And sometimes it's problematic...

10 years ago

last modified: 10 years ago

We've had a dry spell followed by rain this week, which means it's time to watch out for Southern Blight and preventatively drench with Flutolanil.

Last year I "saved" three hostas that had been attacked by SB, also known as Sclerotium Rolfsii. Here they are this year.

Key West. I dug it up last year and potted it too deep. It got into the ground late this May. This is a pic from this week.

Golden Gate. It lost a leaf last year before I saw the SB but held up well after treatment. This year it came up with short petioles, the leaves were all packed together and many of them rotted from lack of air circulation. This is how it's doing this week.

Undulata Albomarginata. One of my first hostas and very well established where it is. It too came with short petioles and lots of leaf rotting before I tore into it to give it some air. It's put out a lot of new leaves, but still does not look as healthy as its sibling which was not attacked by SB.

I read recently that SB can live in the plant and infected plants should be tossed. That's not the advice I've read here on this forum.

Here's the question. Should I give up on this Key West and Golden Gate and replace them or give them another year to recover? I'm willing to leave the UA as an experiment and keep watching for signs of further infection, but I had high hopes for Golden Gate and I'd like to have a healthy plant there next year. Has anyone been through this before?

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Comments (5)

DelawareDonna Zone 7A
10 years ago
What does your gut feeling tell you, Kathy? I gave up on Raucous Ruffles (yours will have to satisfy my curiosity). At this point I can't wait it out hoping things will change.
zkathy z7a NC thanked DelawareDonna Zone 7A
zkathy z7a NC
Original Author
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
Donna, I've been re-researching Southern Blight again for hours. I saw the roots on Key West when I took it out of the pot. They were thinner than normal hosta roots but a lot of them. I told it it had a year to show me something and I'm going to do that.

I think I'm going to dig up and examine the Golden Gate. Then I can treat the soil and either replant or replace depending on what it looks like.

I definitely read stories on this forum from people who claimed to have cured hostas of Southern Blight and had healthy plants afterwards.

i just remembered that when Winter Snow was attacked I soaked it in bleach while I treated the soil. It's healthy today.
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aardvark411
10 years ago
I'm in zone 5 so I don't have no experience with this . But this article talks about removing and replacing the soil.

http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/your-garden/help-for-the-home-gardener/advice-tips-resources/pests-and-problems/diseases/rot/crown-rot.aspx

Maybe you can pot up the hostas into fresh well drained soil and keep them potted for a year or so to see how things go before giving up on them entirely.
zkathy z7a NC thanked aardvark411
zkathy z7a NC
Original Author
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
I had the fork in hand and found this when I looked under Golden Gate.

I examined the soil very carefully and saw no evidence of fungal growth, no mycelium. We've had the perfect weather for Southern Blight to appear, but I've drenched these hostas with Flutolanil three times this year. I'm going to keep watching. We've got 2-3 months of growing season left. I'm going to say "You go, girl!" and leave it where it is. The rain brings cooler temperatures, it's only really hot instead of ridiculously hot. The plants are happier and so am I.

Then I looked at Key West and it looks like it managed a small leaf.

I built a good bed for this Key West. I don't think it would be better in a pot. I'm going to leave it alone, too.

I'm really not being lazy, I expanded a bed, reshaped another, set another step in two places, prepared for having some heavy equipment come on Wednesday, restacked a half ton of rock, took a walk for an hour to loosen up and now I'm in my recliner drinking a Dark and Stormy. Life is good.
Babka NorCal 9b
10 years ago
I have tried to resurrect many hostas over the years. I find that once I cure the problem it takes a few years for it to return to its former splendor. Lately I've been getting lazy, except for the ones that have emotional ties. Seems that I end up spending more money and time trying to save some, when I could just spend the $15 and get one that is already nice sized and go from there. But then my space is very limited, and as I age, my enthusiasm to save them no matter what wanes.

Oh Boy, after that workout, Zkathy, you DESERVE some R&R.

-Babka
zkathy z7a NC thanked Babka NorCal 9b