I got a hydrangea last summer. I have worked with the soil so that it changed to blue. The leaves are turning brown. Am I watering it too much or not enough?
Hardiness Zone: 6a
Brenda from South Bend, IN
Answer:
Brenda,
You're probably watering too little. Hydrangeas like a lot of water (the prefix hydro is Greek for water). Sometimes the tips or sides of a hydrangea's leaves will appear brown. This usually happens after it has suffered a dry spell or when it goes through a period where, for whatever reason, the roots were not absorbing moisture well and then the plant suddenly gets a good watering. When cells in the leave's tips suddenly take on water, they literally swell up and burst. What you're seeing with the brown tips is actually dead plant tissue where the cells burst. This kind of browning can also happen to plants when they are initially transplanted and are suddenly given a heavy dose of water. Keeping your hydrangea consistently watered will prevent this from happening. In general, over watering is usually followed by yellowing leaves that turn black at the edges. When under watered, leaves will droop and then turn brown.
Ellen
About The Author: Ellen Brown is our Green Living and Gardening Expert. Click here to ask Ellen a question! Ellen Brown is an environmental writer and photographer and the owner of Sustainable Media, an environmental media company that specializes in helping businesses and organizations promote eco-friendly products and services. Contact her on the web at http://www.sustainable-media.com
My hydrangeas are doing the same thing. I planted them this spring on the north side of a small garden shed. They had good growth at first but now they look spindley and some of the leaves are not as dark green as others. I live in lower Oklahoma and the summers are very hot and humid with little rain. My water resource is my well. Could it be that?
I find my hydrangas very, very tolerate to dry, sunny conditions...I am in West Virginia and can kill even plastic plants...howver, these have done well for me, so they are pretty hardy, just baby them along and I think they will rebound.
I water every morning early, and fertilize once a wk. I put pine straw around the plant and it turned blue. It only gets about 5 hours of morning sun, it does get very hot here in S. Ga. This is what I do for mine.
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Request: Hydrangea Bush's Leaves Turning Brown
Archived on 04/14/2006
Q: My husband brought me a hydrangea bush, I am not sure what type, and it is curling and turning brown on the ends. We have gotten a few days of rain and I am not sure if that could effect this type of plant.
Hardiness Zone: 6a
shopping_addiction_woman from Nashville, IN
A: Dear shopping_addiction_woman,
It sounds as though your hydrangea may be suffering from a bit of transplant shock. I would just leave it alone for a bit and it should recover just fine. This isn't all that uncommon, especially with potted plants that are transplanted in the garden and suddenly receive large doses of water. Your plant probably didn't received enough moisture at some point while in the pot at the nursery. Once planted and exposed to a couple days of rain, the leaf cells probably become overwhelmed from the sudden change in moisture levels, which caused them to swell up and burst. The brown tips indicate the cells that were destroyed. In a short time the leaves should toughen up and form a sort of "seal" that will prevent this from happening in the future. You can help by keeping your hydrangea watered on a consistant basis.
Ellen
More Answers:
RE: Hydrangea Bush's Leaves Turning Brown
04/19/2006
Hiya,
I don't know the answer to your problem, but I'd guess it's lacking water & also in too much sun, however .... there's a great website that has all your gardening information & it's our very own Australian TV Broadcasting site.
www.gardeningaustralia.com.au
This will give you all the information you could ever want. Hope it helps you.
