Help! My mophead hydrangea is seriously wilting. I watered it two days ago a lot and then this morning a gallon of water. It has not responded and I don't know why.
wilting hydrangea
Though I am not an expert on hydrangeas, I do know that overwatering can cause wilting every bit as much as dryness. With the high level of rainfall in the SE this year, many of my hydrangeas have ailed from being waterlogged: the roots need to be able to breathe. If the soil is damp down to 4" or so, don't water them. Also, it is normal for hydrangeas to look wilted during the day and perk up after the sun is no longer on them. One thing I've tried doing with a lot of success this summer is that when they look wilted and I suspect they aren't thirsty, I give them a foliar feeding (diluted water-soluable fertilizer) just on the leaves--that seems to help give them a boost without aggrevating the dampness at the root level. I keep meaning to make some calls to the co-op extension and my hydrangea supplier (Wilkerson Mill, www.hydrangea.com-- they have great advice) to learn more about one of my hydrangeas that has actually lost all it's leaves (which started after super heavy rains) but it appears to have healthy buds. If I get around to it and they tell me anything useful, I'll let you know. In the meantime, I hope this gives you something to go on.
Thanks so much for your reply. That hydrangea has now lost all of its leaves. They looked brown and shriveled up. Yet, the other hydrangea about 6 inches away from it only lost a couple of leaves and is doing fine. Both of them however are growing new baby leaves. I am not sure what is happening. I can't find any bugs on the plant.
Just a thought shbrn. Do you have the hydrangeas mulched? Usually it helps to keep them heavily mulched so you don't have to water them so often. Mine have to be watered every few days even with mulch in this heat. Are they in full sun during the hot part of the day? Hydrangeas like dappled sunlight or at least evening shade. A few of mine will wilt in the evenings. As shimer said too much water is not good for them so it is a fine line we walk when watering. Last year a skunk sprayed one of mine and its leaves turned brown and dropped off. Maybe you had a day or two that they needed water and didn't get it. Hopefully now that the leaves are returning they will be all right. Don't know if this helped at all. Jenny
Thanks Jenny. I have hope since there are baby leaves coming out. I hope it is okay since we are heading toward fall soon. I can't believe what a plant addict I have become. It is like having a drug addiction. I want all the plants that are pretty. Even with gas prices so high, I seem to find a little here and there I can spend on plants. I wonder if there is a "plants anonymous!" (PA)
I'm the same way. If I see a plant I don't have, I must have it sometimes even if it is not hardy to my zone. Guess that is what happens to us "plantaholics".
Yeah, it is like going to Lowe's or H. Depot's nursery and seeing a plant that does great things and then you find out it is either an indoor plant or outdoor and you start thinking to yourself, "hmmm, if I do this, it will work inside, if I do that, it will work outside," even if it isn't for your zone! You justify it in your mind, even if it isn't logical!