What’s wrong with my Limelight Hydrangea?
I went away for a week and came back to a struggling Limelight hydrangea. It was thriving and beautiful before I left. Now all the leaves are splotchy and some have large brown splotches.
All the flowers have faded (except one), though I realize that happens over time, but many of my neighbors still have bright white flowers while mine have faded to green already.
It rained several days while I was gone, so I know it got plenty of water.
Could this be botrytis blight? Or is it something else? I did use an insecticide 2 weeks ago because beetles had started to attack, but that is the only change there has been. I’m so sad she’s taken such a nasty turn.
Comments (16)
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
8 months agoRelated Discussions
What's wrong with Limelight?
Comments (6)Sorry about that. Had problems finding a free site to host the images -- they limit the size without a paid membership. You can see a larger version here of the bad leaves at the link below but I can't embed the image in this message. Again, just two or three branches are like this, all on one side of the plant. Thanks! Here is a link that might be useful: Pictures of funny leaves on Limelight hydrangea...See MoreLimelight Hydrangea : what is wrong with this?
Comments (8)A newly planted hydrangea with yellowing leaves with yellowing leaf veins suggests that it may not be used to getting this much sun since planted 2 weeks ago. The nursery probably had it in less sun or in bright full shade. A nutrient disease (nitrogen deficiency) is a low possibility as well fertilized plants from nurseries should not show this issue in just two weeks. Then again, watering daily may make it difficult to absorb oxygen and maybe other already present minerals. The browning on the leaves may be fungus from the plant nursery or due to high humidity (watering daily sounds too much) or sun. Water if a finger inserted to a depth of 4" into the soil feels dry or almost dry. Make sure you do not water the leaves. Only water the soil! A sudden turn to light green after 3 years might indicate that the soil is becoming neutral or alkaline....See MoreWhat’s wrong with hydrangeas?
Comments (4)The blooms are past their prime and on the way to browning out. The leaves have a heavy infestation of cercospora leaf spot! Overhead watering promotes this fungi so when watering, only use drip irrigation, soaker hoses, use the sprinkler at around sunrise or hand water by only watering the soil and never the leaves. As the leaves and flowers brown out in the Fall, throw them into the trash. See the link for more information: https://ugaurbanag.com/cercospora-leaf-spot-on-hydrangea/ Fungicides will not cure the infestation but can help control it. The fungicide has to have an active ingredient listed in the link or the label should specify that it can help control cercospora; otherwise, the fungicide brand may not help fight cercospora but rather other fungi. I have seen some of the appropriate fungicide brands for less than $10 at my Lowes. Because this happens to me late in the growing season, I do not use fungicides and instead, I switched to use drip irrigation. I also dispose of plant debris asap. The first year it was bad but it lessened since then and has not spread. Since the infestation looks rather "heavy", I would also replace (in the Fall) the mulch with new mulch and throw away in the trash the old mulch so the spores are not spread out. I also remove the worst looking leaves by cutting the petiole string that connects the leaf to the stem but, try to choose the worst ones so the remaining leaves continue producing s-o-m-e food for the roots....See MoreLimelight Hydrangea HELP!!
Comments (2)Are you getting the leaves wet? Overhead watering causes all kinds of fungal diseases so it is best to water the soil and never the leaves. Water using soaker hoses or drip irrigation. If you use a regular sprinkler, set the station that waters the hydrangea to activate around 6-8am so the leaves do not stay wet for long periods of time. Dispose of the affected leaves when they brown out or when they fall. Do the same with all plant debris (blooms, dead stems, etc.). Throw them in the trash since they will have fungal spores. Replace the old mulch with new mulch too. Since we are near the end of the growing season, I would not worry too much about the leaves since they will fall shortly. But take steps to minimize conditions that might help fungal spores thrive. You should get new foliage in Spring. Continue taking the steps mentioned every year and the leaves will improve with time....See MoreDevinJ 6b-KY
8 months ago
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
8 months agoDevinJ 6b-KY
8 months ago@ken_adrian
It was Japanese beetles, so I absolutely had to intervene. They had already defoliated my crab apple trees and had moved onto my rose bushes and azaleas. When I found a few on my hydrangeas, I was not going to let them destroy those as well. There would be no leaves left had I not intervened. (I attached a photo of the shambles they left my tree leaves in.)I used an insecticidal soap spray (Bonide) and just manually used a spray bottle to cover the plant in late evening. I also applied this spray to 4 additional plants that night, my 2 azaleas and 2 mophead hydrangeas, all of which are still thriving wonderfully & did not have any type of leaf burn. I have used this spray multiple times previously on plants for white flies and spider mites, which has never resulted in a negative result, so I felt confident it wouldn’t hurt it. Not to say it didn’t, I just think it’s unlikely since 4 additional plants were sprayed that evening and none of those had a negative reaction. It was 82 & cloudy the following day after application and then rained the day after that, so it had a break from intense heat for a few days after application as well.
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
8 months ago
djacob Z6a SE WI
8 months agopennlake
8 months agolw (6b/7a SE Pennsylvania)
8 months agoDevinJ 6b-KY
8 months agodjacob Z6a SE WI
8 months agopennlake
8 months agodjacob Z6a SE WI
8 months agoDevinJ 6b-KY
8 months agofloral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
8 months agoDevinJ 6b-KY
8 months agoUpdated photos of what the upper leaves now look like. Whatever is happening has moved up the plant.
djacob Z6a SE WI