New growth falling off, Instructions please!

13 years ago

I had my three hydrangeas caged up with chicken wire and covered with lots of leaves. I finally decided to uncover them since the temperatures are in the 75's. My Endless Summer The Original has new growth up and down the stems but they fall off if you touch them.

Here is closer look of the new Growth. Is that the right color it should be?

My Endless Summer Blushing Bride is different which surprised me. It has growth but only at the base and not on the stems, is that normal?

And the new growth is really pale and yellowish.

My other one which is a Nikko Blue has growth at the bottom only as well. Did I wait to long to remove the protection? Is the new growth going to make it? I also need to know if I should fertilize them now and what I should use. Also, should I add anything to green them up? I want to prune the stems on the Nikko and BB since they have no growth but I don't know if I should leave them be. I planted these babies in the fall except for the ES Original which I planted last Spring. Any help Would be appreciated.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

luis_pr
13 years ago
Hello, melaroma. When a hydrangea starts to leaf out while still covered with winter protection, lack of sunlight can make the new stems and the leaves have a wierd yellowish or whitish tone. Once the winter protection is removed and they get sunlight, the color returns to normal but it may take a few weeks. Since the ends of the stems will be very tender, do not touch them and feel free to provide shade earlier than normal while the plant color returns. Do not overwater or try to fertilize because of this. Maintain the soil well muched and moist.

Winter protection can be removed after the average date of last frost for your area but most people wait an extra two weeks just in case. After, who can see the future? In a few cases, Spring will be such that you can remove the protection earlier and when you don't, this happens. It is common some years and nothing to be afraid of.
ginkgonut
13 years ago
Probably should have uncovered them earlier. Growth in the dark=yellow/white. For reference, I pulled back the mulch from my ES about 2 weeks ago in Minnesota with this crazy warm spring. The one I forgot about I did yesterday and looks the same as yours.
Related Discussions
Fall + New Growth = Water?
Q
Comments (7)
Jacy, I have a "Skinny Fingers" jade with the perma-wrinkles, too. I bought it this summer, and discovered that it was potted in peat-based soil. Although the nursery had been "watering" the plant, none of the interior peat-soil was absorbing moisture. It was a pain to first moisten and then hose off all of that hydrophobic peat - I destroyed a fair number of roots in the process. Finally I got most of the roots free (minus those that were damaged), and then I put the jade into a terracotta pot with bark and gravel and perlite. I didn't water for at least a week. Then I began the process of rehydrating the plant. Only one single leaf shriveled and died. Now I have a bunch of new growth, indicating that the roots are growing into the new potting medium. Due to the extensive dehydration that the plant suffered, it will be some time before the oldest leaves plump back up....if ever. If I were you, I'd remove that peat-based soil as soon as possible, especially since we're heading into winter. Hose all the old soil off of the roots, then re-pot in super fast-draining mix - start with 50% perlite, gravel (sharp quartz, and smooth aquarium gravel are both good), and small bits of bark to make up the "organic component." This way, you can water without worrying about root-rot, and you can be fairly sure that water is reaching the center of the root mass. Good luck! You don't want to lose a nice big Hobbit! Josh
...See More
Patience Finally Pays Off = new growth
Q
Comments (13)
Hey Denise, Boy that's quite a comeback that Australis made, from bare sticks, hard to believe. I'd forgotten what nice leaves Australis have; been a while since I had one. Glad to see you've defrosted from that deep freeze. I was keeping you & my uncle in mind (He lives in Lincoln, but hails from NY's upstate snow country, so he knows how to do super cold winters better than most). He says add more layers. Yes, thanks Josh, when I saw the new growth was more than one leaf, I did give it some dilute fertilizer. I've had to move some plants around (put in an AC this summer, lost me 2 window sills worth of west window growing space), so I've had to experiment with moving things around. I realized after the fact, this Hoya cutting ended up right next to a radiator, which has been cranking some serious heat on & off. Wonder if maybe that acted somewhat like bottom heat & gave this plant a boost. Yes, as to the dessicated, 'you never know' examples, that can be a bit true sometimes of bare vines too. Last Sept. I got some cuttings from SRQ (enabled by GreenToe, ;>) thx) among them a lovely Verticillata variegate, which I didn't realize til later had a break in the end of a bare vine. So I saw the break & snipped first, THEN saw the peduncle on it, ACKKKKK. Well, am happy to share saving that bit of stem & peduncle, w/ a lovely new leaf, a happy & lucky little save, may it make it to Spring! I DO love variegates, so pretty. Am happy to share I was pleased w/ all of Joni's cuttings as most of you all seem to be.
...See More
what causes new leaf-growth to wilt and drop off ?
Q
Comments (1)
You are not alone. We planted a long hedge of Awabuki two months ago (20 plants in 15 gallon pots). They started to wilt as soon as they were planted. I've had the drip system running every day and have had to resort to hand watering when that isn't enough. I know it seems like I'm over watering them, but if the drip system doesn't run in the morning, by late afternoon the Awabuki are near giving up the ghost with most of the leaves falling over. So far I've kept most of the new growth alive, but we've had one close call after another and have lost at least half of the original leaves. On top of all that, mildew and fungus are taking over and we've begun to treat the plants with a fungicide. Based on my experience you need to heavily water the plants every day. But that only encourages mildew and fungus. So - I can't tell if I'm winning or losing.
...See More
New rose plant leaves falling off
Q
Comments (1)
Take a leaf and check under the magnifying glass. If you see a lot of tiny little mites crawling about, then that's a clear problem. For a single rose, the best method is manually treat it. You can pinch off heavily damaged leaves. The rest you can rub your fingers to squash the bugs. Then give it a spray of real insecticide tothe undeside of the leaves (put teh pot on a high chair or table). In this way you don't have to spray it more than 2 times. Another alternative is to use strong water jets to spray the mites off the leaves. You have to do it 1 time each day for over 1 week. Also move the plant to a cooler and breezy place. This will help (morning Sun and sheltered from afternoon Sun would). The mites like it hot and dry. Regarding pruning, you cannot do it to young roses especially when it is not healthy. You just have to wait until a young rose become strong enough before pruning. Feeding young roses can be tricky too. You may feed it at the wrong time. You may burn the roots. I find that the best policy is to bury/put the pots of young roses on fertile soil. The roots will eventually get out of the pots and look for a feed all by themselves. This is slow but surer and almost always produce the best results. With own root roses you have to be very patient. I fyou graft roses on a root-stock, the result is much more consistent and faster.
...See More
melaroma
Original Author
13 years ago
That's a relief to hear. Should I trim the stems that do not have growth on it or will those have growth on them later? When will I fertilize them? Thank guys!
luis_pr
13 years ago
They could have growth eventually so leave them until mid to late May. If you just cannot wait to find out, you can prune the stems in 1-2" increments until you find "green" or reach the bottom. You can fertilize them in June. see the link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Fertilizing hydrangeas
melaroma
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks Luis! I cannot wait to have these blooming! Just bought an Annabell to go with them. I think I will stick to the ones that don't need winter protect from now on and baby the ones I already have. Thanks again!

New growth falling off, Instructions please!

Comments (5)

luis_pr

ginkgonut

Related Discussions

melaroma
Original Author

luis_pr

melaroma
Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

New growth falling off, Instructions please!

Comments (5)

luis_pr

ginkgonut

Related Discussions

melaromaOriginal Author

luis_pr

melaromaOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

melaroma
Original Author

melaroma
Original Author