i will yell

IT IS A HARDWARE STORE ....

crimminey ... lol

ken

It's an HVX store.

Both of the hostas I've bought from Lowes had HVX

What's the Latin phrase?

CAVEAT EMPTOR?

Caveat emptor, , is Latin for "Let the buyer beware".

And that is quoted from the online dictionary.

You know, I asked the most knowledgeable worker in the garden department at my Lowes the other day who was stocking the orchids and such, had she noticed who it was in our area buying the hosta. This year they have in large stocks of hosta, really nice sized plants, many standard varieties but no monsters. She said she was so busy putting things out she had not noticed who was taking them out of the store.

Then I asked if she knew who might supply hosta to them, and she had no idea. That's when I told her I wondered because the hosta HVX was so destructive and could be stopped by not selling diseased plants. "Huh," she said,
and kept stocking.

So, it occurs to me, my local newspaper gardening editor is a really good one. I might just give him a call and ask him if it is a news-worthy story he'd look into. Raising public awareness is a good thing, right? Corporations will do what they find sells and no more than that. Public beware.

I always worry because I bought about half of my hosta before I found this sight, and had ever heard the those three scary letters HVX

Leafwatcher,

You may be just fine. Don't be throwing stuff out just because you are worried. Keep a close eye on those plants that came from questionable sources. If it improves your peace of mine buy some test strips and go to it.

Steve

Interesting discussion about HVX and thanks for the heads up!! It seems they affect Gold Standard and other popular types according to this site.

http://www.hostalibrary.org/firstlook/HVX.htm

Here's a gold standard bought by the root two years ago. I wondered why it flopped. I also wondered why the Caladiums began to decline shortly after this pic was taken. I suppose I should eradicate the whole area...someway.

The previous picture was taken in mid August 2011. This one taken of the same plant this morning. Trying to find those Caladiums that didn't do well, but I may have it confused with how they fade with cooler temperatures.

Closeup

Here is a link that might be useful: Sept 2010 Thread About HVX

Oh, Wow. That hosta doesn't look good.

I don't know about where you are, but caladiums are one season plants here. If you don't pull them up and pack them away for the winter, they freeze and die. I believe they are tropical.

bkay

Oooh, Gamountains, that photo looks just as bad as one of my Junes. (I bought all my hostas before I knew about HVX) Caladiums are hardy to zone 10.
Christine

I might have had HVX on a hosta from Walmart, but not from Lowe's or Home Depot. But I have nematodes on two hostas I bought at a good local nursery, and saw that also at another good local nursery. Nematodes only showed up 2 years after purchase. I read that foliar nematodes reside also in the ground, so throwing out an infected hosta does not help.
Bernd

Before I started reading about HVX, I was ignorant about where to purchase hosta as I had never heard of HVX. I have a number of Lowes and Home Depot hostas. I'm doing an inspection today of everybody. I thought in my readings here that if it doesn't occur within 3 years, you are out of the woods. Now, after reading the HVX threads, I'm not so sure.

gamountains, yes that June is infected with HVX. HVX is specific to hosta and has not been transmitted to other plant species. So the Caladiums are not infected.

HVX transfers via sap to sap - in other words, the most likely way to transmit is by tools cutting flower scapes, leaves or digging and dividing a hosta and then cutting another hosta with the infected tools. Cleaning your tools is important before reusing on another hosta - dirt and sap must be completely removed. Link below on cleaning tools - I would read the complete thread as it is over many years.

You will want to remove the infected hosta and not replant a hosta in that spot - residual of the HVX in sap can remain in the ground for an as yet undetermined length of time. Since you have hosta immediately next to this June and could share a root zone, I would wait till later in fall after both Hosta have finished flowering - latest research indicates that it is harder to transmit HVX at that point in the growing cycle.

Research on HVX is ongoing, so anything I stated is best as we know at this moment.

Paul

Here is a link that might be useful: HVX - Cleaning tools - Chris at Hallsons

I feel I must say something about buying hostas from Lowes,and other big box stores. The only HVX plant I ever had came from those bagged hostas you get from those,and other places. I have some very nice plants that I got from Lowes and still have the 2 Whirlwinds I bought from K-Mart many years ago. (They are still in my garden,and look fine). My thing is,educate yourself about what HVX looks like,and avoid those plants. Yeah,I know,Lowes and other big box stores don't know,or care about HVX,but that's their problem! I still buy from Lowes,and we have some good local nurseries here in my area,that I go to,and get good plants. I'll get off my soapbox now! Phil

Thanks Paul, but one comment I don't understand about sharing a root zone with another Hosta. The closest to the affected one is 30 inches away. Surely Hosta roots don't move laterally but mostly downwards? The rest of the stuff I have seen elsewhere but thanks for the reminders.

The problem with buying hosta that look fine at Lowes or other big box stores is that they can still be infected with HVX and look fine for a couple of years in your yard before the plant shows any symptoms. Then it is too late. Just because something looks ok now doesn't mean that it is.

I was in the garden center at Lowes today and glanced at their hosta to see what they were selling. I just rolled my eyes and kept right on going. I have spent thousands of dollars on hosta and I won't risk them over a cheap hosta from any chain store. I wouldn't take their hosta if they were free. They don't care what garden they infect but I do.

gamountains, someone who more knowledgeable than me can correct me - the roots grow out to where the moisture is...so more moisture in top 6in of soil and not as compacted as 18 inches down. As far as 30" apart, do you suppose each of these plant's roots could have grown to 15" or more length after 2 years - I would assume they could. I get some bare root that are likely longer than that. So better to be cautious, I would dig under infected plant in the fall on the side away from the other hostas and pry out with a garden fork. Also, toss in trash, not into the compost pile.

Paul

Phil,

That's what I call "living in a tree." Sooner or later you're gonna fall out.

Steve

Steve,and others;some of my hostas from Lowes are 9 years old,and still don't have HVX! How long do you think it will take to show up? I have my opinions,and from now on,I will keep them to myself! I didn't just drop off a turnip truck,you know! Phil

Two years ago, I saw some hostas at a Home Depot store which I thought were infected with HVX. I brought my concern to the sales clerk, who simply shrugged her shoulders and told me that the garden department plants were supplied and managed by an independant contractor.

Buyer beware!

Known - Big box stores selling hvx hostas is widespread.

Known - HVX is not always apparent/visible. It may take years to be visible.

Known - Hosta are a seasonal product and expecting Big Box store employees to recognize infected hostas and do something about them is laughable - it ain't gonna happen.

Indeed - Buyer Beware. To quote from WarGames, "A strange game. The only winning move is not to play."

Many people have bought a hosta or two from a big box store and it has never shown HVX.....wonderful/happy for them...but, it doesn't change the above points.

There are many good suppliers of clean healthy hosta....find them, buy from them and appreciate them...I wish there were more. We need to support them.

Paul

The Manager at the big box store, watching what sells in his area, selects plants from a limited list of suppliers with whom someone else way above him has a major contract. They go for the lower price. It costs $$ to check tc batches for virus. It is a crap shoot at best. Not worth it for me, even tho I grow them in pots. I like to use the same clipper between plants, w/o dis-infecting between cuts. (Removing yucky leaves or flower stems).

There are probably the majority of plants being sold at the big box stores that don't have HVX, but it only takes ONE to infect your whole garden eventually.

-Babka

Mark writes: "Lowe's, Home Depot and other big box operators are supplied by a variety of regional growers, none of whom would stay in business long if they knowingly supplied diseased plants."

Boy is this wrong. How do you think HVX got spread about in the first place? It's a disease that is spread by mechanical means. Those huge mechanical plant cutters that are used by growers spread disease easily. In a presentation to the NEHS, Carol Brashear mentioned that the Dutch growers are allowed to import Hostas to the US with a 5% rate of diseased plants. So where do you think those cheap plants end up with the 5% diseased plants?

You may have enough space to provide a quarantine area, but many people do not. And most people who are buying Hostas at Lowes know nothing about HVX. They just want to buy something that looks good and is on sale. The next time I'm at a Big Box store, I'll ask the Garden Center manager about HVX and if they buy tested stock. My guess is that he won't know what HVX is.

For you to recommend to people to buy Hostas at Big Box stores that have "quickly moved into TC production on a large scale" is unconscionable. It is the responsibility of those who know about this virus to help consumers buy healthy vigorous plants. To do anything less puts all gardens at risk.

Steve

So I stopped by Lowes on the way home from picking up some shrubs at a very reputable nursery today. I joined the Mass Horticultural Society and they gave me a $25 GC as part of that membership. I checked out the Hosta while I was at the nurser and they were all in good shape, but there was nothing I didn't already have.

Anyway at Lowes I looked over the Hosta. They looked pretty good even though they had mostly common varieties also. I saw Frances Williams, Elegans, Blue Angel Guacamole and Fragrant Bouquet. Then I saw this Midwest Magic:
{{gwi:966837}}

Actually it looks more to me like Impatiens Necrotic Spot Virus (INSV) than HVX. Still it's virused. I asked the Garden Center Manager if they tested for HVX. He had no idea. I asked who his supplier was. He didn't know. He just knew they were from "somewhere down south, maybe North Carolina." It's a good thing Phil knows enough not to buy a nasty plant like this one.

Quad Erat Demonstratum (That which was to have been proved, has been proven.)

Steve

I wouldn't! Phil

Steve - That they even had this plant out for sale tells the whole story.

Paul

"That they even had this plant out for sale tells the whole story." Yes it does. Thanks for the photos, it will help newbies see why we are raising red flags with the big box stores.

-Babka

Don't complain too hard about Big Box, that person made probably just minimum wage and was not trained in it. Plant hygiene not necessarily is too good in good nurseries either, I saw. Not everyone knows and works accordingly all the time. Bernd