Knowledgebase
Hostas brown spot #753860
Asked June 03, 2021, 7:48 PM EDT
Wayne County Michigan
Expert Response
Dear Voncile,
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YOUR QUESTION #0023791:
Hostas brown spot
My Host's have brown spots what is wrong with it?Ask Extension offers one-to-one expert answers from Cooperative Extension/University staff and volunteers within participating Land-Grant institutions across the United States.
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This is a timely question and the photo you included made this a rather easy one to answer. Your hostas appear to be suffering from anthracnose. If you notice in your picture, it begins with a smallish brown spot that enlarge to cover a larger portion of the leaf and then eventually involve the entire leaf and it turns entirely brown and shrivels up.
To help you care for the hostas you wish to keep and return to good health here is a link to a fact sheet from North Carolina State University Extension. It fully describes the disease, its progression, and treatments for anthracnose on hostas. Hosta Diseases and Pests | NC State Extension Publications (ncsu.edu). You can start to manage the problem by watering the hostas early in the day. This allows the plants leaves to dry out during the day. You can keep the plants cool by shading them and remove and destroy any infected leaves. If you decide to treat with a fungicide, remember they work best as a preventative so start your treatment next spring as the plants emerge and before the anthracnose can appear.
Thanks again for your question and I hope you have a great gardening season.
