Help save my oakleaf hydrangea!
carrienations
3 years ago
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ulisdone
3 years agoRelated Discussions
HELP! Weed wacker damage to Oakleaf Hydrangea topiary
Comments (3)Wow, a topiary oakleaf. I'd love to see that! I think it will be OK as long as it's still supported and the structural integrity hasn't been compromised. Heck I've got bushes with screws in 'em! Plants make every effort to heal...and they're pretty good at it. Good Luck!...See MoreHelp me save my old hydrangeas
Comments (2)ostrich - Thank you so much for the link on pruning information. It is just what I was looking for. I would love to show you pictures but these plants don't look very good right now. They are suffering from heat and humidity and most of the flowers have dead florets on the topside. I am going to work on these plants - following the instructions in your link....See MoreHow to keep my oakleaf hydrangeas alive?
Comments (1)Oakleafs are very temperamental when it comes to overwatering. They develop root rot when the soil stays wet for long periods of time. An infected plant can die so it is important not to overwater. The symptoms of overwatering are the same ones as those of not watering enough because in either case, the plant growth above the ground does not get enough water. So, other than smelling the roots to see if they smell rotted, what can one do? Try watering using the finger method, monitor the wilting episodes and maintain about 3-4 inches of mulch up to the drip line. A newly planted hydrangea shrub will wilt often, especially when it is hot and-or windy. Part of it is because its root system is not as big as it once used to be and part of it is because transplant shock. Large leafed plants sometimes suffer from this. An extreme looking wilting episode requires watering right a way (1 gallon). Otherwise, water (1/2 to 1 gallon) if the episode is not too bad but the soil is almost dry or dry. Generally speaking, a hydrangea in moist soil should recover on its own by nightfall or next morning. In future years, this should not happen as much as it does in years 1 and sometimes 2. But there will be days when the temperatures are too high or it is very windy. If the soil is moist and the plant has not recovered by the next morning, it may be suffering from root rot. To water using the finger method, insert a finger into the soil near the base of the shrub to a depth of 4". When the soil feels wet or moist, do not water. If it feels dry or almost dry then water and write a note in your wall calendar saying that you had to water on that day. Check the soil daily, at the same, for about two weeks. Then review the notes and determine how often you had to water. It would be something like every 3, 4, 5, etc days at a time. Then set the sprinkler or drip irrigation to give 1 gallon of water (for a newly planted small hydrangea) on that same frequency....See MoreOakleaf Hydrangea help
Comments (17)Yes, those trees will really soak up the moisture faster than your shrubs and perennials can take it in. OkPrairie - you could fertilize now and then don't fertilize anymore until next spring. But, I would do it quickly, unless you just fertilized it within the last month. If so, just try to mulch it with some pine needles or pine straw, and that should help until you can give it a dose of fertilizer or manure again next year. Overfertilizing can do more damage than not fertilizing at all. I'm leaving the flower heads on mine this winter, too. They look so nice in the wintertime. It is planted about 20' away from my contorted mulberry. The CM just looks really good in the winter when you can see the branches. It's a good 16-18' now. It's a fast grower, too, so I suppose I'll lose it to the Oklahoma winds one of these days as well. But for now, I'm enjoying it much more than the Bradford pear! Impatience, my heuchera has done better this year than ever before with all the moisture we've had. I had Raspberry Swirl (?), a Tiarella species, and a seed-grown heuchera that I planted out this year (grew from seed last year). I also planted another epimedium rubrum this year as a little groundcover next to my hellebore (lenten rose), hellebore foetidus, a typhonium groundcover, couple of Aristolochia serpentarias (groundcover) and epimedium Wushanense hybrid. All are looking really good! I couldn't have asked for a better year to start new plants, really. Susan...See Morecarrienations
3 years agoulisdone
3 years agocarrienations
3 years agoluis_pr
3 years agoAmy VanRoekel
3 years agoluis_pr
3 years agolast modified: 3 years ago
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