ES wilting -- could wind be causing it?

18 years ago

I have an ES in a container on my front porch. It gets early morning and late evening sun. It has been very hot the past week or so, so I have been watering it well. I usually water in the once in the morning if the soil seems dry. Sometimes though some of the flower heads are leaning over by midday (while others are just fine)! The soil is still moist, so I don't think it's water. It's in shade too at that point, so can't be sun. The plant is in a windy location, could the wind be causing it to wilt? Sometimes I'll turn the container to see if the flower heads end up tilting the other way, and they do. What baffles me is that they are leaning over at all. The bigger flower heads are holding up fine. The smaller ones are the ones that are flopping over. What gives?

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Comments (8)

yellowgirl
18 years ago
tmac,

Wind absolutely could cause it, and if the temps reach around 90F a hydrangea can wilt from the heat not just the sun. The combination of the two can double the trouble. The larger blooms probably have larger stems that hold more moisture than the small stems. My small blooms always wilt worse than the large ones. If they are sufficiently watered, then they will perk back up after the heat dissipates but the wind is another matter. Hydrangeas don't like windy locations. Hope this helps. Good luck....yg
tmac96
Original Author
18 years ago
That does help! I think the heat was a big factor too. Over the past ten days it has been in the high 80s to mid 90s. Very unusual for us this time of year. The info you gave about the thicker stems holder more moisture makes sense! Didn't think of that. Thanks for the info!
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luvmydaisies
18 years ago
Mine has been wilting too in the hot sun, I have since moved it to a place that gets morning sun and early afternnon but not the hot heat of the day and it has not wilted since.
ostrich
18 years ago
My 3 ES are in the bed at the back of the house. They get filtered light mostly, but also some direct, gentle morning sun. Even in this half shaded condition, they were wilting! Apart from the heat, I think that my ES must be pretty thirsty too - I didn't think that the soil was that dry, but then after I did a slow, deep watering, they would perk right up!!!

How often do people water their ES?
Jantlers
18 years ago
"How often do people water their ES?"
ostrich, my 3 ES are also in a bed at the back of our house, facing the east. They seem to wilt like crazy when it's hot and humid. Myself, I was wondering if this was normal. But to answer your question, I WAS watering our ES some each day, in late morning for the most part. Then I worried that I was overdoing it, even though everything seemed happy. When I cut back, I saw wilt. I didn't think the soil was too dry, either. It's helpful to hear how others are watering!
ostrich
18 years ago
Oh no! The temp climbed up to the mid 90's today (I can't stand this crazy heat!!! LOL) and guess what? My poor ES wilted again! I only just watered them like crazy last night too. I really don't know what else to do except to water them again now. Hopefully they will come right back up later tonight! What is up with the Great Lakes area hitting 90's in June!?
tmac96
Original Author
18 years ago
Ostrich -- we must be pretty close to each other! My ES was wilting pretty bad today. I don't think it is wind. It's just plain hot! It always seems to perk up as the temps go down at night, so I've given up worrying too much about it.
naninowak
18 years ago
my everlasting hydrangea is doing the same thing. i have watered it twice a day, and it still wilts. must be the heat. please help meas to how far down the stem do i cut them? i want to keep it as the size it is now help

ES wilting -- could wind be causing it?

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ES wilting -- could wind be causing it?

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yellowgirl

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