It's Labor Day weekend....hosta don't look their best now...
I would do nothing and chalk it up to late summer uglies.
Linda C

Karen, Before doing anything can you send a close up picture of the leaf that shows the damage?

BTW, I love your sidewalk. Wish I had done something like that instead of a boring cement sidewalk to my front door.

Sassy

Hi Karen, welcome to the forum!
Just want to tell you I like your sidewalk edged with hosta.

And like sassy said, try to give us a picture of the hosta leaves that are in question.

Janet

Hi-

Thanks for the welcome...and for the compliments on my walkway. When we bought this house four years ago, the front walkway consisted of a few pieces of slate, buried under grass...haphazardly placed...and going straight out to the street. My husband put that walkway in the first summer we were here...and it took most of the summer. We had taken down a dead and rotting maple...and boy was it difficult for him working through those roots!! Anyway, thanks for your comments on the walk. I love it. To me it feels warm and welcoming...which is how I want people to think of my small home. :-) Oh, and the gardens on either side of the walk and along the front of the house, are one of my favorite on-going projects. I'm already re-designing (and expanding in my head) for next year. :-)

As for the leaves which I fear have nematode evidence, I will post a few pictures tomorrow. My husband is out with my kids...and he has the camera.

As always, thanks for your help and support!!

--Karen

Ok, I finally was able to get my camera from my husband and I've taken some pictures. Of course when I looked closer I saw something on two additional hosta, so now I have lots of pictures to share.

This is the Gold Standard which prompted my original question. This is what it looks like from above...pretty ratty, but I assume those are the end of August blues.

These are shots of some of the leaves below which gave me concern...and prompted me to start this posting. None of these are visible from the top looking down at the plant. I found these leaves because I was poking around the plant to see how the newer leaves looked.

This is a photo of one of the adjacent Blue Cadets:

...and these are the few leaves that I saw when I went out today, which I hadn't noticed before and which I figured I better ask about:

Again, I found this leaf under others. It isn't visible from the top looking down.

This is one of my Litte Sunspot plants which is on the inside of the walkway opposite the other two plants and edging what I think of as my cottage garden. Could nematodes move that far???

...and these are shots of a few of Little Sunspot's leaves:

The area I'm concerned about in the next two is in the lower right of the picture. The brown in the leaf at the top is actually a daylily leaf which has browned out...not brown in the actual hosta leaf (I had to go back out and double check that to be sure), although in the second shot there is another leaf of potential interest toward the top left of the shot.

Ok, here is one last quick shot of what I call my front cottage garden. Its not the best shot (took it just a few minutes ago when I took the hosta pix), but since I was sharing potential troubles, I wanted to also share something that makes me smile.

As always, thanks in advance for your help and guidance.

--Karen

Hi again--

Is there etiquette on the number of photos included in a posting that I need to know? I just realized that I posted a lot of pictures above.

Thanks!!

--Karen

Hi karen--and WELCOME!!! Your last question first: I am not aware of any etiquette as to the numbers
of pics. you want to post in a thread, but I do think it may help to put something in your thread title (i.e. " 6 pics.")
to let those with dial-up know, ahead of time, that there are pics. to be opened. That way, they can avoid trying
if it will tie them up too long to open your thread! I don't always remember to do that, myself, but I'm trying to do better at it!!!

I'm afraid I have to confirm your suspicions, that you have nematodes!! I'm beginning to feel, that if one already has a lot of them,
there's not much you can do, but enjoy your hosta till this time of the year, and then remove any leaves that show the symptoms.

I think we all are learning that there is no reasonable way to be rid of them completely, and forever. Sigh! I'm just not going to deal
with it, in a new hosta--they are history!!! Otherwise, if they show up in one I love, and have had for a long time, I will remove
the leaves, all the way to the crown and hope I can at least control the appearance for awhile! And, I, of course, would not trade
or share with anyone, if I know I have them in an area where what I'd share is growing! I'd never want to share my misfortune with
someone else, like that! I also have made it clear to anyone I have shared with, that there are nematodes in an area of my garden,
but just not near to what I HAVE shared!

In that vein, I remember someone posted in a summer past, that they'd not admit to having them, if they did, for fear others would not
want to trade with them. I find that deplorable and highly selfish and self-serving!!! Totally unacceptable attitude between hosta-friends or
anyone for that matter!!! Really--what is happening to the idea of INTEGRITY and honesty between people anymore!!!!

I digress--sorry--back to the topic---you may choose to try and do all the work, yourself, but---I am feeling that there's way too much stress for me,
in doing battle with them, if I wind up with a severe case of them. Thankfully, I haven't-----yet----but I have brought in a few plants that eventually
present themselves as being infested. Those hosta are gone,now--but, I know the nematodes could show up again, now that they've been *introduced*
to my yummy garden!!! :o)

Again, welcome and don't despair!! Life is still good--especially in the garden!!! :o)

BTW--I, too, love your walkway and your hosta plantings!!! :o)

Yep, nematodes unfortunately!

I mentioned this in another thread. It might be worth a try next year. Worse case, you fertilize the hosta!

Here is a link that might be useful: shell fish fert

Oh, Karen, I got a knot in my stomach when I saw your pics.
I'm all too familar with what nematode damage looks like.
I'm sorry.

That Gold Standard has a real bad case of them. Maybe GS is a fave of nematodes cause they really hit one of mine hard too.

Today I spent hours in my gardens. For the first time I have hope since I first spotted an infected leaf this yr.
(which was over a month ago) Last weekend I started spraying the ZeroTol using a 2% solution instead of the weaker solution that was recommended by the manufactor.
I finally noticed a difference today in the decrease of plants that show damage! Should of used the 2% solution from the very start.

Today I took my Gold Standard that was riddled with nematodes and decided to experiment with Bruce's "bleach water soak" and see what happens. I also put a couple August Moons in bleach too. Right now they're soaking in it and tomorrow morning I'll plant them somewhere "downstream" from any of my other hostas. I dug a nearly mature Gold Standard up, divided it into many plants, cut off the leaves to about 2-3" from the crown and put them in a 10% bleach water solution. Then of course I poured scalding water in and all around the hole.
Just for the heck of it I poured 50% bleach water in and around the hole too.
Soon I'll post pics of this years hosta hospital.

Janice, You mentioned INTEGRITY....What's that?
Sad isn't it?
Greed replaced integrity a long time ago.
I've always enjoyed sharing my hostas with friends and family...and now I feel that I can't, and that bothers me.

Karen, one good thing....Gold Standards and Blue Cadets are cheap, vigorous and are rapid increasers so you may want to just pitch them and start over.
If you decide to treat them using the ZeroTol fungicide, I found a cheaper place to buy it. I ordered another 2.5 gal and I saved about $40. No charge for hazard material shipping either. I think it was $114.00 plus $14.17 for shipping. The company is E H Griffith.....
I plan to stick with the ZeroTol this year since that's what I started with last month.

PS...Your front cottage garden is lovely.

Whip1,
I was interested in that website that you posted and I gave the company a call and asked them about it.
Well, the woman that I spoke to told me that it is helpful
with nematodes that attack roots (I can't recall what she called those nematodes)
But, she didn't know anything at all about Foliar Nematodes.
She said that she'd never heard of them. Oh well.
If you hear anything different let us know.

A fungicide was effective against nematodes ... that surprises me.

Probably root knot nematodes, sassy.

I tell you what, I think I am giving up on my fight against nematodes. I just found two that I purchased from a highly reputable hybridizer that have nematodes, as well as a few others that were trades, etc.

They are snuggled up w/ some HUGE plants and I simply cannot dig them up, boil them, etc and I think I'm at the point where i just QUIT.

I will just not trade or sell again.

Oh dear, Andrea--I'm really sorry to hear that! It does seem fruitless to fight--eventually, doesn't it!!
Oh well---life goes on--and your place is still really, really awesome with your *pond* and falls!
I'd take it--in a heart beat, nematodes and all, any time! :o)

Paul, I first learned about ZeroTol, a fungicide on this forum. If you search this forum for the name,"Dr. Grewal" you'll beable to read what he said about it. I felt desperate enough to spend the big bucks and try it out. I believe he said that it would only kill 70% of the nematodes.

Andrea, I know how you feel. Sorry. I was wondering if you were going to have problems with those plants that you got from that highly reputable hybridizer. (I'll shut up now about that)

I just spent hours planting the Gold Standard and Aug Moon plants that I divided and soaked overnight in the bleach water. I believe there's 24 divisions that I planted. This will be the last time that I ever dig up a plant and treat it. I only did this as an experiment.
From this day forward I will spray treat them or pitch them.
I wish I could just pluck off the damaged leaves and put it out of my mind. Out of sight, out of mind just doesn't work for me. Wish it did though.

lmao sassy

Bummer!

I'd pick off the leaves that show the streaks, treat the plants and the soil around them with disulfoton immediately, and late in the season, once the foliage dies back, I'd soak the crowns and root systems with the stuff one more time, since nematodes migrate underground for the winter. You'll probably want to treat them again next season.

BTW, did you see Donna's (playinmud) post on home made insecticidal soap she uses against nematode infestations?

Here is a link that might be useful: home made insecticidal soap for nematodes