What happened to my oakleaf hydrangea?
Design Fan
13 days ago
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What happened to my Hydrangeas?
Comments (2)They look "fine" for plants that suffered from lack of moisture, janinecollette. When they stop getting water, the leaves dry out from the edges but do not recover. The problem is that, some opportunistic infections also develop when fungi take the opportunity to attack partly dried out leaves; the leaf/leaves then get ugly-er looking. When the plant goes dormant and ALL the leaves have dried out, dispose of them in the trash. In order not to make things worse, water the plants early in the mornings and just water the soil, not the leaves. Also, do not water often.... water when the soil feels almost dry to the touch to a depth of 3-4 inches. Check daily this way and water when necessary. After a couple of weeks, you should see a watering pattern developing: you water every two/three/four/etc days. Set the sprinkler then to water at this frequency and re-check when the temps change by 10-15 degrees and stay there. If you feel like it and have unused mulch, replace the existing mulch with new mulch. All the plant debris in the photos should also be discarded as it helps harbor fungal spores. Does that help? Luis...See MoreWhat should my Oakleaf Hydrangeas look like by now?
Comments (7)Hi Stir_Fry I am also SE Michigan. My oakleafs are 5 years old. I think due to the cool and not terribly sunny Spring they are later in leafing out. Mine have just begun in the last couple weeks but far from being full. Last year the harsh winter prevented any blooming - none, nada. I wonder what the late frost will do for this years bloom - if yours do not bloom just blame it on the late freeze. Oakleafs are supposed to be hardy in our area but mine are still very susceptible to the late freezes. The foliage is still beautiful and I never count on having blooms. When it does, I consider it a surprise bonus....See MoreI need help, what's happening to my hydrangea ?
Comments (2)Yes, many of those florist hydrangeas do not take kindly to our strong afternoon sun. The month of May is the start of our summer temperatures and they need to be watered often, given shade and placed in sites that are not windy. Potted ones close to a window suffer in 85-90 degrees so look for a window that's has bright indirect light instead. I introduced a Kroger hydrangea to the outdoors by putting it in 'bright shade' for about a week; then switched it to get just a couple of hours of morning sun; and theeen I moved it to its final location. As protected from the sun as it was, I still had to water it 'extra' several times, off schedule in the summer. So make sure that the pot's location gets morning sun and then shade after 11am-ish in June-September. Two hours of morning sun will be fine. Bright shade twill be fine too. A windy location will cause the big leaves and blooms to loose moisture quickly so look for areas that are not windy. Flower buds and blooms will get zapped easily when the plant is going thru transplant shock so, I would prune off the browned blooms (they probably have dried out) or if they look ugly. Better for the plant to use the water in other areas and better for the plant to concentrate developing a bigger root system. When in the ground, you can give them about 1 gallon of water (and more once temps regularly stay above 90s). But try watering only when the next day will be windy or when the soil is starting to feel dry, because too much water cause wet soil and root rot. Expect the wilting to be reduced in future years when the plant has become established in your garden. The bloom colors will change to reflect your soil's acidity (blues around Tyler) or alkalinity (pinks just about everywhere else)....See MoreHow far back can I trim my oakleaf hydrangea?
Comments (18)Her hee hee! I go to some nearby gardens (to get my mom to exercise) and they have these huge Oakleaf Alice hydrangeas. I finally saw the bark change there in winter. Like you said, huge leaves too but my oakleafs hide the bark with leaves in selected (most) years. The smallest always looses the leaves but I always fail to look at its bark because it is near some Crape Myrtles that also do that bark change and I always fixate on them and forget to look at Ruby Slippers due to taller evergreens that block the hydrangea a little. PeeWee also stays fully dressed in winter but others in the back may let me see the bark change one of these years. I think I saw some of their bark this year because its leaves dried out on top but the bottom ones stayed green a tad longer. Made me panic thinking it was a watering issue during winter but the soil felt moist. Gardengal48, please elaborate on the designs that you mentioned!...See MoreDesign Fan
12 days agoDesign Fan
11 days ago
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