In winter, the next-years growth spikes of some of my Regal Blue Hostas got trampled off, and now that they're up, the leaves all have blunt-ended, ragged ends that curl and ripple. This is right by the house, and I would like to know whether I can expect them to self-repair in a reasonable amount of time (like under a year), or should I plant something in front of it.
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The existing leaves won't heal this year. New ones will be fine.
This is true for most leaves: damage is not repaired. Leaves decrease in efficiency as they age so from the plants point of view why invest more energy in an older leaf when a new one will yield a better return.
Edit: if you remove old leaves from a vigorous healthy plant it will not weaken it. I grant that if you remove every leaf from the plant that is a set back. It depends on the overall percentage of damaged leaves. If all are damaged take one or two at a time every few weeks.
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If I remove the old leaves, will it grow new ones, or would It weaken the plant too far? – J. Musser Apr 18 '12 at 01:12