White "things"? Hmm, a cottony maple leaf scale -a pest- can be observed in the northeast states around July. They are related to mealy bugs.
And powdery mildew -a fungus- can form round or roundish blotches on the top of the leaves (they are usually greyish but I can see how some people would call them white too).
I guess another picture would help see what you are referring to. Sorry to ask for pictures so much!
luis_pr wrote:White "things"? Hmm, a cottony maple leaf scale -a pest- can be observed in the northeast states around July. They are related to mealy bugs.
And powdery mildew -a fungus- can form round or roundish blotches on the top of the leaves (they are usually greyish but I can see how some people would call them white too).
I guess another picture would help see what you are referring to. Sorry to ask for pictures so much!
I took several good photos of these little white things on the leaves only to realize my dying phone did not take the photos. Now the leaves are gone. I'm so frustrated.
luis_pr wrote:Hydrangeas are understory shrubs who will benefit from afternoon shade during the hottest months of the year. When initially planted, when the weather is windy or when the weather is hot, the leaves loose moisture faster than the roots can absorb moisture. The leaves then wilt, which looks awful at times but it reduces the amount of leaf surface area being "baked" by the sun.
I would recommend transplanting them to a shadier spot so the plants suffer less and you water less. You can even put them in full shade as long as the shade is "bright shade" not a dense shade.
But there are times when you give them afternoon shade and still cannot help seeing them like that. Some of my hydrangeas get morning sun until 11am but they still wilt in the afternoon during the summer... because we get a lot of 100-110 degree days for weeks in a row. Luckily, as long as the soil is moist, they recover by themselves by the next morning.
I planted limelight hydrangeas about two weeks ago. They have beautiful big blooms and have done well. They got a few days of solid rain after we first planted them. (We live in SC- been a wet summer) It has been dry this week. The base leaves on them are yellow and the green ones are looking pretty shriveled and droopy by the afternoon. They get morning shade and afternoon sun. I read that yellow leaves mean too much water and that shriveled green leaves mean they are dry so I don't know what to do since my plants have both. Any suggestions?
The plants are going thru transplant shock, are heat stressed due to the being planted in the middle of the summer and may be getting to much afternoon sun so try to keep them very well mulched (3-4" of mulch up to the drip line year around) and maintain the soil as evenly moist as you can: no periods of dry soil followed by moist soil, back to dry soil...
Some yellowing of leaves -if you mean all of the leaf is yellowing- could be heat stress.
They will get droopy during the worst days of their first few summers but, if they are healthy and the soil is moist, they should recover on their own by nightfall or by the next morning. Give each plant between 1-2 gallons of water per watering in the summer. Water the soil early in the morning from the root ball outwards (never water the leaves so it does not develop fungal leaf infections like powdery mildew). Most of the root system is currently near the root ball so it is important to start watering from there outwards.
They should stop being sensitive to these conditions in the future but, during the first few summers, they may do that. Once they become established, you will only notice it during the worst summer days. Heat and lots of wind will trigger these episodes.
If you ever see a really bad episode, give them about 1/2 gallon of water immediately. But in general and if just slightly droopy/wilted, you will not need to do anything provided that the soil is moist.
The wilting of leaves ia defense mechanism that reduces the amount of surface area affected by hot sun strking the leaves or winds drying the leaves. And like I said before, the leaves should recover on their own overnight.
Because the leaves cannot stand exposure to afternoon sun in the south, these shrubs need morning sun and afternoon shade. When exposed to too much sun, the leaves in direct contact with the sun turn all yellow, including the leaf veins. That happened to me once when hail broke off a piece of a Crape Myrtle that provided shade to a hydrangea. You can then transplant them to a more shaded location, provide temporary shade or erect something to provide the needed shade.
Do not fertilize them this year since the potting medium probably already contains those round fertilizer pellets (we should not fertilize a stressed plant either). You can fertilize with 1/2 cup to 1 cup of compost, composted manure or cottonseed meal. You can also a 10-10-10 chemical fertilizer that is general-purpose slow-release, like some versions of Osmocote.
Water them shrubs when a finger inserted into the soil to a depth of 4" feels almost dry or dry. A newly planted shrub can make do with 1 gallon of water per watering in Spring/Fall/Winter but may need more in the Summer. It will help you prevent from overwatering. Water once every two weeks if your winter is dry.
Last edited by luis_pr on Fri Aug 30, 2013 6:52 am, edited 2 times in total.
I took several good photos of these little white things on the leaves only to realize my dying phone did not take the photos. Now the leaves are gone. I'm so frustrated.