Hydrangea problems

13 years ago

I recently bought a house that has hydrangeas planted in some of its beds. This will be the first summer that I have seen them bloom. They are planted in the same location so they are getting similar sun, water, and are in the same soil. One is small but appears healthy. One has some blooms but tons of dead branches. Tons. The other is squatty and also has a lot of dead branches. Any thoughts on how I can revive these suckers?

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Comments (7)

luis_pr
13 years ago
Remove the dead wood by cutting off the completely dried out stems at the base. Leave alone the ones with blooms or with flower buds. And any that are partially leafed out can be pruned from the top downwards in small increments (1/4", 1/2", 1", etc) until you hit green. Then remove plant debris from the bottom of the shrubs and add more mulch if they do not have between 3-4" of organic mulch. You can fertilize them with 1/2 cup to 1 cup (I am guessing here because I do not know how tall these guys are) of cottonseed meal, compost or composted manure. You can also use a general purpose slow-release chemical fertilizer like Osmocote 10-10-10. Weak fertilizers like coffee grounds, liquid seaweed or liquid fish can also be used but stop fertiling by the end of June. Since you probably do not know yet if these are rebloomers, I suggest you only prune after they have bloomed but before the end of June only.
hokierustywilliamsbu
13 years ago
what zone are you in? Some pics would help.
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ccraville
Original Author
13 years ago
I have attached a picture of the one that looks the worst. I am in zone 8a.
hokierustywilliamsbu
13 years ago
Luis is right on-how much sun do they get?
October_Gardens
13 years ago
Try removing all those old cane stumps from the crown. Most should break off with minimal to moderate force. If you do not get a lot of new shoots next year, I'd try digging up the whole root ball and then sawing the crown into sections, then re-plant them spaced out a bit or throw dead portions of the crown away.
Janierie
13 years ago
I read so many posts about my drooping recently planted hydrangeas and decided to water deeply. In less than an hour they had perked up! I was fearful that they may have been water logged, but alas, water was the saveall. Thank you to all who posted items about this problem.
mzdee
13 years ago
I have a Salsa that droops. Last year was the first year in the ground and I really babied her. This year, I noticed the droop and ignored her. Around dusk, she had perked up. She isn't in full sun, but it seems that she likes to pout during the warmest part of the day. Love my flowers, but "whatever." Sulk away, as long as she perks up before the day is out. I don't want to spend a fortune watering persnickety plant.