Annabelle Hydrangea drooping

9 years ago

I have an Annabelle hydrangea plant in zone 4 that I've noticed is drooping in the afternoon sun. When the sun has cooled off in the early evening, it perks right back up again. I've checked the soil and it seems to be moist enough. Do you have any idea what the cause could be? For a while I was watering it a lot but the leaves were beginning to show wilt and signs of overwatering and since I've pulled back on watering the foliage is looking better. The stems when the blooms are falling over like this feel very flimsy and then again, firm when the sun goes away.

Also, I'm sad that my plant has few blooms again this year. One large one and a few small ones, maybe five. Is this normal for a younger plant?

Any suggestions would be great! Thanks!

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Comments (3)

luis_pr
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Yes, sometimes young plants with a small root system will take a few years to produce more blooms. Getting established in the garden takes 1-3 years.

As for the wilting, say hello to Summer. The leaves loose moisture faster than the roots can absorb water so the plant wilts and reduces the leaf area being hit by the sun. They should fix themselves overnight, provided the soil remains mulched and moist. No need to rewater unless you feel that the soil is drying up. Covering the plant with a lawn chair to provide more shade can also help. Afternoon shade locations help a lot with this problem but you should notice less wilting as the root system gets larger.
October_Gardens
9 years ago
Most hydrangeas naturally wilt in heat / sun.

If they rebound daily, they're fine. If they droop for more than a day or two they either need to be watered or in some cases, end up in standing water which can also be bad.
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tanyaabraham
Original Author
9 years ago
More hydrangea woes! I have an Annabelle hydrangea that is about two years old. Last week I noticed some white stuff on one of the leaves. It looks too stark white to be powdery mildew so I asked a garden centre. They had suggested it was insect eggs so I removed the leaf affected.

Coming home today two more leaves have substance on them and I noticed a small caterpillar (see photos attached).

I looked up the leaf miner but it doesn't seem to fit that description either as none of the leaves are sewn together and the caterpillar doesn't have a brown head.

Does anyone know what this could be and what the best plan of attack is? I'm worried that the neighbouring plants will suffer if I don't remedy this soon.

Thanks!!!