HVX? A friend wants to know and I'm not sure.

[ViolaAnn]

What do you think of this plant? A (gardening) friend sent me the pictures this evening, with the message,

"I have these two Halcyon hostas, and both have these yellow spots this year. All my other hostas are fine. I looked to see if I could divide one of them to eliminate the leaves with the yellow spots but it didn’t seem as if that would eliminate the problem.

Any thoughts? I think it may be that dreaded Hosta virus...
Thanks for any help."
-----
I'm on the fence but suspicious because some of the yellow is along veins. Unfortunately I no longer have any test strips.

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

[redcrx]

It sure looks like HVX. But frost damage can have a weird look also.

[redcrx]

Ann, take a look at the virus forum - check the 3rd topic down that I posted.

[redcrx]

Talks about edema.

[ViolaAnn]

Ann, take a look at the virus forum - check the 3rd topic down that I posted.

Title of that topic? I"m not finding it.

[redcrx]

"Is this a form of "bleed" ".

[ViolaAnn]

OK, maybe I'm dense but I didn't see how it related.

[redcrx]

The spots look odd to me - a little different than what I usually see for HVX. It might be the thickness of the leaves in Halcyon. Or I have seen HVX IN Halcyon and it looked different. That post that I put was looking at "bleed" (the normal look for HVX) but Bill was saying that edema can give similar look also.

Really need a test strip.

[ademink]

I don't think HVX.

Even on blue ones, I find the "bleed" is still there or sunken tissue. I haven't seen HVX present as light patches. (Just my experience!)

[redcrx]

Yeah. Something looks odd for it to be. HVX. That's why I suggested edema - I think that's too much water. I wonder if frost could look like that - where it settles unevenly in the veins.

[Pieter]

Edema will turn to dead tissue and brown the affected parts of the leaf, there's no evidence of that here. It would be interesting to find out if this oddity manifests itself in newer growth. I had an example in my own garden where I thought earlier this spring I had some form of infection in 5 divisions of a Hyacinthina sport that occurred in my garden and while at the time I though it odd that all 5 were showing the same symptoms they likely would have been divided all at the same time and they were certainly potted up at the same time as they all were growing in the same growing media and shared the same general environment. I opted not to do anything too drastic at the time, like tossing them, and I'm glad I did because none of the new growth has shown any signs of what panicked me earlier and those 'spots' were now turning brown so whatever it was is probably of an environmental nature, possibly husbandry. I'll make a new thread showing what caused me concern.

[redcrx]

Thanks Pieter.