New and Think I Killed Quickfires....

[ohfaithful]

Hello,

I love hydrangeas and so I went crazy and purchased two oakleafs and planted those two weeks ago. I then purchased more flowers and sat them on the side of the house and my daughter was supposed to water them until I could plant them. I think she overwatered them... I went to plant the quickfires and one was dried out...with a few leaves still alive so I didn't plant it but pulled off all the leaves and cut off all the dried blooms trying to save it.

I planted the other but in two days it looked the same way... I'm not sure whether to dig it up again and put it in a pot or leave it there and cut back all the leaves and dried blooms and see how it goes...please help!!!

The oakleafs are yellowed on the bottom leaves and some leaves on bottom are gone...I stopped the watering...she was supposed to just water them all for a few minutes but was leaving the sprinkler on for long periods of time...heavy sigh! Also, one oakleaf has bug holes in it and I guess I need to spray that one???

Any help would be appreciated, I'm thinking my investments are now firewood!

[luis_pr]

You can tell if you watered them enough by inserting a finger into the soil to a depth of 4" and seeing if the soil feels dry, moist or wet. If it feels wet, you are watering too much (or it rained moments ago or the sprinkler went off moments ago). If the soil feels moist, do nothing. If it feels almost dry or dry then water about 1g of water. If the root ball feels dry, let the soaker drip irrigate for about one hour at a vary slow place. Other people prefer to extract the plant and dump it in water for a while so the root ball recovers. They tend to dry out and not absorb water sometimes.

A watering regime can be started by checking the soil for moisture as described above. Do this daily for a week or two. Write on a wall calendar when you have to water. Then set the sprinkler or drip irrigation to water 1g of water on the same frequency (every 2/3/4/5/6 days). If the temperatures vary by 10-15 degrees and stay there then recheck using the finger method again.

Continue watering when the soil feels dry or almost dry. Keep them well mulched and look for new leaves leafing out. The browned/dried out leaves can be left there or squish them with your hands or remove the leaves (not the stem). If there is no change by the start of Fall, prune the stems in 1-2" increments until you get to the bottom or until you hit green. If you cut off all stems and all are dry then it becomes harder to determine if there is any life in the roots themselves. You can either continue this program of TLC until the Fall or Spring to see if it comes back... or you can replace them.

Do not fertilize the plants until next year. You may still recoup your investment but it will require daily monitoring for a while.

[ohfaithful]

Thanks I appreciate your help. I'm going to do exactly that with the one already in the ground. The one that is not in the ground and is still in a pot is underneath my tree in the shade and still has 3 sets of leaves that seem to be doing well!! I'll continue to nurse it and plant it later in the season at some point when it is healthier!

The one in the ground I want to pull up too, but I'll do as you said. I had already done the finger test and the soil is moist....crossing my fingeres and toes that they all come through this overwatering intact!


Bless You!