supernnyl
Full Member
Posts: 22
Joined: Thu Jun 16, 2011 7:25 pm
Location: Atlanta, GA

Dark Spots on Wilting Hydrangea

I bought this hydrangea last fall from an online nursery. It was merely a green twig when I received it. It really started growing well a few weeks ago. However, in the past 2 days, it has started to droop and wilt with dark spots appearing on the leaves.

I've been watering every few days so far this season, and Atlanta just received a big rain yesterday...so it can't be from a lack of moisture.

Does anyone know what is causing my hydrangea to do this? And if so, is there anything that I can do to save it? Please help.

[img]https://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t490/supernnyl/Hydrangea3.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t490/supernnyl/Hydrangea2.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t490/supernnyl/Hydrangea1.jpg[/img]

luis_pr
Greener Thumb
Posts: 824
Joined: Sun Jul 05, 2009 8:31 am
Location: Hurst, TX USA Zone 7b/8a

Hello, supernnyl. Has the soil been getting too much water and does it remain wet for long periods of time? This can cause root rot.

Has the humidity in the environment been high for long periods of time? This can cause the leaves to get powdery mildew. Warm days, cool nights, and light rainfall in the spring and fall favor disease outbreaks.

Controlling root rot problems will be difficult because, if it is root rot, caused by overwatering, there is little one can do. There are no known sprays or amendments that one can use. You can only hope that the problem is due to a lack of oxygen caused by too much standing water around the roots and that the fungal infections on the roots has yet to start.

You can dig it out and check for good drainage/waterlogging/etc. If the hole has been retaining water for long periods of time, fungal infections that can produce root rot can prosper and kill the plant. If you catch it early and control the wet soil problem, it might recover.

The key way in which I would define it as root rot problem is if the plant remains wilted constantly, even 6-12 hours after being watered. The only thing you can "save the plant" once this disease develops a lot is to take cuttings and try to propagate the plant by cuttings. In early cases, you can try to place it in a pot for a few months and see if the plant recovers. Some people have less trouble controling soil moisture in a pot/container because, in the pot, they can tell how more moisture there is in the soil better. If you move it to a pot and has no root rot fungus developed yet, it may recover in say, a couple months.

By the way, when/if you dig it out, look and see in what condition the roots are in. If they are brown/back/rotted then cut them off before moving it to the pot but make sure the pruners are cleaned well with Clorox Wipes (bleach and water) before they are used again. A plant with root rot may linger for 5-8 weeks (more or less... approx time) getting sicker until it dies.

There is a small chance that it is powdery mildew but I do not think so. The leaves do not show some of the graying signs of the PM fungus but I thought maybe the color could be off in the picture. But, I do not think so...

Feel free to post any other questions that you may have.

Luis

luis_pr
Greener Thumb
Posts: 824
Joined: Sun Jul 05, 2009 8:31 am
Location: Hurst, TX USA Zone 7b/8a

Typo: "If they are brown/back/rotted" should read "If they are brown/black/rotted".



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