Mid-Atlantic Gardening: Neck of the Woods CHAT Summer 2013 Part 2, 2 by coleup

coleup wrote:
HaHa Karen. I figured our paths would cross here eventually...just not that close! Good to have you here on the Mid Atlantic Forum!

Just a gentle reminder to all of us (obsesed) Hosta lovers about the Hosta HVX virus which is still wide spread in the market place. Symptoms can take several years to appear in previously 'healthy' looking plants. Mass produced growers and marketers do not certify virus free plants and one infected plant can spread the virus to any other hostas in our gardens.

http://www.hostalibrary.org/firstlook/HVX.htm

This year I have recently seen infected plants in HD so I would caution to 'look, but don't buy' unless from a place like Hallson that grows and propagates from clean stock.

From the Hosta Library site above three things to look for:

Inkbleed - This is perhaps the first noticed and most common symptom of HVX infection. It is an early sign, which is usually present to some degree in almost all hostas showing visible HVX symptoms. Usually a clearly different color from the surrounding tissue, and centered by a vein. It is assumed that the virus came from the vein and is spreading into the leaf tissue, causing discoloration as it infects healthy tissue. Pic 1

Collapsing Tissue - Usually a sign of heavier infection, this looks as if the leaf tissue has collapsed as if all the water was removed from those spots. Although the word "desiccation" is sometimes used to describe this symptom, the tissue is not dry or dead and can remain the whole season. As the photos illustrate, it can be accompanied by discoloration and is often more glaucous with heavier wax than surrounding healthy tissue. Inkbleed symptoms can usually be found on plants with collapsing tissue Pic 2

Mottled Tissue - The third type of symptom really doesn't have its own name because this symptom can be caused by other viruses as well. Plants with this mottled tissue have tested positive for HVX, but there is sometimes the possibility that another disease caused the symptoms and that HVX was present but not yet causing symptoms. A plant exhibiting symptoms like these should be considered to be infected by a virus and destroyed, as this type of mottling is never a mutation in a healthy hosta. Pic 3