Please help identify the problem(s) with these hostas?

13 years ago

Hello everybody!

Sorry I have not been here posting in a while. I have had some sickness in the family that has taken up a lot of my time. But I hope to have some more time now to participate here more often!

Well, I took some pics of some hostas here that are not at their best lately and was hoping someone could help diagnois their problem(s).

I am hoping it is just slug damage, but just want to make sure it is not something worse like nematodes or something, although I do not think so. Some of the more damaged ones I even wonder if it is an animal chomping.

To start off, I have no deer or anthing like that here. I also do not have voles at all. All damage seems to be tops only. They are also in containers in the ground. I do have chipmunks, but I do not even know if they eat hosta.

This year, I have also had a lot of extra sun on this bed for the first time. This past winter, some of the neighbor's trees had gone down during the horrible blizzards we had. They used to provide some nice medium shade to this specific bed. However, now with them gone this year, the hostas are experiencing more sun than ever before and I am getting a lot of bleached out hosta leaves. I may even have to take apart this whole bed to relocate because the morning sun is too strong now.

So, I know that they have been more stressed than usual because of this. But the sun has nothing to do with holes in their leaves.

Some hostas just have a few holes in them that are not tiny, but rather large, making me think it's slugs. However, a handful of my smaller hostas have lost many or all of their leaves. They are not dead, and they are slowly regrowing their leaves back. But I am not sure if slugs can gobble like that.

Here is my Deja Blu

Powder Blue

Some other "hole" pics

4 of my smaller hostas that have been really eaten and are slowly coming back. You can see the sun burn on the old leaves of Paradise Island. From top right clockwise~

CHERRY BERRY, MOSTLY GHOSTLY, K. BENI, PARADISE ISLAND

I also have a large Mostly Ghostly (not pictured)that lost just about all of its leaves too, but is starting to come back now. Seemed to lose leaves as they were coming up, but while the leaves were still in their tender, solid white "ghostly" stage. Now they are coming up on the green side because it is later in the summer and seems to be doing fine.

Again, thanks for your help! Christy

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Comments (8)

igmommy
13 years ago
Looks like normal wear and tear for this time of year to me. The round ones look like slugs. The tears in the leaves could be hail damage. Have you had storms? Some cutworms maybe and sunburn. They don't look any different than some of mine. It's been a hard year with strange weather around here this year.
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Steve Massachusetts
13 years ago
Rabbits have chewed up Deja Blue. The other holes are either slugs or cutworms.

Steve
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hostaLes
13 years ago
I am adding my vote as above. if yuu feel left out I will gladly post your address in my garden as a vacation wonderland for my vole pop. LOOL

Les
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thisismelissa
13 years ago
The tears are from debris/hard rain/hail.
Holes in centers of leaves are slugs.

Bites on edges are probably rabbits.

Powder Blue has been sunburnt a few weeks back and the tissue went crispy and fell off.
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bonechickchris
Original Author
13 years ago
Thank you guys for responding to my usually over-worried self! LOL! I just could not get what was taking all the leaves out to the bottoms of the smaller hostas. Never had that before.
And, I have lived here for 4-5 years, and never saw a rabbit yet, but who knows?
I have a vegetable garden. The only thing that bothers them is squirrels biting the tomatoes, otherwise, all the other veggies do fine critter wise. Do squirrels chew hosta? I know they ate my tulip bulbs one year.

Thanks again guyd! I feel much better! Christy
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lindac
13 years ago
I don't see any rabbit damage....nor squirrel damage. just slugs and cut worm and perhaps hail and falling twigs.
Sometimes a cut worm will chew the base of a leaf and the whole leaf will fall...
Escar-go is the answer....pricy but it works and is safe for pets.....and squirrels and rabbits!!
Linda C
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hostaLes
13 years ago
There is a common term "squirrely" and a few years ago I learned where it comes from. This spring also. I have a large Grecian urn as a feature in my new garden under a Black Walnut tree. I watched a squirrely squirrel jump from the urn to my Krossa Regal and back over and over again until my hosta was flattened. It was enjoying itself until I unleashed my German Shorthaired Pointer on it. They love bombing my things with walnuts, but I have never seen them eat a hosta. What they do is when they smell recently disturbed dirt they dig looking for burried nuts so they might uproot newly planted hostas. I wonder if some pressed garlic will discourage this?

Les
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tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
13 years ago
Sluggo and Escar-go are not as safe as once thought.

From an Ohio State paper on iron phosphate-based molluscicides:

"Clearly, molluscicides containing iron phosphate and EDTA or EDDS chelating agents may present significant environmental hazards to earthworms, domestic animals and humans and these issues need further investigation. The registration statuses of these chemicals in USA and Europe should be reviewed in light of these new data and conclusions."

tj
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