- luis_pr
- Hurst, TX USA Zone 7-8
- 29 Aug 2009
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3
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Hello from Texas, paigetheoracle. Hydrangeas are large-leafed plants that suffer from wilting episodes during the hottest part of the summer. Wilting occurs when the plant looses moisture through the leaves faster than it can absorb moisture through the roots. As a response, the plant reduces the surface area that the sun strikes on the leaf and this helps diminish moisture loss so, think of wilting as the plant's response to the problem. Wilting episodes can also be triggered on windy days so consider watering early in the morning when wind advisories are in effect for your area.Newly planted hydrangeas will suffer more wilting episodes than established ones. While most hydrangeas are established within one year of being planted, some may take yet one more year. Again, the problem will occur mostly in the summer months but, if it is not receiving enough moisture at other times, it will wilt then too.Most of the time, you do not need to take any action as hydrangeas tend to recover on their own by the next morning. If you ever notice an extreme wilting episode, I suggest that you water immediately. But otherwise, insert a finger into the soil to see if it feels dry, moist or wet. If it feels dry or almost dry then water as usual. Otherwise do not water and wait until the next morning. If it still looks wilted the next morning, water half as much as usual. I do not suggest that you water the shrubs daily because daily waterings, while helpful, can result in fungal problems in the leaves or root rot. A good dose of mulch will conserve soil moisture and help reduce these wilting episodes.The "finger method" can be used to determine when to water. Test the soil daily for one or two weeks at the same time of the day. Then water the usual amount only if the soil feels dry or almost dry. Anytime that you water, make a note on a wall calendar. After two weeks, review the notes in the calendar and determine the frequency of the waterings. Are you watering every 2 days? 3 days? 4 days? etc. Once you know how often you had to water, water on that frequency. If the temperatures go up or down markedly and stay there, recheck with the finger method.Plants that are stressed should not be fertilized and hydrangeas from most plant nurseries will contain fertilizer pellets that will last until next year. Hydrangeas are just not heavy feeders like roses are. Unless your soil is deficient of some minerals, you can probably feed it once a year with manure, compost or organic foods similar to cottonseed meal. Because my growing season is so long all the way here in Texas, I feed my hydrangeas in April and July but in the northern states, they get fed once in May. So you did not cause any damage but the fertilizer was really not needed.Hydrangeas like well draining soil but will tolerate some clay soil. Clay soil retains water and does not drain fast so the roots are more exposed to water. Some hydrangeas such as hydrangea quercifolia (a.k.a. oakleaf hydrangea) does not really like to get its feet wet and will die from root rot if allowed to stay in wet soil for too long of a period. To answer your last question, do hydrangeas wilt from over watering, well, I would say that they could. If you were to water too much for long periods of time, the hydrangea roots could develop root rot. This is a fungal disease caused by fungi like the Phytophthora fungus. When the damage to the roots is large, the roots can no longer send moisture and minerals to the part of the plant growing above the soil and the leaves react as if they are not getting enough water because they are not getting enough moisture. It is therefore difficult to differentiate between root rot symptoms and a regular wilting problem caused by the hot summer. The only idea that can offer if things were to get that bad is to dig out the plant and inspect the roots. Roots that are rotting will smell awful and look the same way. But, this is quite drastic.Here in Texas, our summers get hot and it is common for newly planted hydrangeas to wilt often. When they do, I check using the finger method to see if they need additional water. If they do, I take appropriate action but, I try to control my first instinct, which is to immediately water since this could create more problems down the road. I hope this helps you, paigetheoracle.
Luis
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