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madplanter1

Can an HVX spot ever be reused?

MadPlanter1 zone 5
10 years ago

HVX questions have been popping up, and I got to wondering. I know they tested and discovered replanting in the same spot could give the new hosta HVX, but that was putting a new plant in right away. Is it ever safe to replant where an HVX plant was? Not planting right away makes sense; there could still be infected roots. But after a couple years, any host for the virus should be long gone.

Comments (9)

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    10 years ago

    yes.. i dont know how long..

    but how about.. just moving some other non-hosta perennial into that spot.. and using the other spot for a hosta ..

    think outside your box .... eh???

    ken

  • flowerchild59
    10 years ago

    I usually add a rock or decorative object in the spot as a memorial to the fallen hosta. I try not to replant there if I can help it, or at least wait a few years to make sure the roots are decomposed.

  • User
    10 years ago

    Flowerchild, that is a great way to express it...

    Memorial to a fallen hosta.

    In the battle against a disease heretofore incurable and deadly.
    You are so right.

    If I had my 3 in ground hosta infected by HVX, which I feared last year they might be simply because they came from a big box store, I would move hydrangea into the hole. It would be quite suitable and not endanger another hosta. Plus, replanting a hosta there would keep the virus active for another extended period of time.

    What Ken suggests makes sense to me. If the end of HVX in the garden is indeterminate, then put something else there. And forgetaboutit. :)

  • flowerchild59
    10 years ago

    You could plant something else there, like a heuchera or hydrangea. Just make sure to clean your tools afterwards.

  • thisismelissa
    10 years ago

    In 2010, Dr. Lockhart shared that an infected spot had re-infected a 'clean' hosta 18 months later.

    So, with that, he recommended NOT REUSING AN INFECTED HOLE until such time as it could be researched how long HVX can lay dormant without a host.

    I do the rock thing as well.

  • coll_123
    10 years ago

    I have said this before, and know I am in the minority, but I would not hesitate to put another hosta where a previously infected one was removed.

    I would dig out what I could of the remaining roots, and the soil. Then I would line the large hole with layers of newsprint or cardboard, or spinout fabric. Then I would plant the new hosta with fresh soil.

    Unless there is new research I'm not aware of, the virus is spread by sap to sap contact, so I don't see how that can happen with any of those approaches. I might not move my very favorite hosta into that spot, but I wouldn't be too stressed about it either. My garden is too small to sacrifice a primo hosta spot to a rock or some other plant that doesn't look as good there.

    I replaced my infected Halcyon with three Brunnera. I always intended to put another hosta there but I like the look of the Brunnera ( and I just pretend they don't have nematodes)

  • squirejohn zone4 VT
    10 years ago

    I did what Coll-123 recommended.
    Last summer I noticed one leaf on a mature (30+ stems) Montana Aureomarginata that was diagnosed on this forum as being virus infected (not necessarily HVX). This spring the 32+ pips that emerged were twisted and stayed small. It was obvious that whatever affected this mA it was severe!
    I treated the pips with Roundup a few times, waited a couple of weeks and removed them. I dug a three foot diameter hole that was larger than the mA roots went and removed the hosta and all the soil. I lined the hole with newspaper and refill with topsoil, compost etc. and replanted with a couple of decent size Sagae. I figure it will be a few years before the Sagae roots reach the perimeter of the hole. If this doesn't work - well "that's the way the cookie crumbles".
    Infected area replanted with Sagae

  • MadPlanter1 zone 5
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks, guys. I was just curious. I put a 16x16 paver over the grave of my infected PUD, and it actually worked out well. Now I've got a spot to stand while watering and weeding.

  • in ny zone5
    10 years ago

    HVX locations are valuable real estate in a hosta landscape!

    Dr. Lockhart said that about not planting into the same soil (at the same location). Note, he means SOIL, not the GPS location of that garden spot. Logically, when you remove the HVX hosta with its soil and roots then you would have a clean hole, correct? You should keep track of all your tools used and wash and brush them with 10% bleach solution. You should also use a clean shovel when moving clean soil!

    What I describe here has been done by others on this forum too. So I did that. I removed a hosta 2 years ago from a location, discarded that hosta and any roots into the garbage. Then I carefully exchanged all the soil plus another 6 inches with clean soil at the fence. I planted in that now clean spot a large hosta 'Krossa Regal' and do not see any virus on that plant. I did the same to another hosta and its soil, but there lined the hole with several layers of newspaper, no transmission of HVX to that new hosta either. In the HVX soils at the fence I planted perennials. In that empty hole you could also put landscape fabric or a spinout bag, at your choice.
    Bernd