said at the time that it regularly commits suicide. Is that anyo...

Thanks, Ann. My problem is root knot nematodes, not foliar nematodes. Bill Meyer said it was some kind of root rot that was the real problem. He said that they might have nems, but rot was the real problem. (I actually think he was right.) I double checked with A&M, they found no evidence of fungi. ...

I can't tell because I can't see right at the base of the stem. If it has orange balls, it's Southern blight. Not sure on white powder. Some folks have had luck with using hydrogen peroxide on Southern Blight. Here's a link to a good brochure. You can download it for free or purchase it through the ...

Is there a place for a bird to roost for the night above the trough?

bk

Thanks, Tigger, I already tried that. He did not respond to my email.

bk

TX A&M charges $35.00 per test. It's a diagnostic test, not just nematodes. They tested for HVX and fungus. They also informed me that my plant had chlorosis.

Sounds like NC has a good deal.

Thanks

bk

I need some way to figure out when the plants get clean. If I'm going to all the trouble and expense to try to save my hosta, I'd like to know when they are healthy again. They are still dropping like flies. An Irish Luck that looked fine 2 months ago is almost dead. My beautiful Paul's Glory looks ...

What power (is that the right term?) of microscope would you need to see nematodes? (I understand I will have to dissect the root carefully.)

There are bunches of them on craig's list (from $50 to $600), but I have no idea what would be required.

bkay

How about heat treating like you would foliar nems? ( I have big sinks in my workshop.)

(The 10% bleach solution didn't make much, if any, difference. I tried that when I thought it was rot.)

bk

I checked with the nematode lab at University of Missouri. They don't think freezing will work.

I just emailed Dr. Grewal to see if he has any ideas.

The further I go, the more it looks like I may have to toss everything.

Bummer.

bk