Sorry to hear that it is that bad, but there is some hope.

#1 - there is absolutely no reason to dig up the plants. This fungus is only present in the top couple inches of soil, and does not get carried by the plant itself. You will want to scoop up all the goop and scoop up as much soil from around the crown as possible and throw that into the trash, then top with fresh soil. While there may still be fungus spores traveling around the garden you will want to eliminate as much of it as possible by hand, especially those orange spheres.

#2 - treat all the plants and the bed with a fungicide specifically labeled for southern blight. There is a bayer product that says it treats it, but use it at the highest recommended strength for best results (if it doesn't have the fertilizer added to it then personally I would use it two times and really soak the crowns and the area). There are other fungicides that work better but they are commercial products. Hopefully someone can list those here, because I don't have it written down myself. They can get a little expensive, but still a lot easier than digging and pitching. But in the long run the expense could be worth it as it is possible to eradicate southern blight with regular curative and preventative treatments.

So please don't go to all the trouble of digging anything out. That is never necessary as the fungus doesn't go below the soil and is never actually in the plant itself.

And even if you sprayed nothing at all, and just cleaned it up and let that area dry out, the hostas would likely come back fine, especially if they are older clumps.

I hope that helps, and if I have time I'll try to find out the other fungicides that work.

Good luck.

Chris

Here's a link to a former posting which may be helpful: Purchasing Fungicide Contrast or Prostar

All great info Chris, thank you...with this wet, heavy weather I have also been concerned.

Katie, I wish you the very best with your mom's garden...those hostas of hers just knew she's working a new patch of soil these days and wanted to be there too. :)

Thanks for the responses. I have checked out ebay and Amazon and can find nothing for under $275. Add to that the fact that it seems like the active ingredient is on again off again banned, and I don't see the fungicide in my future. This fungus is really prevalent in some areas, hard to believe there is not a fix for under $100 but there you have it.
I appreciate knowing that this stuff is on top of the soil, not IN the soil or the plants. I am guessing that what happened was with all the rain the hostas have been growing like weeds and have formed a canopy over the soil, preventing air and light from getting to the ground, and the fun guys have moved in and are partying..
I see photos of the way you all have your hostas and I cringe, because what I have is a packed bed where you can't see the ground at all. And that's AFTER I lifted them in late March and hacked everybody in half.
Soooooo, if I get rid of the goop and the dead plant matter and the orange balls and the nearby affected soil AND thin these lovelies out again so they can get air and light on the ground, is it possible I won't need the fungicide?
And I read your post from last year on this, Chris, and I'm seeing where the bleach working for people is likely as much about the rinsing as the bleach. Also read a bunch of other old posts, including some on the right fungicide and where to get it. There's just no way I can afford that kind of an expense.
Thanks again.

Wow, Jadie, what a lovely sentiment. . . thank you.

I had it in my potted hosta a couple of years ago. I just pulled it out and washed it off with city water and threw away the soil. My hosta came back just fine. It's about removing the fungus any way you can. Just get rid of all the orange stuff and slimy stuff and put some fresh soil in.

I'll check the fungicides in my shed tomorrow and see what is tested to kill it. But mostly, you have to remove the active fungus.

bk

This year so far I have one large h.'Elegans' with this fungus. It is located high, but I had placed some mulch on top of the crown and that might have furthered the fungus at present wet weather. I just removed 1 inch of soil and mulch around the crown and drenched the soil with Bayer Advanced Disease Control, which is supposedly to stop blight, I hope. I had bought a 32 oz bottle over the internet at domyownpestcontrolcom. I yesterday also applied the fungicide Captan. In the past some plants recovered after rinsing all the soil off, giving a short bleach bath, replacing the soil and spraying with a fungicide. I do not know if my cases are crown rot, or Southern blight, did not see any spheres, but the rotten part smelled bad.
Bernd

Here is a link that might be useful: Bayer Advanced Disease Control

Just an update and a thanks again to all who replied.

I lifted the affected plants and nearby soil, and cut out the bad parts. I thoroughly hose rinsed the crowns. Two were so affected I threw them out. I went through the whole bed, and thinned it out so the crowns can get air to dry out. I left the bed open to the sun and air for three days while the treated plants had a driveway sabbatical, then put them back in. So far, no more problems, but it's only been a month. In the future, the moment I see a sick looking hosta I will address it RIGHT THEN.

My new question is whether the treated plants will regenerate or if they are done putting up new growth for the season?