Is this Hosta Virus X?

esther_b

12 years ago

I have a Wide Brim which I happened to examine tonight. I saw some wrinkling of a leaf along one side of the leaf:

Here is another picture of the same plant:

Then I went to look at an unknown blue-green hosta someone gave me a couple years ago, as a dug-up division:

and saw suspicious sign on the leaf:

I went to another plant of the same species which was part of the hosta gift and saw this:

Do any of these hosta have Hosta Virus X? Must I pull everything out and plant a bunch of heuchera?

Thanks for any help.

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Comments (10)

caliloo
12 years ago
My guess is that Wide Brim had some sort of physical damage - look at the thread titled "REALLY ODD" and I think you may have the answer. The other one just looks like too much rain.

So short answer, no I don't think either is HVX, but wait for Chris or another expert to weigh in

Alexa
0
paul_in_mn
12 years ago
That 2nd pic sure looks like collapsed tissue. The second set tried to blowup, but focus is off.

Paul
0
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Hi Jakki, I've seen roundup sprayed hostas come back a year later, so while it is worth a try to kill the plants with chemicals it isn't a guarantee, and then those roots could be down there contaminating things for quite a while. From the latest research (they aren't saying much yet) they are saying that HVX stays viable in the soil for months, if not years, from a contaminated location, so the recommendation is to not replant hostas in a spot that previously had HVX. Pretty scary stuff, if you ask me! There was always the possibility of HVX spreading by contaminated dirt particles (using a coarse contaminated sample to grind HVX into hostas is part of the inoculation process in research) and it seems dirt can hold on to HVX for quite a while. Also think heavy dust storm - if the plants get wind damage, bits of HVX could be floating around the garden. One major issue I see is that people continue to think that the green "ink bleed" is the only symptom. People post pictures here pretty regularly with HVX infected plants in the background and I don't even think they realize it. Many plants get distorted leaves, but others get NO symptoms at all. It's like cockroaches... If you see one you can be guaranteed there are others lurking about, even though you don't see them. There are millions of HVX infected plants out there, and it will take the effort of all of us to get rid of this huge problem. Chris
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Sorry, but that is not true. The original sport did NOT have HVX, and it was produced for years in tissue culture without any problems. It wasn't until about 2002 that Striptease started to get infected with HVX at the wholesale level. From 2003 to 2005 nearly every single import of Striptease from Holland was infected. During that time SOME Striptease done in tissue culture were infected, but NOT all of them. So I am sorry, but this is absolutely not possible. And virused plants were first mistaken as sports, but they are not. They are diseased plants showing diseased symptoms. I have many plants of Striptease that have been repeatedly tested by ELISA and EM (electron microscopy) that are completely free of ANY virus. Hopefully this will clear up this bit of misinformation. Chris
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Doesn't look like it to me.
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Here is a link to the current pdf brochure published by the American Hosta Society. You can print it out, as I have done, to present to managers at nurseries where you think you see HVX on their plants. Even if you don't see symptoms, it is a good reference sheet for them to use when talking with their suppliers. It always helps to get the word out and this brochure states all the latest facts as of 2013. -Babka Here is a link that might be useful: AHS Brochure regarding HVX
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thisismelissa
12 years ago
The pic with the fingernails... that one looks like discoloration that occurs from fluctuating temps. It's not frost damage, just kind of an early spring thing.

The first hosta, that's hard to say. It could just be frost damage. I'd leave it alone (don't start digging,just yet) and if leaves that emerge later in the season display similar funkiness, then it's probably viral. If they do not, it's more than likely frost damage.
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Steve Massachusetts
12 years ago
Melissa is right, don't dig yet. You want to be sure it's not just frost damage. Wait for a new flush of leaves and see what they look like. You could also get some test strips if you want peace of mind. Don't be sharing plants with anyone or moving stuff around until you know. Remember the virus is spread by the plant sap, so wash your tools with 10% bleach if you work on or around these plants. Personally I wouldn't touch them with tools until I was sure. The virus will need a wound, like a cut root, or scape in order to enter another plant. You should also know that the virus doesn't spread during the summer or fall. So you should wait until the plant is flowering anyway if you are going to remove it.

Steve

Here is a link that might be useful: June 2010 Summary Report on HVX
0
paul_in_mn
12 years ago
Frost damage looks similar at first to HVX, though as dead cells finish drying it looks quite different - so give it a week. Collapsed HVX cells are not dead or dry and can remain like that all season.

Link below to AHS HVX pics showing 3 types of symptoms - Inkbleed, Collapsing Tissue and Mottled Tissue.

Paul

Here is a link that might be useful: AHS HVX Symptom Pics
0
paul_in_mn
12 years ago
Here's the page I meant to link-

Paul

Here is a link that might be useful: AHS HVX Symptom Pics
0
bettylu_zone6a
12 years ago
Thanks, Paul, for the link to the Symptom pictures - they are so clear!

Thankfully I have not seen these symptoms in my garden, but I am very glad to have those images in mind when I am looking as some of the odd leaves that can occur (especially with the strange spring we have been having).

BettyLu
0
nutmeg4061
12 years ago
your last 2 pics remind me of my personal hosta paranoia with this Cathedral Windows TC, lol. I probably wouldn't be so paranoid if I didn't sit here staring at my hi-res pics, tho! I THINK both your last 2 pics and my CW are okay.
0
ctopher_mi
12 years ago
I don't see anything that jumps out on the wide brim that says "virus", and the lighter coloring between veins you see on the other plant is perfectly normal. The leaf simply hasn't completely colored up yet. My rule of thumb is if the normal color is on the veins and it is a little lighter between (and very symmetric like this) it is perfectly fine. Reverse that so there is a lighter color on the veins and normal color between then you have a problem.

Problem is, there are so many Wide Brim hostas out there with HVX that I wouldn't touch that particular variety with a 10' pole, so consider it suspect.
0
Mary4b
12 years ago
Great thread with such good photos...Paul, those ones are awesome.

I had a hosta dug up and in a temporary pot the night before last...wouldn't you know it got down to 33 degrees and now I have frost damage on that beautiful specimen. I'd just dug it up because it was nice and big and I needed a "show stopper"...will the white frost damage turn brown? If it can stay white through June 4, next Sat, I'm fine....I'm having an outdoor party for my daughter's graduation. If it's going to get ugly asap, I'll dig up something else for that spot.
0

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Is this Hosta Virus X?

Comments (10)

caliloo

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