Wilting hydrangeas

[goodcreations2007]

I planted some hydrangea in my flower bed last weekend. Everyday since I planted them they have wilted. The flower and the leaves wilt. I water them every day, added mulch, and they are in the sun from sunrise to about 2pm. What am I doing wrong?

[hendi_alex]

Perhaps watering them every day! I can't imagine that plants in Texas would need to be watered more than once or twice per week this time of the year.

[goodcreations2007]

Well, the reason I water them everyday is because the nursery where I bought them told me they need plenty of water. After about 3 hrs of watering them they bloom up, but by the next day they start to wilt again.

[hendi_alex]

I just did a little exploring on google. Evidently hydrangeas, like many other plants, are prone to root rot when the soil is too moist. When they experience root rot, the plants tend to wilt, which to the gardener, re-inforces the notion that the plant is not getting enough water. The gardener then waters even more, and compounds the problem.

If I were you, would pull one of the plants and check to make sure that the roots are still healthy. If they are then simply let the plants dry more between waterings. If having difficulty deciding when to water, perhaps get a moisture meter probe. If the plants have developed black rotting roots, then IMO the best chance for recovery would be to pull the plants, shake most of the dirt from the roots, trim any unhealthy roots away and then repot the plants in nursery pots until they can recover. Also if lots of roots are lost and must be cut away, it would make sense to prune back a fair amount of the top growth, so that there is not too much demand on the roots.

I don't have specific knowledge relate to hydrangea, and the above advice for remediating the problem is based upon plant care in general. You may want to research your specific kind of hydrangeas and/or talk to a competent person at a nursery that sells hydrangeas. Sometimes early spring pruning can cause problems with some plants. In a plant with root rot you may have not other choice, but would be nice for corrective actions to be confirmed by an expert.

[hendi_alex]

Here are a couple of tips from one of the sites that I visited.

"If you transplant while your hydrangeas are dormant (the best time), water them deeply one time. They may need no more water until spring when warmer weather arrives. After transplanting, hydrangeas must be kept watered very well the first and second summer. If the leaves wilt and the soil is moist enough, mist the leaves each day until they recover.


The best way to water is deeply. Use a hose to water rather than a sprinkler system. However do not overwater. Watering every day can be just as destructive as allowing the plants to dry out."

The info comes from a site dedicated to hydrangeas. You may want to visit the site and read all of the transplanting tips.

https://www.hydrangeashydrangeas.com/planting_fert.html

[goodcreations2007]

Thanks for your help Alex. I just bought the plants so they are small, just 2-3 blooms on each plant. When I planted them I did not see any root rot or damage, but maybe I am watering them too much. I just thought since they were perky after watering that is what they needed. Thanks for the link, I have read a few articles on hydrangea, I'll check this one out also.

[ZoSoDragon]

I'm not an expert or anything...maybe they're getting too much sun? I know that too much heat in addition to not enough water will wilt a hydrangea. Sun can be pretty intense from noon to 2pm...maybe that last two hours in the sun is getting to them, even if you are watering them a ton.

[goodcreations2007]

Well, I'm not sure what it is because they are still wilting everyday, and now the flowers look crispy and brown. I agree, I think they may be getting to much sun, they look fried. This really sucks because I love hydrangea, and my whole yard is full sun. The more time goes by the more I'm starting to think they are not going to survive.

[ZoSoDragon]

I have about the same problem in my yard...I don't have any trees older than 3 years, and my yard gets blistered by the NC sun. I have one small place for a hydrangea, and I took advantage of it....it doesn't get any sun until about 3:30 pm in the summertime, and then the sun goes down around 8...it seems to be doing all right with lots of watering, but a leaf or two will still get a fried edge.

But yeah, if the leaves and flowers are crispy, definitely too much sun.

[goodcreations2007]

I'm really excited my hydrangea are still alive and even have new growth.........but, about one bloom on each plant is completely fried/dead. Should I prune this bloom,( and if so, where should I cut) or should I let it fall off by itself?

[ZoSoDragon]

In terms of pruning a hydrangea, different ones require different pruning measures. Is yours a mophead?

But if you're just going to remove a dead bloom or a dead stem, you can do that whenever. Is just the bloom on that stem dead, or is it the whole stem? If it's just the bloom, you can just snip that off below the bloom, no problem. Just like deadheading anything else.

[goodcreations2007]

Yes, mine is a mophead. Just the bloom is dead, the steam is good. Thanks for your help!

[The Helpful Gardener]

These are new plants with undeveloped root systems and the plant is sensitive to wind, sun and water quantities. PLus many are pushed to overly lush growth with chemical fertilizers, more than the roots can support. A greenhouse sissy that has never seen wind or real sunlight is gonna be a limp wimp for a while...patience as it develops roots, hold the ferts for a time while it gets its feet under it, and like Alex says, when it does get established, water deeply once a week. But until such time you are gonna have to baby it...

HG

[Decado]

If you like hydrangeas and these ones don't survive, there are definitely species that like full sun, so you might want to find some of these and plant them while it's still early.