it kinda looks like they were forced down to the ground by something... maybe hard rain bashed them down or something pulled them down.... wind will do that as well... generally if petiole rot is occurring your leaves will brown and the petiole will detach very easily from the crown... and the base of the petioles at the eye/crown will be very soft and browning... plus you maybe see the fungus forming at the crown....

Did you get hit by the late frost in May? The leaves effected by the frost may be dying back now. I still have a few leaves that were lightly frosted and are bent like the one above.
Pam

i see the break..

i see the flop...

but i see no rot ... the best way to 'see' rot.. is with your nose ... nothing in this world smells like rot ...

you are correct.. it is way to early.. in your zone for rot.. and frankly ... rot should be pretty rare in your area ... presuming you are z5/6 ... but it can happen ...

is this one new...

why are the oldest.. outer most leaves... twice as long as the newer interior leaves??? that is why they collapsed ... so give us the facts that support why they are so much monger ....

they have done their work.. just get rid of the 3 longest in the first pic.. and the plant will look more in proportion ...

ken

Check for damage like below on outside of petiole at the base. Kind of like a tree cut throught till far enough to fall and hinge to the ground. If you have similar, go out tonight after dark with a flashlight and you should see some slugs. 10% ammonia and sprinkle diatomaceous earth throughout petioles and base of hosta.
{{gwi:1046155}}

Paul

Looks like it got stepped on or something. I'd just cut them off and forget it, looks like common damage to me.

Rick

Thanks everyone - I guess I am getting paranoid after bouts of foliar nems and hosta virus.

I don't smell anything bad, the leaves are hard to pull off, etc. I did have late frost but it affected the leaves on several other plants, not the stems. I've also had slug damage in the past but they went for the leaves.
I'll have to go out with a flashnight some night.

It does look to me like someone sat down on the leaves - but they're at different places on the plant. Another plant mystery.

Ken - I'm thinking that the inner leaves will eventually get as long as the outer leaves. This is one of Don Rawson's plants - Pharoah's Gold. I got it last year as as special birthday present from my husband, so I'm so glad it seems like it's just common damage.

The hosta still seems perfectly fine except for those leaves - it's getting 3 flower stems now.

Believe me,slugs will eat the petioles! The leaf will sag down to the ground. If you can get there early enough in the morning,you may find them there. I just sprayed one on my Honeybells hosta,and he was right there on the eaten-through petiole when I did it! The whole trouble is,you can't always find them when you see the damage. Been there,done that! Phil