It may just be a reaction to colder weather. Hydrangeas sold for Valentine's Day are typically florist or greenhouse grown hydrangeas and not used to being outdoors.....even in places like SoCal. They need some time to acclimate. As to the lavender, hard to say. I hope they are not in the same container? They like the completely opposite conditions than does a hydrangea - full sun, minimal water, very fast draining soil and never any fertilizer. But they can tolerate a lot of cold weather as well as a lot of heat and should do fine in SoCal if provided the right conditions.

During this time of the year, if you removed all of the old soil when you repotted them, then they are in total shock and could completely defoliate. What kind of fertilizer did you use and how much? It is not a good idea to mix granulated fertilizer with the potting mix, if it comes in contact with the roots, it will burn them, best to wait a week or so after potting and after watering the plant, fertilize with a water soluble type, at about ¼ to ½ strength, repeating the proceedure after 2 weeks. I use MG 15-30-15, but any recommended formulation is fine. The less you use, the better. I've never used the wicking method to draw moisture from a reservoir underneath (and seperated) from the pot, but I suppose it would insure that some moisture is available to the plant at all times, assuming the reservoir is replenished when the water level becomes low. Wish I could be more reassuring about your ES, but Hydrangeas, and macrophylla's in particular, do not respond well to root disturbance, while in full foliage and in the middle of summer. In the venacular, the pump lost it's prime and no moisture is being elevated to the foliage until it can be reestablished, irrespective of how often you water the plant. Only the plant will determine when that will happen. I wish you the best! Rb

Hi Folks, Sorry I'm late to the conversation. I think those little oblong roots are from another plant altogether. I don't believe they're from this plant, I don't think they're shaped like that. I think they've fallen in the pot from something else. I'd just buy some perlite & take this out immediately & mix this mix w/ 50% perlite. The soil it's in puts it at risk of rotting (sorry). Also the pot MUST have a drainage hole or else, don't even bother, this plant cannot grow like that. (Sorry, but the combination of the bad soil & the coffee pot w/out a hole would likely have doomed it.) If you need to do other things to the plant, pls. do it dry, you can just crumble dry mix off w/ your fingertips, washing the roots off is not helpful to these plants. What we say abt succulents & watering is actually, when in doubt, don't.

I think it's fine growing on the fence. However, if it sets a pumpkin up off the ground, which it looks like it has, the weight may cause bad things to happen. In that case you might want to slip something under the pumpkin to support it. Like some scrap lumber or some old boots or something.