El Nino - frost or HVX???

[roadrunner1904]

Hello!

My El Nino looks a bit strange this year. I know that El Ninos are on the HVX list.
I bought it last year but unfortunately not from a good hosta breeder like fransen, van den top,...

I tried to take some pics but I don't know if they are good enough...

What's your opinion on it? Virus or "just" frost?

Many thanx for the help!!!

[Chris_W]

Hello, and welcome to the forums.

From that angle I think it looks like virus. The distortion/damaged looking parts run parallel to the veins and it is on the old and newer leaves. Frost tends to only affect the older ones, and is usually confined to the tips or edges.

If you look at the back of the leaves and see air bubbles from the back layer being frosted then it might be frost, but I would find that very doubtful as the margin is so crisp looking and clean looking, but that would be more prone to frost than the blue portion.

Sorry, but I think that one has HVX

Chris

[R. Rock]

Hello,
I agree. It becomes harder to tell with plants that have more substance, such as the one you posted. I think this is a prime example of signs for a plant w/ substance. Maybe it should be put some place as a reference for all others looking.
Sorry.

[roadrunner1904]

Thanks a lot for the quick answers!
Unfortunately, I had the same impression...

The plant is already in a pot ad away from the others.
Maybe we shouldn't throw it away immediately but watch it and, well, enjoy it as long as it doesn't look too bad optically...
On the other hand I'm afraid that the virus is spread to the others by animals/insects...

What do you think?

Anyway, I'm going to buy a new El Nino. It's such a beauty and MUST HAVE! Only this time I'll get it from a proper breeder like Fransen, van den Top, which should be as save as it can be, right? I hope???

Greetings from Germany!
Ilona

[Chris_W]

Hi,

Yes, the more I look at these pictures the more I am convinced this is HVX. It really is best to get rid of them right away and not take chances. Although we aren't sure how easily HVX spreads by animals it is definitely possible, so why take a chance.

Hopefully you can find a new one that is virus free. It is definitely worth growing

Chris

[jagd]

Can You get Agdia test kits or similar in Germany? If you have the plant in a pot and can keep it away from all your other hostas, wouldn't that be worth a try? I unknowingly brought home the virus several years ago and probably spread it by cutting scapes, but then my dog dug in the hosta bed, and I think he helped it along too. The information I originally got was that HVX could only be transferred by sap from an infected plant to a healthy plant, has that info changed? Viel Gluck im Garten

[kontyx]

Hello Jagd, You can order Agdia product from the European distributor Biofords. Here is the contact information:

E-mail: info@biofords.com
Web: http://www.biofords.com

I hope that helps!

[plantswoman]

Hallo roadrunner,
ich wurde von Volker Eschenbach von der Hostagärtnerei Planwerk auf dies Forum aufmerksam gemacht. Ich bin dabei, einen Artikel über HVX für eine Schweizer Fachzeitschrift zu verfassen. Ich wollte fragen, ob ich dafür die 2 El Nino-Fotos (Detailaufnahmen der Blätter) verwenden könnte, in einer hohen Auflösung, da sie gut "collapsed tissue" zeigen. Wenn ja, welchen Namen sollte ich für die Foto-Urheberschaft nennen? Ich wollte den Artikel auch an die Hosta-Sektion der deutschen Staudenfreunde geben und sehen, wo der Info-Artikel noch gut zur Information und Aufklärung platziert werden kann. Bisher gibt es wenig Artikel zu diesem Thema, von Blogs abgesehen.

---
zu meiner Person: Landschaftsarchitektin und Gärtnerin, nach Ausbildungszeit und Arbeit (auch TU Berlin als Assistentin für 3 J) in Berlin seit 2007 in Basel. Aus Interesse und Neugierde schreibe ich selten Artikel, wenn sich ein Thema anbietet. Bei HVX bin ich wegen meiner eigenen winzige Hosta-Sammlung über HVX gestolpert und habe aus Neugierde mit Recherche angefangen.

Über eine kurze Antwort würde ich mich sehr freuen, viele Grüsse, Ute Rieper