I had a Nigrescens that was doing the same thing. Two or three leaves would drop every couple of days. I don't know if it called crown rot or Southern Blight. I bought Bayer Advanced Disease Control for Roses, Flowers & Shrubs. Check the label, it should have Tebuconazole in it. One application and the leaves stopped dropping. It's been two weeks now and I am going to put another application down. There's a $3.00 rebate right now that you can download from Bayer's web-site.

Gesila

This is disease of the soil and needs a host plant to spread. It could have been in the soil for years and the right conditions brought it out of dormancy. I made sure I applied it to all of the soil around Nigrescens as well as to the crown. I also applied the application to all of the soil that was downhill from my Nigrescens.

Here is a link that might be useful: Crown Rot

the little orange corpuscles that i think i see near the base.. are the defining characteristic of southern blight ... i dont recall the latin name... rolf-ie or something and another ...

since i dont get it up here. i dont know what to do about it.. i think there is a FAQ on the topic... look at the top of the page on the forum itself.. just below the banner..

ken

well.. i hope you enjoyed the FAQ's ...

below is the link you needed.. lol

ken

ps: any old monty python fans out there ...

Here is a link that might be useful: link

Thanks, Gesila, for the lead; I've already put it on the plant. Unfortunately, before I knew I was facing Southern Blight, I had already put the diseased leaves in my compost pile and now they're buried so deeply that I can't find them. Now I'm going to have to find a test to detect SB in compost. Arrgggh!!

ps: any old monty python fans out there ...

Yes, but I am not old.

chris

OLD Monty Python fan here. And now for something completely different... Crown Rot and Southern Blight are two different things. Those little orange balls will give you a clue.

-Babka

lol

i meant the old troupe... as compared to there post-troupe stuff

the Larch ... and confuse a cat still creep into to my conscious once in a while ...

ken

Babka -- Southern Blight and Crown Rot are both caused by Sclerotium rolfsii. Pictures look identical, and the nodules change from white to orange as they age. What's the difference? Nance

Crown rot can be caused by a number of funguses. It is a general term. Southern Blight is specific. I've had crown/root rot here from plants being too wet over Winter. No heat involved.

I recall seeing an article that was more detailed in one of the Hosta Journals, but couldn't find it. Here is a link to the AHS disease site.

-Babka

Here is a link that might be useful: Hosta Diseases