I'm brand new here and I am panicing about all I'm reading. I've been inspecting and am seeing "bad stuff" everywhere-mostly imagined I hope. Here is a pic of Guacamole, it got lots of sun this summer. I bought it last fall from a local nursery. Help, do I dig it up and trash it fast? What about others close to it, not touching jjust close?
thanks,
Judy
The browning edges are probably just from a lot of sun or maybe you had some drought to go with it. I wouldn't trash it, especially if that's all that's wrong with it.
The main thing with growing hostas these days is to avoid digging and cutting into them unnecessarily. In the fall don't cut into green leaves, just wait for them to die back on their own and then clean them up when the leaves are all dead and mushy. If you cut into scapes be sure to wash your tools with disinfecting wipes or alcohol and paper towels between cuts to remove any plant sap from the previous cuts.
Also, avoid buying from places like walmart, lowes, home depot, etc. as they are notorious for selling diseased plants. When you buy by mail, don't be afraid to ask them what steps they take to make sure their plants don't have HVX. You can even ask the nursery if they still import plants from Holland. This is by far the greatest source of HVX infected plants. If they are importing from Holland do they quarantine and test the plants thoroughly before selling any?
When you buy plants in person, watch for any plants that look suspicious. Ask the nursery owner/workers if they know about Hosta Virus X.
By following this advice you should be in pretty good shape when it comes to HVX. It is mostly a human spread virus, so avoiding sap to sap contact is the most important thing.
I've been inspecting and am seeing "bad stuff" everywhere-mostly imagined I hope. Here is a pic of Guacamole, it got lots of sun this summer. I bought it last fall from a local nursery. Help, do I dig it up and trash it fast? What about others close to it, not touching jjust close?
