im no expert, bout this does look like HXV from the pictures I’ve Seen. Can someone else chime in?

Gold Standard has acne when it’s a teenager. Get some test strips and check it out. Now and next spring. Toss it if positive.

My Gold Standard looked so virused the first two years it was in my garden. I tested it repeatedly with Agdia HVX test strips and it tested negative every time. This year it leaped and it’s big and beautiful. I guess it outgrew it’s acne.

these old posts are irritating me.. and i really cant figure out why i care that much ... lol ...

for starters.. that is not gold standard in the pix above ... go figure on that ...

and i would say its hvx ...

and i wish K all the luck with that theory of acne ... regardless of what the strips say ...

GS is one of the most common hosta around.. and i presume rather cheap ... and i wonder if you spent more on strips.. than you would have just replacing it ...

ken

Gold Standard is one hosta I will never put back in my yard. Burn it and walk away.....

Ha! I’m the OP and forgot all about this post!

We sold that house this spring and moved down the street, so Mik, I actually DID walk away.

Oh great. And I just bought one this year. I'll keep it in a pot for a couple of years before deciding whether it should have a space in the garden!

Agree with Ken. The pictured hosta must have been mistagged or misID'd somewhere. It is not Gold Standard. I'm pretty sure the strips were correct.

GOLD STANDARD hosta is quite possibly the most appropriate named hosta of ALL time.

Gold Standard hosta is a gold standard of hostas.

From nhhostas.com about Gold Standard hosta:

>>This sport of 'Fortunei Hyacinthina' had a very important role in the growth of interest in hostas. One of the most widely grown hostas in the last forty years.

Gold leaves with a dark green margin have some corrugation at maturity. Leaf centers emerge chartreuse and brighten to gold during the season.

Has been the parent to many sports including 'Striptease' and 'Captain Kirk'.

Pale lavender flowers in summer.

(P. Banyai 1976)

Large Hosta Cultivar<<

After 7 years my 2 GS are not large. I bought my GS bareroot at Aldi's. Yes, that Aldi's, the German based discount grocery store. 2012 was my early hosta days. I don't do bareroot anymore because I don't like waiting 5 years to see what it is I bought!

From choosing voluntarysimplicity.com: >> A mature Hosta ‘Gold Standard’ is an impressive sight! It has no trouble passing the “ten foot rule” (meaning that it is easily recognizable from a distance) because the bright color of its leaves will make it stand out in any garden. <<