Well - for having done everything wrong, you have certainly created a pretty garden. Better hang on to that formula, flawed though you deem it to be! Enjoy watching them grow.
Jan

Does the Silver Maple belong to your neighbor? If so, I can send you a few Winter Moth caterpillars to start to work on that thing.

Steve

Steve, the little one you see is over the fence, the 3 you can't are all mine. I just hope to water my way through this summer and see how many show HVX next year. I do have plans for a new bed far from the trees , and fill it with healthy plants. I guess I had better bleach my shovel first!
Dave

You may be fine. It's a crap shoot, but not every Hosta at Lowes has the virus. Now that you know better, you can be sure to buy healthy plants. We've all been there. When you water all those Hostas this summer, make sure you water the lawn also. You want the Maple roots to get plenty of water without having to invade your Hosta bed to get it.

Steve

Ignorance is BLISS ! :)
If you had gone in knowing the chances, you wouldn't HAVE had a chance ;)

I am in the same boat and despite 2 plants being bad I am plugging away..

I would say to get a bucket, mark it for cleaning tools, and don't move any soil Hosta to Hosta.. That is my strategy to HOPEFULLY keep from spreading anything. you have a problem, slap in a Coral Bell.. they are GROWING on me anyhow !

Oh yeah, your garden looks KILLER !

I's sure many people have hostas bought from big-box stores and wonder what we are talking about, and I hope they are disease free. I wish HVX on no-one.

I stopped buying "big-box" hostas b4 the HVX outbreak for a similar, but a different reason. I got tired of buying beautiful looking hostas, only to get home and find out their beauty and growth was hormone induced: all show and no grow, because they had no roots.

So here is a tip; any time you can Dave, if you sight shop for hostas it's a good idea to check the roots by gently lifting from the pot if you can. It won't hurt the hosta if you do it and replace it properly.

Les

Drey, like they say, you're not the only one. The first two hosta I bought here in Mobile were from Lowes. Then I found out the gamble of having HVX much more likely. That was last May. I've worried about the two original plants, planted in the ground, eventually showing HVX signs. Then I think it was Frank who said, stop worrying and go TEST the suckers. Now that was a no-brainer for sure. I ordered a pack of 5 test strips and used ONE test strip to do the two hosta from Lowes.

It came up NEGATIVE, so now I am not sweating it and can treat those hosta like the rest of them instead of avoiding them or really resenting their presence. Plus, they are really looking fine this spring.

So if you want to check out your suspect hosta, you can be pro-active and know for sure. I'll put a link below to the test strips.

It might not be as bad as you think. Good luck.

Here is a link that might be useful: HVX test strips or kits

I had to laugh when I read this. I was sure I was the only one who made this mistake. My hosta garden is actually in an even worse location. I planted it between two giant silver maples. And in soil that is mostly gravel.

Thats why I love hostas. My garden has been there for more than 10 years. I have no idea what I am doing, but yet, they grow!

Jamie and Dray,

Take a look at this picture.

Behind me and to my left as I took this picture during the 2011 AHS convention tour was the biggest Silver Maple I had ever seen. You can see some of its leaves overhanging in the upper right of the picture. And this is the garden of a Master Gardener as well. I don't know how she does it. So it's not like this can't be done. It's just more difficult.

Steve

The way you all rave about maples makes me wonder why my best part of my garden is right under a huge red maple! It has never bothered any of the hostas under it;but I guess the reason is,I don't water my hostas,only rain gets in there. The master gardener apparently knows how to do it,or has incredible luck! Phil

I don't think the Red Maple is in the same category as a Silver or Norway Maple. Actually, I think the Norway Maple is the worst. I couldn't even grow grass under mine.

But, obviously, some gardeners are more resourceful than others.

Dray67, your bed looks great!

Not watering might actually be the answer. I have never been big on outside watering and that might be why they are not choked out yet. Wehave been lucky the past few years with several big tropical storms the have kept that part of the yard moist.
Dave

I figured it was just dumb luck. And proof that most hosta will grow anywhere. Maybe the plants knew I didn't know what I was doing, and decided to survive in spite of me.

I'm not great about watering either, so maybe thats a point in my favor. I have a Sagae, thats just beautiful in that spot. My only real loss there, was a Zounds that was determined to die.

I also bought hostas from Lowe's, Home Depot and never had HVX from them. I bought a hosta from Walmart which was misnamed and later developed some virus. You are much safer buying from reputable internet hosta nurseries.
Bernd

You cannot get any more up close and personal to a Norway Maple than this. I think it thrives because it is just so tough.

I took out a clump from it this Spring and set it under my Crimson King Red Maple. This one seems to be doing just fine as well.

I think the secret to the mixed bed from the tour is the she has used a raised bed.