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New Bloomstruck hydrangea is dying #751101

Asked May 20, 2021, 2:37 PM EDT

Hello, 

Could you help us save our Bloomstruck hydrangea?  It faces East, gets some direct sun in the morning and partial in the afternoon.  We water it once/twice a day.

Thank you, 

Adam Catterton

Sussex County Delaware

Expert Response

Did you just plant it? In Delaware, macrophylla are just setting out their blooms and aren't fully in bloom until mid-June. So I have to make an assumption based on the mature blooms that this was recently purchased in full bloom and had been raised in a greenhouse before going to a retail garden center.  It looks like transplant shock.

If it was recently placed in the ground, you might want to dig it back up and widen the hole and give the roots good, soft organic soil to spread into. 

The location you describe is a good choice. It is important that you dig a larger hole than needed and then backfill it with good organic soil or compost. When the new roots escape from the confines of the original nursery pot, you don't want them hitting a clay wall. Delaware soils can be very clay-ish, so if your hole had solid sides, it could also be a draining issue. 

Two issues cause the drooping seen in your photos. 1. Lack of water 2. Heat.

Keep watering. Consider placing an umbrella or something like a lawn chair that can provide additional shade (and heat relief) during this transition time. 

Delaware has had very dry and hot weather. Even some of my well-established hydrangeas were drooping yesterday and looking rather pitiful, and that after I had watered in the morning and the afternoon!  It was just too hot for some of them!

Do not fertilize at this stage. It needs to adjust.






Received From: Adam Catterton <<personal data hidden>>



Thank you for your prompt and thorough response.  Unfortunately for you, expect many more questions in the future from these two novices.  We did buy it earlier this month and it was a retail garden.  

We are going to get to work. 

Thanks again

On Thu, May 20, 2021 at 2:57 PM Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
The Question Asker Replied May 20, 2021, 3:16 PM EDT

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