Thanks, Ken! I'll go do that now

ooooh...not good...I didn't have to yank. All the yellow leaves just came off in my hand, rotten bottoms. Even a few still-green leaves just could be plucked like a daisy petal. Crown rot? What do I do?

This is exactly what I experience. I haven't found a cure yet.

Stinky and rotten at the end? Crown rot. Dig it up ASAP, clean off the rotten parts, dip it in bleach, and pot it up at least temporarily to make sure it is on the road to recovery. Pour some bleach into the hole where it was, letting it sit and thoroughly dry out for a few days.

DTeager, what about the plants that are near it w/re: the bleach in the hole?

dont foget to bleach the shovel also ...

ken

I'm curious. After digging up a hosta with crown rot, how long would you wait before planting another hosta in the same spot? A year? Longer?

If it dries out for a few days, it's probably fine. Put diluted bleach (or Bayer 3-in-1) in the hole to kill off the fungus.

Val, I might treat the nearby plants with the Bayer 3-in-1 just to be sure. You wouldn't want to pour bleach on the plants; only dip roots and crowns that are out of the ground and can dry off quickly.