Do you have snails?!

I haven't seen any snails, but there are plenty of slugs in the nearby hostas. Could that be it? These don't look like the usual holes in the leaves, though.

I sprinkle crushed eggshells around my hostas and other perennials the slugs seem to like. Slugs/snails won't crawl over the shells because they cut them.

I'm stumped looking at your Solomon's seal--have never seen that sort of damage on any of my perennials. Did you check the Missouri Botanical Garden website to see if they reference any known problems?

Here is a link that might be useful: Solomon's seal

I'm not sure how reliable this site is, but check out the picture at the link below....

Here is a link that might be useful: sawfly damage

Solomon's Seal saw fly was my first thought. I've had it in the past sufficient to give up on SS.

BTW egg shells do not make any difference at all to the snails and slugs in my garden.

Here is a link that might be useful: SSSF

"BTW egg shells do not make any difference at all to the snails and slugs in my garden."

And that makes perfect sense when you think about it. The only way a broken egg shell could act like a sharp razor is if the broken bits of shells were lined up, standing on end with the sharp end on top. Even if it were possible to do that, slugs and snails secrete a lot of slimy mucus as they crawl along. They simply glide right over the egg shells.

Kevin

I would suspect slugs. And, gardenweed, stop with the eggshells and try Sluggo or Escar-Go, both really work.

Thanks everyone for the info. I will check to make sure no sawfly larvae are on my plants, spraying if necessary. Hopefully my plants survive the rest of the year.

I don't have any complex scientific explanation for it but the crushed eggshells have successfully kept slugs off my 50+ hostas in various beds for the past 6+ years. Before I used the eggshells, my hostas were over-run & had lots of holes in the leaves; since using them, there are no longer holes in any leaves. It's organic, simple and apparently works...in my own garden anyway. I rest my case.

If it works for you that's lucky and different conditions may well produce different results. Perhaps there are different types of slug and snail in your region. But In my damp climate they are ineffectual. This is my only Hosta. Note the egg shells.

Floral_uk... what a depressing photo. Don't let any manufacturers of garden chemicals get their hands on that picture.... they'd use it as the "before" photo in their advertising.

Molie

I remembered this thread when looking at my Solomon's seal the other day! I've never had any problems with this sawfly pest before - but I sure do now! Yuk! I love my Solomon's Seal but I'm likely going to be evicting most of it this fall or in the spring. The big question now is what to replace it with..... Ferns are the obvious choice re appearance but some of the areas where the Solomon's Seal is are too dry for anything other than Christmas ferns. Last year I got a bunch from HD cheap at end-of-season sales so I'll have to watch for them there this fall. I'm not sure what else to consider - but I now clearly have a fall renovation/planting project!

My solomon' Seal looks like the bad ones pictured here. I have 2 clumps in my yard and one still looks beautiful. Some of my hostas have holes in the leaves also. No sawfly larvae here. Have never had these "problems" before. I want to attribute it to the EXTREMELY wet season where I live. It seems the slugs had a party.

Sherry

I did notice a few stems of solomon seal with similar damage this year. I will be very disappointed if this becomes a big problem. I've never had anything bothering my clumps, and I have quite a few. It would leave a big hole in my beds if I had to remove my SS. I don't recall slugs eating it either, but I do have lots of slug damage on other plants.

I've had some damage to my Solomon Seal that looks similar that was caused by the Lily beetle. Another pest to consider.

I have it too, but not throughout the entire plant. I would say the bottom 1/3 of the plants are most affected. It's been wet here this year, so I vote slug damage.

Kevin

My plants look horrible. I lost one. Three remaining I'm worried about.