Picture of the Week
September 12, 2022
Leaf Scorch and Sunburn on Hosta
Rosie Lerner, Extension Consumer Horticulture Specialist, Retired, Purdue University
Hosta are generally considered to be shade-loving plants, though there are some cultivars that can tolerate considerable sun. But in hot dry weather in full sun, even sun tolerant hostas may show symptoms of leaf scorch (browning along the leaf edges) and sunburn, (often starts out as a "bleached” effect followed by browning). While our season was notably wet for much of the early part of summer, most areas of the state experienced considerable dry weather more recently. The hosta pictured here were planted adjacent to a very busy sidewalk in full sun and despite being mulched and irrigated, they still ended up with scorch and sunburn as summer turned up the volume of stress.
There are other causal agents that can result in similar symptoms including disease, virus, and nematodes.
For more information on foliar nematode damage to garden plants click the image below for a Purdue Landscape Report article:
