How long before you replant?

[loisf]

After an infected plant is removed from the soil, how long should a person wait before replanting a hosta in the same spot. I've heard everything from one month to one year. Is there some more current information? Last time, I left the hole for one month and then did some rearranging and planted around the old spot rather that exactly in it. This time, I have no alternative. A big hosta has to go back into the vacated spot. It's an aesthetic thing. Thanks.

[Chris_W]

Hi Lois,

The new information is that you should never plant a hosta back in the same spot. Dr. Lockhart finished up his 18 month study on HVX and he had infected hostas growing in the soil and after removing the plants he checked for virus particles left over in the planting hole and found that even after 18 months he could still find active virus in that location which could potentially infect another hosta planted there. He has no idea how long it really is because they halted the study after 18 months.

If you really are going to risk it, you would want to remove all of the old plant, all of its roots, and then remove the soil from around it. If you have a lot of other plants there that is a scary proposition as each time you could risk cutting into the neighboring plants. You might want to consider a hardscape feature like a birdbath, gazing globe, or a large stone.

Sorry for the bad news

Chris

[steg]

Could you plant it in a buried pot for a couple years?

[Kas]

OMG! I am sure I planted another hosta in the same one my El Nino was in. Dang! I thought one year was enough. That just totally blows!

Kas

[Noreaster]

Hi Lois,

he checked for virus particles left over in the planting hole and found that even after 18 months he could still find active virus in that location which could potentially infect another hosta planted there. Chris

Chris, does that mean there were remaining bits of roots present, or that the virus was somehow present in the soil itself? I thought the virus needed to be hosted in living plant tissue to survive? If it's remaining roots he found, I'm not surprised. I posted in another thread here that a few infected hosta that I had disposed of in a corner of my yard still showed signs of life after two years, when I went to clean out that corner.

[Chris_W]

I don't know the specifics about what was actually in the soil, but it very well could have been root pieces or root hairs that was still in there. I totally agree with you that it seems like hosta roots take absolutely forever to die off.

[Noreaster]

This is just me, but if I ever have HVX show up again in my garden, I'd feel ok removing what soil I could from the hole, then planting a new hosta in one of those Agroliner bags or something. Or some kind of container that would drain but prevent roots possibly co-mingling with the remnants of any HVX ones. Even so, the roots have to be cut to transmit the virus from one plant to another, don't they? Otherwise I would assume that if you had any fairly close neighbors to an HVX hosta, they would pass the virus on to those just by sharing the same soil, which doesn't seem to be the case. (unless there is new info on that). I take what steps I can to prevent the spread of any lurking HVX in my garden, but it's much too small to leave big spots blank should I lose another one to HVX. So I'm willing to take that chance. I did replace my infected Halcyon with Brunnera and don't plan on putting another hosta there, but that's only because I like how the Brunnera ended up looking.

[loisf]

Thanks, Chris and others. That's not very good news for those of us with limited space. I may try removing as much soil as possible - if it ever stops raining, that is - and waiting next year to replant. I had left the hole unfilled hoping to dry out any remaining roots, but the rain just keeps coming. And I suppose I could always find a non-hosta plant for the spot as was suggested.

Is Dr. Lockhart or anyone else working on a "cure" for HVX? Thanks again. Lois

[thy]

That's bad news and changing rather fast

2 or 3 years ago it was.. No problem with planting a new hosta in the hole or ...wait a few weeks

Then it was one summer... a year

and now it is years or never again

Just hate to have misinformed someones with my speaches

Pia