HEY YOU GUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISE!!
I want to order liners, too, but I've had the same problem before and am more than a bit gun-shy. (Once burned, twice shy, etc.)
I KNOW some (... several, maybe more) of you have the secret to successfully raising hostas from liner plugs, and you've probably suffered through losses like this to gain that expertise. You must be able to feel our pain!
So PLEASE : Wake up and share your knowledge and experience with us.
After all, this is -- at least partially -- what this kind of forum is for. No?
@OP: Remember that liner plugs are test-tube babies that started life in a laboratory and were raised on sugar water in a sterile environment: When they meet you, they are also meeting common airborne microbes and spores for the first time.
Co-ops are very straight-forward in telling participants that they are ordering plugs directly from the Tissue Culture Lab/Grower, but, if you're buying from some other source and suspect that they are selling cheap because they are simply sending out liner plugs as soon as they arrive (before they develop any problems), then be direct about asking how long the seller has had them and under what conditions. If they have been in standard greenhouse or shadehouse conditions for a month or more -- whether the seller has left them in the liner tray or potted them up -- they are more likely to have already come through some of the adjustments to life outside the lab. And ask the seller about transitioning them to pots or garden. If they're not willing to share information, then put them on your "shifty-and-only-out-to-make-a-buck" list and move on.
I can only recommend shade, good air circulation, a well aerated planting medium and a good antibacterial/antiviral/antifungal drench. I've used Banrot, but my latest bff is Consan (an all-around soil sanitizer). I've only recently been able to get Captan (fungicide); many swear by it.
I also just read that some people use Chamomile Tea to keep seedlings from damping off. ........ I'm not above trying anything.
You might want to check out AgriStarts.com. I think they have guidelines about acclimatization somewhere on there (though I don't think they sell hostas). I seem to remember that they recommend using chemicals that are too expensive for not-for-profit enthusiasts like us.
