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littlemommygardner

First flowers browning

8 years ago

I got this gift hydrangea for Mother's Day and planted it. the plant seems to be doing well, no brown spots on leaves and not being eaten my anything but the original blooms have turned brown. It's in a partial sun spot and is getting lots of water. The new blooms look great! Not sure if I should cut the old blooms or if there is a problem? Do I leave them?

Thank you!


Comments (3)

  • 8 years ago

  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    No, no problem. Those Mother's Day shrub were made to bloom earlier than normal so the blooms are now going downhill. The majority of the blooms in the picture appear to be spent and undergoing further color changes... getting pink and green splotches. Eventually they will turn brown. You can leave them there for winter interest or you can cut the petiole string that connects the bloom to the cane/stem.

    Various other considerations: Make sure the plant gets morning sun only in the summer; no afternoon or evening sun in the summer. It is summer (very hot) in some areas of the country so be ready to water it often. The leaves may wilt during the day but will fix themselves at night provided that the soil is kept as evenly moist as you can. If you get a lot of wilting episodes, consider also giving them artificial shade using an umbrella or outside chairs in its first summer. Also, some of these Mother's Day hydrangeas may need winter protection in the Fall in order to bloom reliably in Zones 6 and colder.

  • 8 years ago

    welcome to the forums sam.. if you are going to hang around.. add your location on your members page so it appears ion every post ...


    winter hardiness may or may not be worth discussing in your location ...


    let me rephrase some of that said above ...


    this plant was forced for mothers day ... and those blooms are spent ... so thats normal ...


    the new blooms show that you are tending it well ... but the old blooms detract from the new show ... the old ones could probably be removed.. hung upside down to dry.. and be put in a vase in fall as an arrangement ... but in cutting them off .. i would spend a few mins.. and track down the stem.. and see where there are some new buds that will trigger when the above it cut off ...


    the whole sequence will be different next year ... as it will not have been forced early ...


    if i were buying a plant like this.. at any time other than for the holiday ... i would have not bought it in full flower .. so i would have had a good show.. later in the season ...


    finally ... you should water when a plant needs water.. insert finger and find out.. rather than relying on some random schedule ...


    if you need to name whats going on.. it would be mild transplant shock .. and nbd ... imo.. bugs and disease just dont happen this fast ... its always possible.. just not probable ... so we default to transplant shock.. which nearly always happens when you transplant a plant in full flower ...


    ken

    https://duckduckgo.com/?q=hydrangea+dried+flower+arrangements&t=ffcm&iax=images&ia=images