I can't speak for New Orleans, but it gets plenty warm up here being in the interior and away from coastal moderating influences. I had Rock 'n' Roll in a pot this summer, and once it got going, it did okay. My plant was very slow to start, and I had almost given up on it, but all of a sudden it started to grow. In our heat, the flowers were small to medium in size, but they were nice. I later saw it when I went to Tacoma, WA in the fall. It was much larger and quite fragrant with decent, showable form. So, I would conclude that it would be better in spring and fall. Perhaps if it survives our roller coaster winter and spring temps, it will look better next year. It really wouldn't hurt to try it just for the heck of it. It actually might prefer coastal air influences. That is what I have seen in the posted pictures of Neptune.

Sorry to hear your lacunosa has been having problems. I find it kind of hard to root. If I were in your shoes, I'd be looking for an EA lacunosa to replace yours with. They're big and cheap... But, I understand your wish to salvage some of the one you had. I wouldn't worry too much about the Miracle Grow in the perlite. A cutting can't take up nutrients, so it doesn't really matter if there are nutrients there or not. When it's ready to take them up, it will. But I don't really think there's enough there to make much difference... Good luck! Denise in Omaha

What you have here is a spectrum of opinions... and evidence that visual examination of a single snapshot can't rule out virus or, except in very severe cases, confirm it. In the case of your sum and substance, there's not even agreement if it is s&S. There are a few mass produced hostas that are particularly known for being virused as we know large numbers of virused stock came in from Europe a few years back. S&S is one of the prime virus varieties... which made me even more suspicious. People are even of two minds on testing. The strips are not terribly expensive. You can google to find the source and instructions on their use. On the other hand, many folks would say that S&S is also pretty inexpensive and can be replaced for not much more than testing will cost. A lot of folks would say - carefully remove it, package it up (don't put it into your compost pile) and get rid of it.) I like Lois advice - I'd test because I'd want to know for sure... because I like to know stuff... You mentioned concern about your other hostas. You really should do some research on HVX - there's lots of good info just a google away. It is spread mechanically, plant to plant... you can pretty much think of it as moving from the infected plant to the next by transferring sap. You can leave an infected plant in a spot for quite a while without doing any damage as long as you make sure it doesn't spread - which means any tools you use in the area that could contact the leaves or root ball should be thoroughly disinfected to prevent spreading the virus to the next plant you work with. Research is being done right now on how hard it is to spread the little devil. The preliminary results reported at the AHS convention suggest that it may be more difficult to spread than feared. Still - we know it can be spread by tools, by power washing, probably by plants touching foliage or roots...

It doesn't look like anything is wrong with your plant. I have a Miracle Berry and it has leaves that are discolored a bit, spotted a little and I think that is just how the plant looks this time of year. Do not feed your plant during the winter months and only fertilize it when it is actively growing. Make sure it is growing in an acidic soil and give it lots of light in the brightest window you have. This is my Miracle Berry today, 11/26/20 - the leaves look like yours - it is normal and nothing to be concerned about.