What's eating my hosta 'june'?

Hosta 'June' suffers from slugs and snails more than almost any other garden plant — their feeding can reduce elegant foliage to tatters overnight. Deer are equally devastating and can consume entire plants. Vine weevils damage roots in containers. In the US, foliar nematodes cause brown streaking between leaf veins.

Irregular holes throughout leaves, often large enough to ruin the ornamental display; worst in spring on new growth. Iron-phosphate pellets around crowns; beer traps; copper tape on pots; hand-pick at night; encourage hedgehogs (UK).

Entire stems and leaves browsed to stubs, sometimes overnight; devastating in rural and suburban gardens. Deer repellent spray (reapply after rain); physical fencing; plant in a walled garden or courtyard.

Notched leaf edges from adults; larvae eat roots causing sudden wilting and plant collapse, mainly in containers. Apply nematodes (Steinernema kraussei) to compost in late summer/autumn; check pot roots when repotting.

Brown streaks running between veins giving a striped or scorched look; most common in humid summers. Remove and destroy affected leaves promptly; avoid overhead watering; do not compost infected material.