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| Hi, my hostas have some discoloration (see attached photo). Many of the plants in the bed actually have dark spots. Many leaves fall on the bed. Looking for some help identifying the problem or any solutions. Thanks |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Mon, Oct 1, 12 at 18:27
| hey coop.. welcome to GW ... just above.. note the date of your post.. ITS OCTOBER!!!!!! YOU HOSTA ARE GOING .. oops.. dormant ... they will be gelatinous masses of goo very soon ... the solution is to wait until spring .... when they come back up .. fresh and clean ... ken |
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| It could be a fungus. It could be anthracnose. You could spray it with a any of several fungicides (Greenlight Systemic Fungicide, Bordeaux Fungicide, Mancozeb plant fungicide, maneb Garden Fungicide or Daconil). Be sure and clean up all the dead leaves at the end of the season. That way it won't winter over in your hosta bed. bkay |
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| Thanks for the feedback guys! I'm not sure how relevant it is to dormancy, but we've still got highs in the 80s down here in sc. I've attached another picture of vinca leaves from the same bed which also show dark spots. I suspected it might be a fungus, but wanted the experts' opinions. I think bagging fallen leaves and applying fungicide may be in order?? |
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- Posted by gardenfanatic MO zone5b (My Page) on Mon, Oct 1, 12 at 22:39
| Warm days and cool nights are perfect conditions for fungus to get going. I think you're wise to spray them now to kill the fungus before the season is over. Don't just spray the plants - spray the ground around them as well. I'd dispose of the dead foliage at the end of the season too. Deanna |
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- Posted by gardenfanatic MO zone5b (My Page) on Mon, Oct 1, 12 at 22:40
| BTW, anthracnose is a fungus. Deanna |
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- Posted by hostafreak (My Page) on Tue, Oct 2, 12 at 9:20
| It's fall! Mine look like that,and worse. You're worried about Vinca? You couldn't kill it if you wanted! Mine stays green all winter long,and never dies! Phil |
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| I have anthracnose in my pecan tree, which shades my hosta. So when it rains, they get inoculated with it. The tree is too big to spray, so it's going to be a continuing problem. I'm learning how to deal with it. Not all plants and not all varieties of hosta are susceptable to it. I have variegated vinca in the area and it doesn't have it. Blue Angel is the worst hosta so far to have it. Guacamole has it a little bit. The county agent suggested that I cut off the areas with the spots, being careful not to cut through them. (If so, sanitize the scissors.) Then spray it. Spray it again in a couple of weeks. Remove as much of the spotted material from the area as you can. I plan a lot better fall clean up than usual. The pecan is the first to shed it's leaves, so I still have time to do some of the other things before frost. I will totally repot the Blue Angel and the Guacamole and throw away the soil. If that doesn't help, I will give away both plants to someone who doesn't have the problem. But, as I say that, I need to mention that your's doesn't have it on the healthy green parts of the plant. All of mine (as afar as I know) will get the spots on the dead spots. bkay When I saw this, I figured out it was in the tree bkay |
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| Thanks everyone for the info! |
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- Posted by moccasinlanding z9A AL (My Page) on Fri, Oct 5, 12 at 9:51
| BKay, so that is what anthracnose looks like? I hope Les is watching, this would be a good set of photos for his LEAF PROBLEMS collection, if you don't mind, BKay. I'll have to pay attention to my hosta leaves as they die back. My three pecan trees are shedding their leaves and tons of pecans already. Someone said it should be a tough (cold?) winter this year. |
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| Here is an article which also shows anthracnose on hosta leaves. |
Here is a link that might be useful: hosta diseases and pests
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- Posted by moccasinlanding z9A AL (My Page) on Sat, Oct 6, 12 at 21:14
| Thanks for the link to that paper, Berndny. I printed it out and will keep it in my hosta file folder. I worked outdoors all day long, got all my WadeGatton 21 hosta potted up, thank heaven! That is all the potting I'll do for this year...of hosta anyway. I plan to free up some huge pots currently holding some tropicals--put them in the ground and see what happens....then I'll have room for Krossa Regal, Elegans, Sum & Substance, maybe even the Empress Wu? But, that is another year down the road. Organizing the information and suggestions for preventing disease in my garden will have a priority this winter. The paper mentioned minimizing moisture on the leaves, but we had a really heavy dew until mid-morning, and dealing with nature is a big question mark. I'm better able to control what I do personally, but minimizing problems caused by high humidity, rain, and foggy foggy dew, well, I'll do the best I can. Thanks for the link. |
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