It definitely looks like nematode damage. Sorry to hear. I know you love your babies.

Here is a link that might be useful: Nematode damage pics on HL

This makes me just sick.
Well, cut my losses and do what has to be done. Drats, I so wanted to see them bloom.

I was just noticing the other day how much my young one stands out despite it just being plain green. I got mine by mistake, it was supposed to have been Elegans. Everyone on here knew what it was as soon as it bloomed.

I think I can squeeze just one more hosta in there. A real tiny one.
{{gwi:1013945}}

Frank, if you put in Chartreuse Wiggles, it will be the punk rocker of the crowd. All spiky hair dyed yellow-green. Or maybe Curly Fries? Little but eye catching.

Your plantaginea looks so good. But then, all of your hosta look beautiful.

Where did you get that Plantaginea, Moccasin? Tissue Culture is supposed to kill all the nems.

Steve

wow in MAY ... that really tells me a lot about your zone

ken

What a bummer.
Well, I got the two plantaginea from Seawright, Steve. Last September. They overwintered in the pots from the nursery. Then I potted them together as they began emerging. A new pot, new nursery soil, but I did not bare root them.

I have the Lakeside Kaleidoscope which was sitting at the base of the plantaginea pedestal, and it is looking suspiciously nematodish too, but not as bad. It came from Seawright as well. The other plants acquired from there are looking fine.

I do not know anything about tracking down the source of the foliar nematode problem, but I feel certain it was from the garden here. Where these plants overwintered they were covered in leaves, got rained on repeatedly, and it was not a really cold winter. Whether that factors in I cannot say, but it wasn't the sort of winter hosta expect to have.

Steve, why do you think the plantaginea would be tissue cultured? Is that the way most of them enter the nursery trade, and are grown out only? I guess there might have been a fancy tag on the nursery pots (6" I think), but to be honest right now, I cannot remember a thing. I am so really distressed by this. I need to meditate a while and gather myself for strength required to deal with this problem.

Thank goodness my DH is busy getting the shade frame ready for the cloth covering the Back Forty hosta corral. Then I can haul in the bark and compost load which was dumped on our drive over a week ago. I'm creating a mound and totally raised area where I can presently stage the pots in the sides and top of the mound. A bit later on, I should have the area civilized enough to think about planting some big guys directly into the (raised) soil and bark. Because my next load of stuff will be only pine bark. It has multiple uses, and looks really good. Lot of pine bark here in the south. Once they move to their new location, I can spread them apart more, and keep any water from splashing on other plants. I was guilty of washing falling blossoms off the leaves--bad idea I realize, should have used a round sable brush, long handled maybe. Monet would have done that, I bet.

Ken, based on the presence of foliar nematodes this early in the year, what exactly does that tell you about my zone? A lot more than the temperature and zone number does? I'd appreciate your insight, because the measures I must take seem to require a decisive draconian approach.

I need to eat breakfast. Not a happy camper today. :/
But.....I shall prevail, one way or another.

Moccassin,

We don't usually see Nems up north until late July or August. May is absolutely unheard of here. That tells us you are months ahead.

Most plants sold today are Tissue Cultures. At Hallson for example, that's all he sells. Some places will sell plants from field grown divisions. It's possible those nems came from other plants. Brunnera has a lot of it. They will spread by overhead watering and by rain. Any plant downhill of those Plantaginea who would have had water splashed on from them could also have nems. Watch em.

Steve

Steve

I believe that we don't hear as much as we should about foliar nematodes just because they don't show until late in the season.

In a discussion with Chris on the Hallson list last year, we decided they are virtually inevitable and we are going to have to live with them. They are rampant in the gardens and affect far more plants than hostas.

The first year I saw any signs of them at all, I destroyed the plants affected. But last year I had MANY. It's not feasible to destroy my entire hosta garden; so I'm gonna enjoy them early in the season and concentrate on clean-up - cutting any affected leaves as soon as possible and cutting and cleaning the entire garden in the autumn.

Ann

Nematodes will continue in the soil even after plants are thrown out. Here in the North in August it goes downhill with hostas, nems are only part of it. The middle /end of July (will do it soon now too) I spray leaves with systemic Bayer Advanced Complete Insect Killer which has Merit in it. That will stop them. I noticed its effect on nems last year.

Nems can pop up suddenly, like two years nothing, and there they are on a plant, so you can not really point to where they come from.
Bernd

bump for Bkay

Do you have to kill the plant if they have this?

No, there are a couple of treatments.

One is a hot water bath, where you take a certain temp water and soak the bare-rooted plant for a certain amount of time. Then you pour boiling water into the dirt where the plant was. It sets the plant back significantly, but usually doesn't kill it.

Another treatment is the bleach soak. Here you have to bare-root the hosta and break down the hosta into single eyed plants and soak in a bleach solution.

If you have the problem, start a new thread and someone will help you with finding the detailed directions you need to treat your hosta.

bkay