why do itea's leaves wilt and fall off when watered?

Franklin, VA

I live in southeastern VA and have sticky blue clay in my neighborhood. My LIttle Henry itea, which is in a lightly shaded bed, bloomed nicely the first spring after being planted in the fall. The next summer, I watered the bed whenever it became too dry and hot and plants looked a little droopy. i used a rain gauge and tried to keep it to an inch per watering. The leaves on the itea curled up and dropped off. The next spring it leafed out--although a little sparsely and without blooms. Same again this spring. Again this summer the first time I watered for only 10 minutes, the leaves immediately curled up and dropped off within a week. What is going on? Is chlorine in the water doing this?

My ever-blooming azaleas did the same thing and ultimately died, although not so clearly connected to watering because the process took most of the summer. The oakleaf hydrangeas however are thriving. All plants were planted in the same bed at the same time.

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