Hydrangea leaves turning deep purple at edges

11 years ago

I'm not even sure if this is the best resource for this, but I'll give it a shot ;)

I just moved into a new home outside of Boston, and with it came a hydrangea plant (variety unknown). I haven't had to take care of anything more complicated than potted African violets before, so I'm not sure what's best for it beside watering, which I do regularly. The plant gets 6+ hours of sun per day.

Recently, many of the leaves (which were green) have taken a purple-brown tinge to their edges. What could cause this? I've read about everything from leaf scorching to phosphorous deficiency, but nothing seems to be shriveling or falling off (yet).

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NHBabs z4b-5a NH

5 years ago

It isn’t a fungus to my eye. I wouldn’t worry about it at this time of year, to be honest. Is is a lack of pigment, but it may just be the plant shutting down for the year. Yes, get a professional soil test done (such as from your local cooperative extension service) to see if there are soil issues (for instance, overfertilizing can be an issue as much as underfertilizing, so don’t do anything without a good soil test), but by nature, these plants start to get ready for winter at this time of year, so unless it looks like this in the spring, it may not be important.

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Comments (8)

October_Gardens
11 years ago
This is probably the only worthwhile place to talk about hydrangeas, so look no further!

But rest easy! The issue here is not ID'ing a problem but ID'ing the plant itself. You have a Preziosa, a cross of macrophylla and serrata types that was hybridized over 50 years ago. It simply behaves this way. In fact it is prized for its combination of foliage color and "washed denim" blooms.

See the link to another recent thread below; someone else just had this issue with identifying what was going on with their shrub. Into the fall, the leaves will continue this trend until they fall off, and the process will repeat each year.

PS: Cut off those brown stems with nothing on them (or at least down to where there is growth). They're history.

Repeat this process about every 1st of June, as you *will* get fair amount regrowth from old wood. Do not prune to the ground or you will lose next year's flowers. Simply deadhead after flowering and prune out dead wood next mid-spring.

Here is a link that might be useful: Recent Post about Purple Leaves / Preziosa
a_dog_at_a_keyboard
Original Author
11 years ago
Well, that's interesting. It does look neat; I was admiring it this morning as I picked a few nasty snails off of it.

Thanks for the pruning tip, too!
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Cortland
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The soil chemistry also plays a part in accentuating this red or purplish coloration in the leaves. There is aluminum sulphate in the soil surrounding this hydrangea, which normally turns the flowers blue, and appears to bring out a red hue in my hydrangea.
clarkessd
9 years ago
I ve noticed that happening when they get a lot (too much?) sun.
October_Gardens
9 years ago
It can.

But Preziosa is an extreme case, as shown by ALL pictures in the thread.

By August it will look like such *no matter what* - whether sun, insects, disease - because of genetics / pigmentation.
rengdeng
5 years ago

Is this also fungus?
luis_pr
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
No, it may be a mineral deficiency or mineral excess. I would start checking potassium deficiency. You can either do a soil test or get a cheap & not that accurate soil test kit for nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus at a plant nuser/Lowes/etc Too much rain might temporarily cause issues like this too if something makes it hard to absorb minerals. It seems localized or limited to roots & soil in the center of the shrub. Where are you located? What information/deails can you give us about the plant care and recent weather? Except for the pictures, there was no information on your post above. ;o(

Hydrangea leaves turning deep purple at edges

NHBabs z4b-5a NH

Comments (8)

October_Gardens

a_dog_at_a_keyboard
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Hydrangea leaves turning deep purple at edges

NHBabs z4b-5a NH

Comments (8)

October_Gardens

a_dog_at_a_keyboardOriginal Author

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clarkessd

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a_dog_at_a_keyboard
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