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juliajoy_gw

Time to give up on my Forever and Ever?

JuliaJoy
9 years ago

Hi everyone! I'm new to gardening, and planted 10 hydrangeas in different areas of my yard about 2 months ago. The 7 plants on the east side of my house are growing wonderfully, but I have 3 Forever and Ever white hydrangeas in the front that have been sickly for a while. They have some new growth, and continue to make 1 or 2 blooms, but I'm wondering what I can do to help them. I'm thinking this is cercospora? Any other ideas, or what I could do to save them? Thanks so much!

Comments (9)

  • JuliaJoy
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Here is the saddest of the three!

  • hc mcdole
    9 years ago

    Cut the bad leaves off and dispose of them. That should force the plant to flush some new foliage out.

    It looks like some sunburn on the first photo.

  • JuliaJoy
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thank you! I clipped off all of the leaves with spots, here's hoping they grow soon! Is there anything I can do to prevent fungus going forward?

  • October_Gardens
    9 years ago

    Probably a spray fungicide.

    Aside from that, F&E white won't get very big. It only grows about 6-12" per year in the best conditions and will die back to the ground in zone 6 winters. And the blooms will scorch and brown around the edges in sun. For these reasons, it works very well as a container plant in semi-shaded areas.

  • dublinbay z6 (KS)
    9 years ago

    Julia, I think the point of the earlier answer was that your plant is suffering from sunburn, NOT from a fungus.

    Therefore, you do not need to spray the plant. Just give it some protection from the sun--and maybe water it more often.

    Kate

  • JuliaJoy
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Oh, oops, I thought hcmcdole meant that the discoloration in the first picture was sunburn, but that whatever is going on in the second picture needed to be clipped off.

    I'm pretty bummed about them being sunburned because the tag for these actually says full sun for zone 6, and that's why I bought them! They get about 6 hours of sun each day. Originally wanted Little Limes, but couldn't find them in my rural area.

    This post was edited by JuliaJoy on Mon, Jun 23, 14 at 18:20

  • hoovb zone 9 sunset 23
    9 years ago

    They are going to hold up to sun better when they are fully established. It looks like you just planted them? They are not yet full rooted in and able to deal with as much sun as they are getting.

    After a couple of years, they should do better, but if they are still getting sunburnt, you'll likely have to move them to a slightly more shaded area. Label advice is never 100% for sure, because there is so much variation in soil, location, wind, etc.

  • October_Gardens
    9 years ago

    White out's blooms will scorch in 6 hours of sun, no matter what zone they're grown in. No biggie though. As you find new things you can swap and move things around. That's what makes gardening fun. :)

    Commercial entities don't get the full picture on hydrangea care, as they are more concerned about sales of many different plants, not just hydrangeas. Also, each hydrangea is different, especially in the F&E line. In zone 6, about all F&E are fine in 6 hours of sun except for White Out and Blue Heaven.

  • JuliaJoy
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Then maybe for next year I could move these three White Outs into large pots on my porch, and plant a different Forever and Ever hydrangea in that spot instead? I saw pale pink ones that were really pretty! Thanks for your advice!

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