So what does autumn mean for the rest of the garden? Some plants really like the cooler weather. In the planters my zonal geraniums have started blooming again, but the coleus and a few other sensitive plants have not survived the cold nights. In the garden some late-blooming plants have done okay. I just didn't get out and photograph them while they were at their best. You'll have to trust me that this sunflower looked fine while its head still pointed upwards.
Not-Too-Sunny Sunflower
My precious single stalk of Postman's Pride sedum is blooming nicely, as are the turtleheads I planted from another person's garden last year.
Postman's Pride Sedum
Turtleheads
As I predicted, I can count on 'Rozanne' hardy geranium to bloom from July to October, so it is still doing quite nicely.
Rozanne Hardy Geranium
And, in spite of looking pretty rough in the high heat, enough ruffled pansies survived that I still have some blooms in the pot I planted them in.
Spring Pansy Survivors
Oh, and if anybody out there was wondering how my seedlings have been doing, I took this photo to show that enough of the strong ones survived to give me a nice healthy crop next year. I'm really not sure what I'm going to do with them all. I should probably plant them out into separate plastic pots to overwinter them. I will transplant the largest ones directly into the ground, and put some of them in the cold frame for the winter. The rest I'm not sure what I will do, because if I bring them inside the cat will eat them for sure!
Daylily Seedlings
Last but not least I must thank quu for alerting to me to Hosta Virus X. As she warned, it seems at least some of my new purchases may be harbouring the virus. Here is a leaf of 'August Moon' that seems to be showing symptoms.
'August Moon' Has Hosta Virus X?
Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without permission.
I'm not certain, but here is what I'm thinking. 'August Moon' is a light-coloured hosta, but this plant has darker "inkbleed" markings following the veins. If you read up on the virus, lighter plants with the virus will show dark markings (dark plants will show light markings). Inkbleed distribution of markings is also a classic symptom.
I will certainly destroy this hosta just to be on the safe side, but the conservative measures state that any hostas in the same batch as one showing infection should be assumed to have the infection too. I don't know if I want to go as far as destroying the whole set of hostas I just bought at the end of August. (Then again, the list of hostas that were on sale at the nursery was suspiciously similar to the list of hostas most susceptible to Hosta Virus X. Coincidence? Maybe. Would you be suspicious? This nursery specializes in hostas. The only place I know of that sells more varieties than they do is Floral and Hardy Gardens, Betty and Marv's mail order nursery specializing in daylilies, hosta, and heuchera.)
What would you do? Destroy an entire batch of new purchases, or "wait and see"?
7 comments:
too sad to hear about your hosta's. If I were to keep them I would keep them away from my others.
I don't think that's a normal leaf for August moon, which I have several of. Some of the leaves are a bit browned, but that's just the weather/water/etc. However, in a totally separate part of the yard, I have been watching a different hosta with similar leaf markings as yours and I'll probably dig it up this week and throw it out.
Yikes! Can you take a sample leaf in and show the nursery staff? It would be a shame to destroy the entire batch of them. I probably wouldn't adopt a 'wait-and-see' approach if there is a chance the virus can affect other hostas in your garden.
I love Turtlehead - I haven't had any luck with it here.
While there are a few questionable markings on that August Moon leaf, I wouldn't jump to conclusions so quickly at this time of year. Hostas are looking tired now and begin to show weird coloration as they begin to go dormant. Especially potted plants, which are likely stressed from being root bound, starved of nutrients, allowed to dry out who knows how often, etc. Most of what you see in that leaf - the darker netting along and between the veins - is not disease related. That is a sign of nutrient deficiency. Very common in the spring when it is cool and wet, as some nutrients can't be utilized at cool temps. Also common in potted plants when the nutrients have been leached from the potting mix or the pH is off.
I wouldn't toss the plants now. Just use a little caution when handling them (don't cut them or trim them) and plant them at least a few feet from any other hostas. As you read in my article that you linked to, people are the biggest spreaders of HVX. It is not going to spread throughout your garden without your help (keep the weed eater and lawn mower away!). See what the plants look like in the spring, then make your decision.
Maybe a little off tangent, but while it is definitely not good to have HVX in your garden, there is an un-need hysteria about it anymore. Not directed toward you, Karen :) Just an observation in general...I see it in the forums and email lists all the time. A little information and common sense goes a long way toward keeping HVX from destroying our beloved hostas. It doesn't have to be the end of the world or ruin our fun!
Sorry for the rant!
Wow, thanks for weighing in, Josh. I did in fact get rid of that one hosta, and it turned out I liked the look of the area much better without it, so at least there was that.
In the meantime, I have not cut any scapes or trimmed leaves from any hostas in my garden. I do want to be ready to disinfect my tools before moving from plant to plant.
Hi Karen,I love the Sunflower photo.I would always keep plants for as long as possible before discarding them.I have set up plant Sick bays before when im not sure if they are diseased.Must be my nursing background (along with rescuing plants from the Mortuary shelf).
The Sedum looks like sweets in a confectionary shop.
Hi,
I like your blog and its concept very much...keep it up...
source:
http://www.myzonal.com
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