Today a newer hosta gardener stopped by and asked me to ID some of her plants - one looked like Brim Cup, maybe Wide Brim, and it had a few small wart-like bumps on it, but with no color change. I mentioned that it looked like Hosta Virus X, and sure enough, using one of the AGDIA test strips it gave a very rapid positive test (lit up that positive test line so dark and fast it would make your head spin).
This strange bumping/distortion can be very hard to see because it is subtle, with no other color changes going on, but I'm seeing it more and more. Three times this year I've had people bring me leaves for identification where there has been a virus infected leaf in among the batch of leaves. Last year it happened twice, and they weren't even bringing them to me to ask about the virus - just help with an ID.
This makes me think that the virus is getting worse and worse, with more unsuspecting gardens having infected plants. Basically be on the lookout for strange, unusual and uneven bumping and distortion as it could be virus. I'm not talking about corrugation which is perfectly normal, but strange wart-like bumps. I wish I had a picture of it, but my camera batteries were dead at the time
Chris
