just got some suspicious plants in trade

[AriesF5]

hey guys,
I'm a newbie. I've been hanging around on Gardenweb. I was told to come here for HVX help.

I just traded some plants for hosta. When they came in, I was amazed at the amount of care the woman showed in packing them. But alas, a closer inspection turned up what I think (remember I'm a newbie) is HVX . Can anyone help me out here. Please help. If one is infected, should I throw them all out???

I contacted the trader, and she said that she had never heard of HVX. So needless to say, I informed one more person. And since she loves to share her hosta, she is going to tell others about it too.

Thanks for any help guys.

Paradise joyce


Whagon Wheels


Harder to see. On pearl lake.

[John]

They all look suspicious to me, I'd keep them well away from your other hostas; someone more expert will be along to help you I am sure. And welcome to Hallson's.

[caliloo]

Welcome to Hallsons!

Yes, the Paradise Joyce is very suspicious looking and it is one that is high on the list of likely to be infected.

The others I am not as sure of... they may just look ratty because it is the end of the season. Hopefully more experienced people will offer opinions!

Good luck and welcome again!

Alexa

[newtohosta-no more]

Welcome to Hallson's. I'm sorry that the terrible subject of HVX is what brought you here. I hope you'll stick around and check out some of the other forums here. There's a wonderful group of people who use this website and Chris is just wonderful! As for your hostas....well...they do look suspicious to me. I will be very interested in what Chris has to say about the three pics. I'm not sure at all about the last pic and I'm sort of iffy on the middle one. Could just be color changes that go on in some hostas as the season progresses. I'm very leary of the first one. Just doesn't look right at all...as others have said. I'll keep my fingers crossed and hope that they all aren't infected.
Again...welcome.

[Chris_W]

While they might look suspicious, it could also just be the time of year for them.

First, that Paradise Joyce definitely looks weird. But I have to wonder why the dark green also seems to follow the damage spots on the leaf. If there was dark green without the damage I would throw it away, but that combination makes me pause. It shouldn't look like that, and it is possible based on Paradise Joyce being one of the infected plants out there, so whether you keep it is up to you but I can't say yes or no for sure.

The middle one just looks stressed or like it is going dormant.

The Pearl Lake does look a bit pale in places. The leaf surface is also rather dull looking, which gives me pause.

So while they look suspicious I don't see any smoking gun that points to HVX right now. Since you took the chance getting plants in a trade and if don't have anything else to lose in the garden by planting them you could always watch them next year. A lot of people have holding areas just for new plants where they watch them for a while before planting them out. You might consider that here too.

Wish I could say it with more certainty, but that's not always that easy to do sometimes.

Good luck,

Chris