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what is wrong with my hosta?

14 years ago

I divided a large hosta into 5 clumps and moved it to a new bed on April 23. For the first month or so, the plants were looking great. However, for the past two weeks they have taken a bad turn for the worse. The leaves are yellowing, and some are withering up completely. There are also holes in many of the leaves. I am completely new to all this gardening/landscaping stuff, and I am really enjoying my new hobby. However, I have a LOT to learn and I certainly don't have the knowledge to look at a plant and determine what could be wrong with it.

Lack of water? ( I water about twice a week)

Too much sun? (this bed does get quite a bit of sun)

critters?

disease?

I would greatly appreciate any advice from more experienced hosta-growers. I love my hosta and would really like for it to thrive. Thank you. I am attempting to post photos below.

{{gwi:1031801}}From 6 June
{{gwi:1031802}}From 6 June
{{gwi:1031803}}From 6 June
{{gwi:1031804}}From 6 June
{{gwi:1031805}}From 6 June

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Comments (3)

timhensley
14 years ago
If the current spot gets alot more sun than the hosta was use to it's probably sun scald. Keep waterting them and although they will look rough all season, they will come back next spring in great shape. It looks like undulata albomarginata and, if so, it can take lots of sun with no problems.
caliloo
14 years ago
I think it is a little of three of the four items you mentioned. They are a little shocked moving to bright sunlight and would benefit from a lot of extra watering.

If there are holes in the leaves, go out late at night or very early morning (with a flashlight if needed) and see if there are slugs that are feasting on your babies. If so - get yourself some Slug and Snail killer from the local box store or garden center. Some products (look at several types) are more pet friendly than others, choose the one that fits your family.

Alexa
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It's unlikely it's a virus. My first thought was foliar nematodes, but on second look, it looks more like either a cold damaged, sun damaged or water deprived area. I think whatever happened did so a while back. The tissue was damaged, turned light, then dark, then fell through. Unless you see something to indicate it's spreading, I'd chalk it up to cold damage. bk
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I know this is a weird thought. It looks like the opposite of iron chlorosis to me. We have very alkaline soil and water. The veins of the plant get green and the spaces between get yellow. It happens here to trees, vines, grasses and all other kinds of plants. Adapted plants are recommended. (Maple trees, pin oaks, white oaks, etc. don't work here.) I just snapped a couple of photos to show you what I mean. This was all I could find on short notice. The first is my neighbor's shrub. You can see the yellowed leaves with green veins. The next is a rogue passionflower sprout with iron chlorosis. I can apply some Ironite to it and it will green right up (I will pull it up instead). The last is a passionflower that looks correct. I always had this problem with a Sweet Autumn Clematis that was in front of the compost pile. I also put a handful of Ironite in my hosta pots from time to time. I'm a chef, so what I'm saying is just a guess with no specific knowledge or education behind it. It's just odd that it looks so similar and exactly the opposite. bk
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And scorched. With a lot of water, they might be able to take full sun, but they look like they've had too much sun. I've never said this before, but they also look like they need to be divided as they look very crowded. That's one of the oddities about hosta, they grow very well in the sun, but they also look pretty ugly while they are doing it. bk
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ahhhh .. whats it called.. fasciation???? ... there used to be a link to hossta terms on teh library page.. but i cant find it ... it went straight to a flower stalk ... it should work itself out .... leaf out.. out of order ... no real clue nor reason why it did it ken
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mdosborne26
Original Author
14 years ago
Thank you both so much for your input. I am watering more,and tonight I plan to look for slugs

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