First impression is a resemblance to advanced Tomato Ringspot Virus. I am checking further so I'll be back, for what my laymans knowledge might be worth. (LOL)

Les

Terminalis uglyitis. Always fatal.
Jan

Jan, are you ken in disguise?

Les

Les - I can only wish. I will NEVER know as much about 'all things plant' as he does!!
Jan

looks like frost damage.. maybe some freeze

plus a hail storm ..

throw in some slugs.. and other munchers down deep int he pic ...

and too much water ...

cold temps ...

why dont you just pull out the ugly ones.. and find out if it progresses to new leaves...

frankly.. to my eye.. those were the FIRST LEAVES OUT.. and suffered all kinds of hell ... probably throw in that bizarre heat wave in march in z5 ...

i dont understand how you jump to disease/pathogen .. when this has been one of the hardest springs i have ever seen on hosta ...

ken

ps: probably stepped on it too ...

pps: do you know the answer .. or was this a pop quiz????

Don't know the answer. Yet. I'll know in a couple of weeks and post it. I'd be very happy if this was an abiotic problem, and you might be right Ken. Except for the fact that the growth of this Hosta was better earlier in the Spring than it was later in the Spring. I wonder if it was a fert problem.

Steve

If this was a pop quiz,I bit on it like a baby bluegill.

Les

I tend to think that you may have had a heat wave and/or wind when this hosta wasn't properly hydrated. Caused it to go dry and crispy and has left it vulnerable to a fungus of some sort.

I'd get rid of the crappy leaves and wait for a new flush, as Ken suggested.

If the brown spots tend to spread, it could be hosta anthracnose. If it doesn't spread, it is probably just wind/sunburn.

My Guacamole's aren't looking all that hot this year either. This spring weather really did a number on them. The new flush of leaves are looking pretty good though. Hopefully it was just the freaky weather this year for yours as well.

Ding, Ding, Ding. and HostaLes wins! The verdict was Tomato Ringspot Virus. For your prize I'll gladly send you a pail full of soil complete with the Dagger Nematodes that are the vector for this virus.

It doesn't spread by sap like HVX but rather is spread by by a nasty nematode (not foliar nematodes) called the Dagger Nematode. Get this, Dandelions are a favorite host of this virus. I haven't been able to find any plants that might not be infected by this virus, so right now I have a big empty hole in the ground.

I don't know what to put there and I'm not sure what to do. Most nematicides are extremely poisonous and not available to home gardeners. I'm thinking about removing as much soil as I can, then doing a soil drench of 25% ammonia and water, then filling the hole with mulch and leaving it until the fall. Anyone know anything about TomRSV?

Steve

I wish I didn't "win" Steve: I am sorry for your loss. It sure is nasty.

Last year was the last one for my tomato and pepper gardenin its past location. The walnut tree is way overgrowing it and "toms" and "peps" don't like juglone. Neither do dandelions! Maybe it is Godsent because probably my best hosta garden in developing under the walnut.

I've been looking forward to being able to expand my Theresa's Angel Garden outward.You can see the relationship between the two in my posted photo in "Favorite Shade Gardens".

I'll see what I can stir up in the way of info on the Dagger nematode and TomRSV. I recently have contacted the Univ. of IL lab regarding various virus types.

Les

Yikes! Another evil thing to look for....

Sorry for the diagnosis. Maybe boiling water and or bleach in the hole and plant something else?

Alexa

Could it be that there was frost or hail damage first, and then those nematodes and virus came along and infected the damaged spots on the leaves?

Good grief! I was admiring HostaLes' Angel Garden, noticing the green chair and water hose, with a row of tomato plants off to the 9 oclock position, and I did not realize our tomato growing days might be limited here too. Too bad. I just discovered the Cherokee purple heirloom which is a tasty devil, and I have a bounteous harvest this year already.

Plus, I better do some more checking of the nematodes and maybe dandelion plants. I've ordered that strange weed extractor, because of so many dandelions in parts of the lawn. And now I have the potato digger (HH recommended it for dealing with roots)on order, my arsenal of tools should be complete soon.

I did a 20% bleach soak for the roots of my foliar nematode plants, cutting off previous leaves, and now the three plants affected by them are sprouting back out. It is surprising how strong the desire to live is, nature can endure such harsh chemical treatments.

I know the combo of ammonia and bleach makes a phosgene gas, but if you pour it in and run like blazes, would it be more potent than either chemical alone? Or, if you build a fire in the hole, with charcoal, could that sterilize the soil perhaps? The only way I got rid of the big stump of an ancient azalea was to heap charcoal around the main stump and let the fire smolder for as long as it could.

Oh, the plant is long gone. I just want to figure out what I can put in that hole that won't also get ToRSV. Or figure out how long I have to wait or what I have to do to make that spot safe for Hostas once more.

Steve

I had to chuckle over "pour it in the hole and run like blazes". Been there and done that - with DY-NO-MITE! But we ran faster than "blazes"; more like faster than "whuuumps".

It may not eliminate the ToRSV, but it sure as heck will eliminate the hole! LOL

Then all that needs to be done is bring in truckloads of organic mix soil to fill the BIG hole and you could have a whole new Hosta garden.

Les

Steve, I just found this thread and I wonder what the accuracy is of the test for ToRSV on my Elvis Lives. I definitely think the spots on my leaves look like the newer leaf at the 2 o'clock position in your second picture. Maybe it's just earlier in the infection with my plant?

Lavendar, you are tenacious when you are on a quest! Thanks for digging this thread up again.

You really have some interesting ring spots going on, visible on the back side has a bullseye....

I looked that up, "bullseye" and discovered that anthracnose creates a bullseye on some vegetables.

And I'm also wondering about the pecan tree bagworms which are numerous this year up in the pecan trees....and that would also include any hickory type nut trees I think. Do you have any nut trees around your garden?

Don't understand all the diseases but I toss it into the mix if nothing else seems to fit.

Anthracnose is a fungus. It's easy to treat, although you have to do it repeatedly and prophylactically. I have it on a Blue Angel and on a Guacamole. It generally leaves a dead spot or a brown spot, though. At least that's how it shows up at my house.

The reason I still have the disease is that I have not treated as A&M said to. At least that's what I think.

That tomato ringspot stuff is a virus and it spreads. I might consider trashing the hosta. At least, I would dig it up, if it's in the ground, and isolate it from the other hosta. If it's in a pot, I would move it waaaay away from my other hosta until you decide what to do.

Someone posted something in the last few days about the NC plant disease and insect lab, but they do not test for viruses. Send it to Texas A&M. The testing costs $35.00. They sent me a bill. I don't think you have to be in Texas to use it. It's the Texas A&M plant disease diagnostic lab. At least that's close enough for a search engine.

Others might say to just throw it away and buy something else and don't bother spending the money. You can buy at least 2 or 3 new hosta for that. You have to decide how bad you want to know.

bk

edit: not all hosta are susceptible to anthracnose. I only have it on those 2 out of about 80 hosta. It is a soil borne disease, so you're never going to totally get rid of it. These photo are from 2010 and the problem is greatly reduced by changing out the soil and spraying a couple of times. It has not totally gone away though.

My anthracnose infected Blue Angel in 2010

This post was edited by bkay2000 on Sat, Jul 5, 14 at 9:22

I did it on plants which seemed to have a virus, after they tested negative for HVX, simply threw them and soil out. I lined the (wide and 8 inch deep) holes with landscape fabric and filled them with a mix of healthy soil and amendments, now waiting new hostas. In respect to HVX holes I did the same in the past, and after several years the new plants are still healthy. Bernd

Mocc & Bkay, I am the one who took my problems to the NC State Plant Disease and Insect Lab, and they certainly do test for viruses. They listed a number of viruses that my plant tested negative for. They indicated also that there was not any fungus or bacteria present, and that (I assume) is why they are still saying it is a virus.

"The ringspot symptom appears to be viral. We did not detect INSV, TSWV,TRSV or HVX with the available tests in our lab. There was not fungus or bacteria present. So, since we consider this a virus, based on symptoms, you should remove the plant if practical. It is difficult to assess the risk of it spreading to other hostas In the planting."

I read that incorrectly when it was first posted. I read they did not test for INSV, TSWV, TRSV or HVX.

Since they did, that buddy would be gone so fast, it would make your head spin. Take lots of dirt with it and put it all in the trash, not the compost pile. Then cross your fingers.

What are you expecting to find or for someone to tell you about that diseased hosta? I don't get it. What are you looking for? What's the question?

bk

bk - I am planning to get rid of the plant with the virus, most definitely. I just came across this thread of Steve's and thought that my 'spots' resembled the spots on his 2nd picture. My original post with the results from the NCSU Plant Disease and Insect Lab was to share the findings since I posted a couple of weeks ago about finding the problem in my garden, and to also seek advise on whether additional treatment beyond 'getting rid of the problem hosta' was recommended.