Jcaponigro
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Joined: Sun Aug 02, 2015 1:33 pm
Location: Chicago, IL

How should I revive a severely underwatered hydrangea tree ?

Hi!
I was out of town for about two weeks and returned to find my hydrangea tree severely underwatered and shriveled. I keep it outside, and when I left it looked great, but it must have not rained at all while I was gone. The tree is obviously still alive, but almost all of the leaves are crispy.

I watered the tree yesterday and again today. I have already removed the dead flowers, but should I also removed all of the crispy leaves? There are only a handful of leaves that, though droopy, are still soft.

Thank you!
sad tree
sad tree
leaves
leaves

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

Think about the drip irrigation concept and do something like it. It is possible that the root ball has dried out if the "ok" leaves remain wilted and do not recover. What happens is that the soil in the root ball actually begins to repel water instead of absorb it (the term hydrophobic soil is used in these cases). This happens usually after periods of drought or fire.

By putting on a hose at a very low setting where water comes out in small drips, the root ball eventually moistens and recovers. On a recently planted shrub, you can also extract it and dump it in a container that is full of water. Then leave it there for around an hour + or - (just make sure that you no longer any air bubbles coming out if you watch it for several minutes).

Going forward, keep it mulched with 3-4" of organic mulch and give it 1.5 gallons of water when the soil feels almost dry or dry on the topmost 4". You can use a finger or a soil moisture meter if you need help telling when to water. As temps go down the Fall, you can reduce the water to 1 gallon but keep water during dry winters as long as the soil has not frozen.

You can dispose of the spent and dried out blooms; ditto for leaves that feel paper-y or that have turned brown. Put them in the compost pile, use them as mulch (if your shrubs do not suffer from fungal diseases) or throw them in the trash.

Shirley Pinchev
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Joined: Tue Jan 17, 2012 4:22 pm
Location: Shoreline wa

I agree with Louis, put it - pot and all - in bucket of water to the top of the pot till the bubbles stop and then in moist soil if you soak only the roots. There are plenty of leaves that look ok - just curled up to save what moisture they have and the rest should recover. You can trim the really crispy parts if it bothers you - I would not for at least a couple of weeks. Plants are not like people - they don't die of thirst in a few days. Plants curl up their leaves to save what moisture they can and usually will pop up and out when they get water. The crispy parts will not rehydrate but the new ones will be fine and as new ones emerge, they will push off the older damaged ones. I think the dunking way of reviving them is better than drip because if the soil and root ball is really dry, the water can just run between the pot sides and the dry root ball. Next spring it will be just fine but you might think of firing the person who was supposed to water your plants! lol Don't fertilize - the plant will recover and needs this time to recover and the fertilizer will only hurt the process not help.

Jcaponigro
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Joined: Sun Aug 02, 2015 1:33 pm
Location: Chicago, IL

Thanks for the advice! After a couple days of care and watering, the few leaves which were still alive have perked up. I did remove all of the dead leaves, which left the tree looking very sad, but I'm hoping with a little attention it'll start growing new leaves again soon.

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ElizabethB
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Joined: Sat Nov 24, 2012 12:53 am
Location: Lafayette, LA

Glad you are seeing some recovery.

Just a thought - next time you leave town for an extended period of time hire one of your neighbor's children to water your plants.

My neighbor has 5 beautiful children. When we went on a cruise and were gone for 9 days I hired their 13 year old to water my plants 3 times while we were gone, gather the mail daily, put the garbage can out on Monday, pick it up on Tuesday, put the recycle bin out Thursday and pick it up Friday. I paid her $50 and brought her a present of native jewelry from Roatan, Honduras. Happy, happy all around. :-()

Jcaponigro
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Joined: Sun Aug 02, 2015 1:33 pm
Location: Chicago, IL

I did have someone looking after the cats (and fish) and watering the indoor plants. I should have left better instructions about the outdoor trees (to water them if they were looking droopy and it hadn't rained). The hibiscus directly next to it looked great when I got back and had a bunch of flowers by a week later. Which figures.

Fortunately I noticed that there were tiny green buds on the hydrangea today, so I think it's on the mend!

Shirley Pinchev
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Joined: Tue Jan 17, 2012 4:22 pm
Location: Shoreline wa

Tiny buds? Yes, it is recovering. You won't have any blossoms this year and I would not prune it at all this fall - and next year it will be tall and beautiful! thanks for the update - you made me smile.



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