Hydrangea leaves turn red starting from the base

[finefrenzy]

I picked up a lovely and healthy hydrangea 3 weeks ago and repotted it as the roots have overgrown. I noticed the leaves started to turn red from the base. It is not sunburn as it's indoor and no direct sunlight. Could it be the effect of the chopped roots? Three leafing buds (at the highest part of the plant) died by the way. Any ideas to make this plant healthy again?

[luis_pr]

Can you post a closer picture of the red leaves? I cannot tell them apart from the picture.

Cutting roots could cause selected leaves to dry out and fall (they turn brownish eventually) but I am not sure about turning red.... Blooms can also do weird things when roots are cut or parts of the bloom are damaged but that does not apply to your plant.

Do not worry about the new leaf growth being aborted but see if you can post a close-up of those red leaves. They would be common in the Fall Months in some mophead varieties. Which may be ok in tropical locations but not where I live so I wanted to 'see' before opening my mouth and inserting my foot.

Luis

[finefrenzy]

Can you post a closer picture of the red leaves? I cannot tell them apart from the picture.

Cutting roots could cause selected leaves to dry out and fall (they turn brownish eventually) but I am not sure about turning red.... Blooms can also do weird things when roots are cut or parts of the bloom are damaged but that does not apply to your plant.

Do not worry about the new leaf growth being aborted but see if you can post a close-up of those red leaves. They would be common in the Fall Months in some mophead varieties. Which may be ok in tropical locations but not where I live so I wanted to 'see' before opening my mouth and inserting my foot.

Luis

Thank Luis

Will this help?

[rainbowgardener]

Luis can check me; he is our recognized hydrangea expert. But I think it is not uncommon for the new growth leaves to start out reddish. Roses do that too. The leaves should green up as they mature.

[luis_pr]

Ah. Normally, yellowing suggests a soil pH problem and perhaps the plant is not getting as much as it used to but the yellowing caused by alkaline soil just quite does not match what is in your picture. I have seen this happen before to a newly purchased potted hydrangea that I was keeping in the car garage during winter and which decided to leaf out too early. I never found out why new growth did that because I forgot to research that. It was a bronzed look that lasted a few weeks and then... the leaves turned dark green on their own.

It reminds me of new growth in roses, which can turn red at first. Or new growth in some camellia japonica varieties, when they are grown under deciduous trees... the new leaves take a temporary bronzed look (like it was getting too much sun) and then they revert to their old dark green camellia leaves.

There may be a link between new growth, the amount of sunlight, colored pigments or RCC reductase proteins (also know as red chlorophyll) in the new growth that make the leaves sometimes behave in that way.

It is interesting but I would basically do nothing at this point. Do not expose it to too much sunlight until the leaves change to a darker color; a few hours (2-4 hours, say?) of morning sun later on should suffice. Maintain the soil as evenly moist as possible (water the soil, not the leaves). The watering "gizmo" that I see in the picture should help keep the soil evenly moist.

Add some mulch so you do not have to water often or much (watering often is a must for potted plants). And remember to fertilize as the frequent waterings will make all the minerals leech out the bottom of the pot. Compost and cottonseed meal are two good fertilizers that you can use. I like to add some coffee grounds and liquid seaweed/liquid fish too.

Luis

Post again if the color does not change in 2-3 weeks.