new plants, all wilted after 3 day's in soil

[blunovagal]

I bought several Hydrangeas at a nursery outlet at the mall. Each had 2 lovely pink blooms. They looked great for 3 day's, then on 4th morning, one of them was all drooped over and lying on the ground and others a bit droopy.
They are in full sun with morning shade. I used miracle grow planting soil and watered well. Will getting water sprayed on top of plants cause this? It was about 80 that day, and I had sprayed them in the morning.
I live in Northern Oregon, and see many huge, gorgeous Hydrangea every where. Any help appreciated, Jessica

[Grey]

They are probably in too much sun.
Hydrangeas do best with morning sun and afternoon shade.
They are also very heavy drinkers.

Your suspicions not to get the leaves wet is correct - the leaves scorch if left wet while the sun shines on them - sort of like a magnifying glass effect. But your wilt issues are just not enough water.

[opabinia51]

One way to correct for this in the future is to add leaf mulch to your soil to increase it's water holding capacity. You will still need to water but, at least the water will stay in the soil for a longer period of time and be available to the plants.

Also, look at the water conservation thread in the organics section, I think. You can use the search engine in the site to find it.

[underthemagnolia]

Also make sure you mulch around your plants if you haven't already. That afternoon sun thing can be a killer on hydrangea plants. It could take a year or two for them to be fully established. I had one "not take" last year and I suspect the problem was lack of water. It's replacement is doing alright this year, but I notice it's taking about 1/2 gallon of water a day to keep it looking good here in Georgia. Next year it won't need nearly as much.

When a plant wilts like you're describing and then bounces back after watering, the roots have suffered as a result of lack of water. Especially when a plant is young or new to a garden it's important to keep it's roots growing. Those hairy little bits are critical to the plant's growth.

[opabinia51]

Thanks Under! Interesting information. Does anybody else have any tips?

[blunovagal]

Thank you all for tips on Hydrangea. I employed all but moving them and they are doing fine now.
It is just now getting really hot, so am glad to know about water needs. Just bought this home and there is so much to do, so not losing time and money in plantings really does help!
Thank you, Jessica

[constance]

I planted a nice, well-rooted hydrangea in a spot that gets dappled shade until mid-afternoon. I've kept it watered, (about 3 times a week), but it has lost every leaf. I have continued watering it, in hopes that it will come back, like the Beauty Bush I planted last year, but that little bare stalk looks pretty pitiful.
Do you think there's any hope?

[Newt]

Hi Constance,

Sounds like you are watering too much. You don't say if and how you amended the planting bed, but hydrangea likes lots of compost. The compost will help to retain moisture and improve the texture of the soil along with adding good microbes and nutrients. Here's a helpful site.
hydrangeashydrangeas.com

Newt