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Sun, Jul 27, 08 at 23:03
| Hi gang! I am new to the forum - very exciting!I got an oakleaf hydrangea in the Fall and planted it according to the directions at the nursery. It gets partial shade and partial sun - in an area with good drainage. It was doing great - lots of new growth. One day I noticed that the edges of some of the leaves were looking brown and scorched - like when paper is burned at the edges. It kept getting worse and worse - I tried cutting off the damaged parts, then gave it a proper dosing of Bayer All in One ( fertilizer, systemic insecticide and fungicide/disease control.) I was hopeful that this would help, since this stuff works miracles on other plants I have. No luck. I now have dead-looking sticks. Have any of you experienced this? Is it a disease? Should I pull up the thing and toss it?
Thanks! |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Oakleafs are notorious for needing excellent drainage, bagsmom. They will tolerate wet conditions up to a point and then will quickly succumb to root rot within a week, more or less. If your hydrangea is now dead-looking stems, I am not sure how to tell if that was the case. Consider the suggestion a possibility. I had this problem two years ago when North Texas had a lot of period from March through June. Lost one Alice Hydrangea even though it was protected under a tree, had plenty of mulch to absorb moisture and the sprinkler system was not turned on until July. My soil, however, is part clay and clay absorbs water and releases it slowly. Lack of water can also result in browning of leaves as well. If your watering system was not delivering enough moisture then this would be a problem. If your watering system was delivering too much water too often, then that too would be a problem as the roots could be sitting on wet soil for too long and develop root rot. I am talking about watering often here though, say daily or almost daily. If a finger inserted into the soil feels wet at a depth of 4" then you should not water. You should aim for soil that feels moist instead and should water when it feels almost dry or dry. The symptoms for root rot resemble those of lack of water because the plant leaves are not getting enough moisture from rotted roots. The plant may wilt and/or the leaves eventually brown out from the leaf edges. No matter how much extra water you provide, the plants does not recuperate. A "normal" wilting episode (assuming the soil is moist) would be over between sun down & the next morning. Controlling soil moisture might help on a few plants with root rot but many do not make it. I do not think the Bayer did anything but, in the future, I would recommend against using it at times like this. Plants that are already stressed by transplant shock like yours or by plant injuries, drought or too much water, etc will recover faster than when they are not given fertilizers. Fertilizers, especially those with a high nitrogen content, will force them to grow green at times when the energy may be well spent doing something else like developing a healthy root system or fighting off an infection. Since hydrangeas require very little fertilizer, apply 1 cup of cottonseed meal or manure in May and July to a new shrub (more on older hydrangeas) and you are good to go for the whole year. A slow-release chemical fertilizer can also be used (ck the label directions). Feel free to add coffee grounds during the growth season if you want but, stop all fertilizing in August-September in order to force the plant to go dormant and to protect tender new growth from early frosts. I left my sticks on the ground until the next spring and pulled the plant around mid-to-late May. Hydrangeas -that are alive- should leaf out by that time in the South (a month later in the North). I did not replant another oakleaf there. Luis |
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| Thanks Luis! That is helpful information. It is always funny to me how much success depends on whether or not your plant "likes" where it is! I have seen Oakleaf hydrangeas here (in GA) that I know get almost no attention and they are thriving. Just in the right place, maybe! I will wait and see if anything seems to be growing from the base of this plant in the Spring. If not, maybe I will stick with good ol' Rose of Sharon! Thanks again!!!!!!!! |
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| I see several growing near work. They are in bright shade under some trees in a very exclu$$$ive neighborhood. I have never seen the owners take care of them (perhaps another case of benign neglect?) either. Ironically, I do not think I would have planted them there! |
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