agree on the first pic ... or cold damage.. if you get that in TX

as to the third pic... it reminds me of that which shall not be named.... by me anyway ... lol

wonder if chris is around to chime in ...

ken

I am sorry. I hope it wasn't expensive. That looks a plant for the rubbish bin based on pictures 2 and 3. Maybe it was cold damage and not HVX....If you love it, I recommend keeping it in its pot and separate from all of your other Hostas. When the other new leaves on it begin to unfurl, you will know better. In my experience, once the signs appear, the new leaves show it more and more. I had a Gypsy Rose do that a couple years ago. It failed the 2 month observation period and went in the bin, plastic pot and all. The vendor ignored me, blamed me even though it was a brand new plant only 2 weeks old when the disease began to appear.

My gut reaction is Uh-oh. I sure would keep this one in its pot away from others until you see what the new leaves look like.

No, it wasn't expensive. I think it was $12.99 and it's huge. The problem being that now, there are no other sellers of hosta here other than big box stores.

bk

I got nice, big plants from Uniquely Hostas last year. Shipping is good, too.

https://www.uniquelyhostas.com/product/august-moon/

And Hostas-Store is good, too. I bet you would get a big August Moon, and plant+shipping would be total $13.

https://www.hostas-store.com/august-moon-hosta.html

I've heard August Moon has had issues in the past, but from what I've heard, the virus is seen later in the season and bleeds along the veins, not across the leaf like that. Looks more like a tiny sap sucking insect - spider mites?

Steve, that's not something I've ever dealt with. I'll look.

I spoke with the grower company. They said they tested, so it's not HVX.

I looked again. I think it is HVX.

bk

bk unfortunately I agree with you. It is the bleeding across the vein in the 2nd pic on the right hand leaf that really seals it. I wish it weren't so.

Peren, that was just the area that convinced me, too! Some growers say they test for it, but really they just watch for signs of it in their plants. If I think a plant has it, I leave it alone if it is in the ground and see if dies on its own. If it is in a grower's pot, I chuck the lot and move on with my life. I am far to lazy to disinfect my gardening tools with clorox.

Ditto, HVX..... 🙁

If there was any question, the new photos tell the tale. It is so infuriating that sellers and growers fail to take this issue seriously. I had one seller tell me that she had to trust her growers. I had another nursery go back to the same grower after I did an HVX test for him in his store. These are the high end nurseries in Dallas. Now this grower says it's not HVX. What can I say?

bkay

No, Steve its is not seen later in the season. Often people will say not to be hasty at the end of the season when it comes to HVX. I don't know how much you trust ken (I do), but that information came from him. The only other time I've dealt with it, it was on a hosta I purchased in the Fall (locally). The HVX showed up in the spring. It was not apparent in the late summer when I purchased it.

bk

I agree regarding HVX showing best early in the season. By August in summer, it can hard to tell HVX from uninfected plant with just water/heat stress.

Yes bkay, apart from telling that grower that they are dead wrong you are clearly up against a brick wall with them. If they had any knowledge or principals they would ditch questionable stock and take the loss rather than passing it along. Shameful!

I bought August Moon last year on a clearance rack. At this moment, I don't even remember where I planted it! But I will definitely keep an eye on it now.

Good to know about it presenting early in the season. Glad my house came with an August Moon as this may be rampant in the industry. Those new pics are more telling. So much for care free Hosta growing.

As you probably know already, I check my garden several times per day. Mainly, I like to admire my plants and be outside. I also have a lot of vermin of different types which do different patterns of damage. My frequent inspections allow me to detect the damage early and thus often salvage a plant that has been eaten by voles, chipmunks or rabbits, or knocked over by squirrels. I also check the overall health of the plants.

Today, I found a new eye on my Royal Standard. I have had this plant for about 6 years. There was a moment of excitement when I thought it had thrown a sport with dark margins and lighter centers. As I got closer, my heart sunk. HVX. Classic. I was too upset to photograph it.

The significance of finding HVX in this of all plants is profound. In September of 2017, I had found this same RS listing to one side. I picked it up to find that the voles had been feasting. There was barely any crown left. I quickly doused the remaining crown in root-hormone and potted the plant. Then, another plant fell over. And another and another, in every part of my yard on the same day within minutes. It ifelt like the voles had been planning a multi-pronged attack. I took my shovel and frantically dug up every single hosta or vole-preferred plant in my garden.

There were over 150 uprooted plants on my patio. My family rushed out to buy me soil and to bring extra pots. I potted the plants for 8 hours straight. There was no way to sterilize the gardening tools between plants. There were too many plants to rescue. I had to take care of all of them that day because I had a series of long days at work starting the next day. I got it all done. All of the plants survived.

Remember that the first plant that I handled was the Royal Standard.

My sympathies to you bkay. Sometimes it is an uphill battle. I, for one, am getting tired of going uphill. This year I am just trying to keep what I have doing well. and hoping for the best.

-Babka

*&^%$#@$#%^&* words cannot express how much that sucks. And I'm worried about frost. These viruses help us put things into perspective.

utog I am so sorry that there is nothing I can say to ease your mind. I really feel for you.

Here is the Royal Standard.

Wow, that looks bad. It's scary to think it may be so many of them. Have you planted them out or are they still in pots? (My one previous HVX infected hosta was a Royal Standard.)

I'm lucky in that respect, in that it's a new plant and I keep all my hosta in pots. I don't think I used any tools on it. I usually just pull out the roots with my hands if they are circling the bottom of the pot. I'll just have to wait to see if Fragrant Dream and Karin show any signs. BlewLabel Perennials (Centerton Nursery) is a huge operation. THey must be using the dreaded infected plugs from the Netherlands.

Sadly, I have long since planted most of the hostas I handled that day. Time will tell. I have decided that I will enjoy them while they are still pretty. Aside from that day, I do not prune from one plant to the next. I wash my hands between plants. A lot of my plants do come from Lowes and Home Depot; the rest are from various trustworthy vendors. I made my peace with HVX a couple years ago, I thought. I feel like HVX is an inevitability. There are lots of other plant viruses here in NC, as mosiac viruses.

I considered testing all of my Hostas, but the tests are ridiculously expensive. At $10 per test and over 250 Hostas, it is not reasonable to consider.

Even if you know which ones have HVX, you still have all the pots to sanitize. Then you have the contaminated soil if they are in the ground. There is not much you can actually control once it's there.

bkay

Agreed. That's what I realized about 3 years ago. It is important to buy responsibly, practice good garden hygiene, and keep an eye on one's garden. I never cut off hosta flower stalks. If I remove a torn-up, hail-battered leaf, I always go inside and wash my hands before proceeding through the garden.

On a good note, the Royal Standard looks a lot better now. The nasty leaves are much less nasty. Maybe I got lucky and the damage I saw was just frost/crush damage? The affected pip may have gotten stuck on the wire basket rim as it emerged. I will take more photos this weekend and show you, bkay, if you would like to see the progression.

That Royal Standard may not be HVX.

I agree with others about bkay's August Moon. I wouldn't risk planting it in my garden - its not worth the trouble. I found HVX in the spring once - could have been there for years and I wouldn't have noticed - it was Krossa Regal in the back of the garden behind other hosta. I used the method someone suggested here to handle it. Round up - two times - it was good and dead before I dug it up. I killed and dug the hosta adjacent to it also as it was one I had several of and I didn't want to go through this again. This is a good time, as the hosta unfurl, to look for signs of virus.

Edited to add: has anyone tried to return a plant that looked diseased?

Um, I am embarrassed and pleased to announce that the Royal Standard seems to have been attention-seeking...the same eye of leaves today is all better. I am glad I didn't kill it.

Not HVX. Just water-logged, slightly squished, freshly unfurling leaves. Maybe there is a life lesson here...

This is a hvx positive royal standard. i did a test strip on it.

bk

Bev, all hell has broken loose around here. However, I plan to return that hosta. My garden center is a seller, not a grower. I think they need to know that they are selling HVX infected hosta. It may not help, but I still plan to take it back. I'm a "garden club" member, so they have a record of selling it to me.

bkay