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Brown Thumbs
- Senior Member
- Posts: 142
- Joined: Fri Jun 01, 2012 6:50 pm
- Location: South US
Wilting away
Our hydrangea isn't in the best location, but it has survived three years and had flowers this spring. It only get direct sun for a few hours, but unfortunately it's during the afternoon. Anyway, I tried to keep it watered good during this 95+ degree heat and I may have overdone it. The plant has wilted bad and it doesn't recover at night. The soil around it feels cool and moist (I have straw mulch around it). Have I killed it or will it recover? I assume this is a blite or something caused by hot weather-moist soil.
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luis_pr
- Greener Thumb
- Posts: 824
- Joined: Sun Jul 05, 2009 8:31 am
- Location: Hurst, TX USA Zone 7b/8a
Hello, Brown Thumbs. Does it recover by the next morning?
Hydrangeas can wilt due to excessive winds but they generally recover on their own by the next morning if the soil is moist. As soon as I see a wilting episode, I insert a finger to a depth of 4" and determine if the soil is dry, moist or wet. If dry or almost dry, I give the plant about 1 gallon of water. If the soil is moist, I do not water and wait to see how does it look by the next morning. If the soil is wet, I try to determine why the water is not draining, correct the problem and wait until next morning to see if it recovers. If the plant does not recover by the next morning and the soil remains moist or wet, I add only 1/2 gallon of water.
If a hydrangea has not recovered on its own by the next morning, there could be a problem absorbing moisture. Overwatering makes it difficult for the roots to absorb oxygen and this starts a process that weakens the roots and allows root rot to begin. You can have this problem too if there is bad drainage.
Should this problem persist, you may want to extract the shrub and place it in a pot where you can control soil moisture easier. This will also let you check if the water in the soil is not draining.
If root rot has started, that can be very bad for the shrub so try to monitor soil moisture and determine if you have good drainage for all the water that you are giving it.
Consider putting shade cloth above the plant if the sun is too intense and maintain 3-4" of mulch up to the drip line.
Luis
Hydrangeas can wilt due to excessive winds but they generally recover on their own by the next morning if the soil is moist. As soon as I see a wilting episode, I insert a finger to a depth of 4" and determine if the soil is dry, moist or wet. If dry or almost dry, I give the plant about 1 gallon of water. If the soil is moist, I do not water and wait to see how does it look by the next morning. If the soil is wet, I try to determine why the water is not draining, correct the problem and wait until next morning to see if it recovers. If the plant does not recover by the next morning and the soil remains moist or wet, I add only 1/2 gallon of water.
If a hydrangea has not recovered on its own by the next morning, there could be a problem absorbing moisture. Overwatering makes it difficult for the roots to absorb oxygen and this starts a process that weakens the roots and allows root rot to begin. You can have this problem too if there is bad drainage.
Should this problem persist, you may want to extract the shrub and place it in a pot where you can control soil moisture easier. This will also let you check if the water in the soil is not draining.
If root rot has started, that can be very bad for the shrub so try to monitor soil moisture and determine if you have good drainage for all the water that you are giving it.
Consider putting shade cloth above the plant if the sun is too intense and maintain 3-4" of mulch up to the drip line.
Luis