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Page 2
My best results have come from removing them by hand, a thoroughly disgusting business at best. I had enlisted the help of several ten year old boys who were happy to help me, until they realized that I wasn't collecting them for use as pets. I WAS KILLING THEM! What a mean Mommy! When the boys realized that I could also smush grubs with my bare hands, they viewed me with either fear or respect... ( This effect is not always a bad thing, as most Moms will tell you. )
This is NOT my garden--alas--it belongs to Thomas Tillery, of Atlanta, and goes a long way toward explaining the reason hostas are so popular. I came across Tom's garden researching (yes, net-surfing) on line. His site is part of the lively material found on the "Houpts' Hosta Habit" site-don't miss it! http://www.pal-metto.com/hosta/ There are other pests plaguing hostas besides the charmelss slug popualtion: fungus, and the hosta nematode. Topical methods work fairly well to control fungi, although a pre-emergent treatment of copper suphate dust seems to get the job done early.Should fugus appear later in the season, sprinkling a light layer of the same dust around the perimeter of an infected plant will help get the prblem under control,once the treatment has been soaked in. Also,remove and destroy the infected leaves. (Should I remind you- don't compost them?) Nematodes are a different matter. They are teeeny-weeeny worms which live in the leaf tissue, causing the leaf to brown, sometimes almost from the inside out. One way to check for nematodes is pretty simple: take a piece of affected leaf tissue, and put it in a clear glass of water. Let it soak for thirty minutes, remove the leaf and hold it up to a bright light. You may need a magnifying glass to see if there are wee worms swimming around inside the leaf tissues, which is definitive proof that you do indeed have nematodes. Should you have an infected plant, it must be destroyed.Ditto on the compost---don"t! Examine its' neighbors carefully, and don't plant hostas in the same area again. Nematodes over-winter in the soil, and lie in wait for spring to bring them a new host plant which matches their personal biology. Check with your Extension Service to find a nematode resistant plant to put in its' place. Hostas color and texture is like nothing else in the shade. Unless you live in an arid climate, by all means brighten up your shade with one of the literally hundreds of cultivars available.
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