Question: My hostas took a beating from a hailstorm. My light green one with the huge leaves, especially. There are now holes from the hail and torn leaves. Is there anything I can or should do for my plant or is it trashed until next year? I've had this plant for years, and it's been doing beautifully until now.

Answer: Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do about the old leaves that are damaged. You might get some new growth from the plant because it might drop some old leaves that are too damaged. You can help the plant by giving it some fertilizer with a higher first number (nitrogen). Don't over do it, just follow the label directions. Don't wait too much longer in the season to fertilize. New leaves growing late in the season might just get frosted off before they mature. These wasted leaves could take away nutrients that would help in the plant's ability to survive the winter and to send out leaves next year.

Even though it appears your hostas have not had pest problems in the past, be sure that the hailstorms actually did the damage. Snails and slugs love hosta leaves and create the same kind of damage. Earwigs can chew holes in the leaves while they are still curled up and growing, so when they finally flatten out they already have holes in them. These holes will often line up in rows and hail doesn't do that.

To protect your hosta and any other plants including those in the vegetable garden from slugs and snails, you can use a product from Gardens Alive! called Escar-Go! It uses iron phosphate to kill the snails and slugs. Iron phosphate is a natural ingredient in the soil, so it is harmless to pets and people.

Q: One of my flowerbeds has a problem. All of the plants are wilting and dying. There are coneflowers, two ornamental grass clumps, vinca ground cover and several other flowers I don't know. The hedge of photinia shrubs across the back seem to be starting to have a problem, but it is not full blown yet. The same can be said for the redbud tree at the back. It has a few yellow leaves, but otherwise seems OK.

A: Very few insects and disease problems affect more than one family of plants. The first thought here is that something has gone wrong with the environment in that part of the flowerbed. You have to be part historian, part detective and part coroner when investigating a problem like this.

As the historian, you can ask what conditions have recently changed in this area? Was it flooded, was a shade tree cut down or has a new underground cable been installed? If the historian finds no new environmental conditions the detective may be called upon.

The detective has a difficult job. It is nearly impossible to determine if a chemical was poured on the soil, such as a total plant killer or gasoline. Most chemicals evaporate away and it takes a good laboratory to find residues. It is possible to find continuous leaks like a gas leak, since the chemical is still present.

If nothing turns up, then the coroner starts looking at the individual plants. Are the leaves just wilting or do they show signs of chemical damage, such as from weed killers? Are the plants all witling at ground level or higher up? Are the stems intact or does it look like an animal has chewed on them? What kind of damage do the root systems show?

There are a few fungus diseases that could be affecting such a diverse range of plants. They mostly affect the roots and stems. As these plant parts die, the plants wilt. If none of the environmental problems seem to fit, we need to investigate fusarium wilt, phomopsis blight and verticillium wilt.

Email questions to Jeff Rugg at info@greenerview.com. To find out more about Jeff Rugg and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.