The infected one that I found last year had been in the same spot for several years, too. It also showed symptoms almost overnight. Just be careful how you dispose of it and watch the surrounding hostas closely. I put an upside down clay pot on the spot where the hosta was, and it's still there! I'm afraid I'll forget and plant another there...

I am definitely getting rid of this. After googling photos, I am sure it is a virus. I just can't believe I had it for 10 yrs w no signs. I guess I could have infected it by cross-contamination -which means there is a lurker or several here with the virus besides this one.

will it be ok to plant impatiens or ferns there?

Is that hosta Striptease?

That is ctually one of the insidious things about the virus. It can be present in a plant for several years before it becomes obvious. Ten yeas ago is about the time when it first became a known problem. Striptease produced during that time were notoriously infected.My Striptease is about 16 years old and still looks healthy. I do keep an eye on it though. It was the most expensive hosta, at $40 that I had ever purchased. But I kept going back to the nursery to see it, until it finally jumped into my hands. It was a gallon pot FULL!

I agree with those above. It certainly looks like HVX to me. And as Gary said above, that's one of the main issues with HVS and why we need to be vigilant about good garden hygiene on a regular basis.

In my garden, it was 'Ani Machi' (aka Geisha) that I suddenly became suspicious of. Very subtle symptoms and I almost didn't run a test on it and was a bit surprised when it tested positive. That was about 3 years ago. So far no signs that I infected anything else, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Crossing my fingers for your 'Striptease', Gary.

I don't know what it is, it was given to me by a friend about 10 years ago, I am sure she had it several years and probably did not pay much for it.
I thought it may be Kiwi Full Monte?

Late spring cold snaps/frosts/freezes can cause this appearance on partial foliage. I have two Old Glory plants on the north side of our home that have been there 13 years that had a little bit of this "look" and I have seen cold damage look like this before. That said though, I have seen Virus X first hand at my neighbors who bought hosta from Home Depot. Plants can and do exhibit partial foliage deformation on the plant. I have a Virus X test kit and my neighbor's hosta that he purchased from Home Depot did test positive. The good news is that the disease has not spread or gotten worse over the years. Be careful handling cut off portions of the plant and that you don't drip hosta "juice" on any other hosta. Clean shovels and gardening implements with alcohol after cutting into a suspect plant. Yours looks an awful like like Virus X. I hope not.

I would say with certainty that mine has the virus except for the 10 yr thing. I have seen hostas at Lowes that looked diseased. I am leary about buying from them, was only buying the Monrovia brand but then heard they were no better. I was at a lowes one day and there was a truck that left there, an hour or so later went to a local mom and pop nursery (pricey) supposed to be 'all that', and guess what? Same truck was unloading there. So I am inclined to think many plants come from the same beginning, they simply put them in a different pot and price them higher. So who knows what to do anymore!

I am a retired horticulurist and landscape contractor. Our family business is in it's third generation here in the Columbus, Ohio area. Monrovia is a very reputable company. They supply garden centers and landscape contractors around the county. Due to freight costs, we have been buying nursery stock from mostly Ohio growers. I don't know if Monrovia or any of the large nurseries propagate their own hosta or buy the plugs from someone that specializes in hosta propagation. We used to buy plugs/small cell pack size hosta from a wholesale nursery called Q & Z, now out of business. We would basically grow our own hosta from their plugs. Many of the wholesale suppliers, like Q & Z did, tissue culture their plants. I think if you bought from a reputable garden center, you should be safe. I'd avoid hosta from the big box companies and your local grocer that is only selling them as a seasonal add on item, no matter how cheap the price. Who knows where they come from.

Frillylily said:I don't know what it is, it was given to me by a friend about 10 years ago, I am sure she had it several years and probably did not pay much for it.
I thought it may be Kiwi Full Monte?

About 10 years ago, HVX was particularly prevalent in the 'Striptease' family of hostas, even in plants from good nurseries because people were not as aware of it.