Jo, I think that eye is going to remain like that. The new growth as it comes in will probably be normal.

I base my statement on what happened to my None Lovelier. The first eye was the only one up when we got some cold weather. It was the one affected by it. At first I thought it was a virus. However, as other eyes grew up and the older eye was less a factor in the look of the plant, I realized it was in fact cold damage.

Here is my plant, long since past the single eye open. It emerged in March, and this picture from April 5, shows the newer eyes looking fine. And, I believe you can expect the same to be true of your handsome Guacamole.

in May

My guacamole looks the same. The leaves are all messed up.

Well, at least misery loves company! Thanks, Jim - let's hope we get many more "smooth" leaves to admire :-)!

Mocc, I guess I have to be patient - thanks for your pics! It is always a surprise to see some of your plants...mainly how far along they are and how they eat up all that sunshine! :-)

I have some like that, Jo. Even last season, but they seemed to have 'hansomed up' the longer the season went. More leaves, a little more time; The Guacamole I have 'on display' in the fragrant bed looked AWFUL when he (yes, Guacs are boys) came up, and even a bit after unfurling. I was just out watering in our balmy 88 F. day, and the one in the fragrant bed is looking pretty wonderful.

So, in a nutshell, what Mocc said. Be patient, my friend. : )

Don B.

Well I'm kinda glad to see a not-so-handsome Guacamole, there Jo. Mine's looking rather OK, but a number of others are funny looking: bunched up leaves and lots of puckering where there really shouldn't be. So you think that's a cold factor, then? I hope in the next flush of leaves the uggos get covered up by perfect new growth. Yes?

We've all suffered this year. It was a long and lingering winter. Mine were really zapped by the cold. The younger ones suffered. The older, established ones fared better. I have tons of contorted leaves under the newer ones, though. They will look better in a few weeks, I promise.

bk

Nearly 1/2 of my hostas came up looking funny this year... Often one side emerged faster than another, and many looked like they were going to be great, but when they unfurled they looked virused and/or frost damaged. (Which I do not believe they are virused, I think it was the weird weather.)

Having said that, my Guac's first leaves are weird EVERY YEAR....but then later after it gets more leaves, I forgive it and it starts to look great. It's strange, but the leaves get "stuck" while unfurling. It bothered me SO much, that I bought 4 more last year! hee hee On the new 4, I didn't even get to see how they unfurled, because my spring nemesis Roger Rabbit and his cohorts ate them!

I was talking to my "GuacDon" yesterday, telling him that I like my "men" a bit on the rugged side, but would he ensure I get the same handsome fella back by mid June at least? The anticipation and wait is worth it though.

Don, how about a pic of your "wonderful" in the fragrant bed please? :-)

Hostanista, Yes! Definitely! I'm going to survey my potted stock and see if I can figure out the difference in the hostas that had winter damage against those that did not - whether it related to substance, or amount of roots, etc. curiosity ends up teaching me something!

Bk, your promise sounds good! And I know you are right. Patience is required, that's all.

Mary, I applaud you on your solution (to buy four more, lol)! Unfortunate that Roger and his pals decided on your diner rather than someone else's! :-(
Re the "stuck" aspect - I had to unstick the leaf on First Frost after I noticed the "thumb" Babka explained to me on another thread. I swear that these poor winter-ravaged hostas were so hunched from the cold that they really had a hard time defrosting - they froze hunched up! Lol

What a dead-on analogy of leaves being "stuck" in a hunched up position from the cold. When I get cold my shoulders hunch up to my ears so those early leaves may have been doing the same thing! Warm up and relax leaves! And shoulders, too!

Hello,
I'm in NC. Here is H. Guacamole, a 2nd year division off the main plant. It gets a little more sun and is doing remarkably well. My division off of H. Stained Glass is doing similarly.

My potted Sum and Sub looks like that too! I am hoping it "irons out" and starts to look normal soon. My Guacamole looks OK but it is in the ground.

Eebalcos, your Guacamole has the most colour I've seen! What a good looking hosta - you've got the hosta touch! :-)

Raven...my S & S is almost perfect in comparison that I took another pic today!

Jo

Jo,

Here is my S and S from today. Note the crinkly leaves towards the front but a few newer leaves are looking more normal. Hoping it really is only cold-related.

And my In-ground Guacamole:

Amy, your garden is stunning! Rhodos and azaleas too? Wow factor with blooms...lots of great texture in that photo which I love!

Take a look at my SS today - it's a downright show-off! 2 yr old.

My Guacamole is doing pretty well this year, especially for potted up and root-bound, LOL. Here's a pic:

Pic from above, so you can see the size of my monster better:

Funn, I think I've got serious GUac envy! Lol. Your monster is gorgeous! Look at the sheen, leaf size and shape . . . and the variegation is soo soft and relaxing on the eyes. This hosta is special. How old would it be now?

Jo, I think your Guacamole will shape up as the season goes on. I don't have it, but I have cathedral windows, and that was pretty severely cold damaged last year and managed to make itself presentable by mid summer. It's got some damage again this year so I'm just being patient. I will also say that in the horrible hail storm of 2010, Stained Glass was destroyed....yet it was one the few that sent up pretty new leaves...so I'm thinking this is a pretty resiliant family of hostas.

This hosta IS special, you've got that right, Jo. It was my launching pad into hosta mayhem, LOL. I'd say it's about 6 years old. It got me into a serious hosta addiction. If it would have been a little less gorgeous, I wouldn't be sitting at 300 hostas right now, give or take! Bad Guac! OK, forgiven. Too good lookin' to stay mad at :)

Funn, you go girl! I cannot remember when I reached 300, and suddenly it was 4 and now it is 5? Surely there is an end in sight! Or maybe not?

With the None Lovelier pictured above, it was sitting exposed, not beneath a tree or against anything. The cold, I feel, simply settled on top of it, and really deformed that first emerged eye. The rest of the plant unfurled later and was fine.

Ken told me it was cold damage, and if I waited I could tell, because the subsequent eyes would be normal. He was (again) correct.

I think about the 2 fragrants I threw away last year in April because they showed similar signs. My almost mature HUGE Fried Bananas, and the Fried Green Tomatos right close in size, I thought it was virus. However, I recall that it was only one eye too. So now I kick myself for losing my favorite, Fried Bananas, which would be larger than the Yesterday's Memories exceeding 36 inches wide. What a disaster, because I started over with replacements....also with a replacement Guacamole, same thing happened to it.....which is why THIS year, I am sitting tight. It's easy to move it away from other hosta until you decide what's going on, but don't toss it until you test. Or the whole thing suddenly breaks out in HVX.

Coll, thank you for the encouragement. I love this family too and have received an email from Hosta Fever to say that I can pick up the rest of my order, which she was able to fill...still waiting on a couple. You ready?

Heading the list is . . . .none other than . . .
CATHEDRAL WINDOWS - (she was sold out of last year)
COLD HEART (also sold out last year)
MARY MARIE ANN (remember a thread about name Mary associated with breast cancer? My sister's name was Mary and she passed away in 2002 from a 10-yr battle with breast cancer. This hosta is a memorial hosta for me. :-)
RASCAL (also sold out last year)
RHINO HIDE (just have to have a Don Rawson hosta!)

Still awaiting notification on Squash Casserole (for Mocc of course, who else? Lol) and Dark Shadows.

Neptune also crept in after seeing Myrle post her absolutely sublime Neptune today (yesterday now). That woman sure knows how to grow them and present them in fine form in pictures. I have to see if Hosta Fever has that one. If so, it's coming home too! :-)

Funnthsun, you make me smile, chuckle and laugh right out loud, sometimes all those at the same time! 300 or more hostas you say? Oh my, and they sure look like they like it where they are! Kudos.

P.S. I snuck in some retail hosta therapy while out earlier. Another Diana Remembered because the first one got sunburned (she is temporary in hiding till she flushes new leaves); and a REAL Abiqua Drinking Gourd because the one I got weeks ago is quite lovely, but looks more like another Blue Angel. I could be wrong, but there is no cupping going on at all and leaves are convex. :-)

Oooohh, Cathedral Windows, Jo! This plant may be a slow starter, but having had it in my garden, this being season three, it's showing good growth in terms of more eyes, and the leaves are about twice as big as last year. Pics early next week, that's when I get my camera back. The gold/yellow center variegation gets very bright in this one, when compared to (my) Holy Mole and Avocado.

Cheers,
Don B.

Funn, it was MY trigger into hosta madness as well! Fortunei Aureomarginata called me, but Guacamole GRABBED me and pulled me in! 2012 was my immersion point for hostas.

Don B.