Hosta virus X

About

Hosta virus X is an incurable virus that infects only hostas. It spreads in plant sap on tools and hands, and it often comes into a garden on new plants that look healthy.

Also called hosta virus X, Hosta virus X, HVX, hosta virus

How to recognize it

Symptoms

Leaves get blotchy mottling, dark or light green bleeding along the veins, blue or green spots on gold areas, puckered or lumpy tissue and ring-shaped spots. Some plants get brown dead spots, twisted leaves or wilting. Symptoms show best on gold hostas, and some cultivars show nothing until after the first year.

Often confused with

Some hostas are bred to have streaky or mottled leaves, such as 'Cynthia', 'Laella', 'Kiwi Forest', 'Wild Bill' and 'Xanadu Paisley', and other viruses can infect hostas too. A virus test settles it, and a negative HVX test does not rule out other viruses.

Worse when

Dividing, cutting and handling hostas with tools or hands that touched an infected plant.

How it spreads

Sap from infected plants moves on pruners, shovels, knives, string trimmers and hands into wounds; insects are not known to spread it, and an infected plant stays infected for life.

When

Shows on leaves through the growing season.

What to do, gentlest first

Prevention works best; most sprays only protect healthy leaves and can't cure infected ones. Always read and follow the product label.

1. Buy clean plants and watch new ones Prevent

   Inspect hostas before buying and skip any with odd mottling; ask sellers about HVX testing. Keep new hostas apart for a few weeks if you can, and be wary of oddly marked hostas dug from friends' gardens.

   Cultivars found with HVX include 'Sum and Substance', 'Gold Standard', 'Guacamole', 'June', 'Patriot' and 'Striptease', but any hosta can be infected.

2. Clean tools and hands Prevent

   Wash hands with soap and water after handling hostas, and clean tools before moving to the next plant. Wisconsin suggests soaking tools at least a minute in trisodium phosphate (14 dry ounces per gallon) and rinsing.

   Wear gloves and eye protection with cleaning chemicals.

3. Remove and destroy infected plants By hand

   There is no cure. Dig out infected hostas as soon as you see symptoms and send them to the landfill or yard-waste facility. Do not compost them or just cut off the bad leaves.

   Clean every tool used to dig them out.

Plants it affects

Hosta (plantain lily)