Hi Ken,

Oh, you are good! I had never heard of spring desiccation before, but I looked it up and it looks just like that. It stated that it happens to OBL less frequently than FW, but it does happen. The damage is completely isolated to the light margins, as it stated it does not happen in the blue areas at all. Do you find that it happens more severely every year, or is it hit or miss year to year? So, it just kind of looks a bit raggedy for the rest of the season?

I'm so glad that it's not a disease and is just an aesthetic issue. Thanks for teaching me something!!

Angie

My OBL did that Spring Dessication thing once in 10 years. I just remove the icky leaves.

You CAN get spider mites on hostas. But it is a problem more in places where there is no rain (like where I live in Silly Valley, CA). On any plant, you can tell if you have mites by flicking your fingers on a leaf held over a white piece of paper. If there are mites, you will get very fine dust that moves! By the time a plant has a lot of webbing, you can say sayonara to the plant. Captain Jack's Bug Brew spray (spinosad) is an organic way to treat them if you catch them early on.

-Babka

Babka,

That is reassuring news that your OBL only had it once in so many years! After doing reading last night, I think our extreme wet span in May probably contributed to it having the desiccation this spring. On the bright side, my plants have never been so full and beautiful!

Thanks for the mite identification trick. It sounds like it's probably just normal spidery things here. I will check for that spray. Kind of nice to have those things on hand. I have a few plants that consistently have the same bug issue at the same time every year, and I try to only use natural options.

Thanks again! I was so relieved that it wasn't a more substantial problem.

Angie

I have an 8 year old Frances Williams which had one really awful year and one really awesome year. Most of the time the desiccation isn't even as much as yours. So you can count on hit and mostly miss since OBL is far less prone to spring desiccation. My FW's worst year was an unusually wet, very cool spring. Seems I read that desiccation is more likely if they come up early and then the temps cool down again.

Btw- my mite problems disappeared when we canceled the quarterly lawn treatment/pest control routine and focused on organically feeding the soil and letting the beneficial bugs do their thing.

Kay

Interesting observation on the bug control issue. It's probably similar to antibiotics killing off the good stuff in your body, too.

Yes, I read that as well about the weather and desiccation. And when we had the massive amount of rain over an extended period, we also had very chilly temperatures, so I'm sure that was just the perfect storm for this issue!

Thanks!

Angie