To avoid drooping and dying hydrangeas, ensure the soil is consistently moist and provide protection from midday sun. To revive a dying hydrangea it is important to emulate some of the conditions of their natural environment in your garden with an emphasis on soil moisture and protection from too much sun and wind.
The reason for a dying hydrangea is usually because the soil is too dry or the hydrangea is in too much direct sunlight which causes the leaves to turn brown, wilt and die. New growth in Spring is sensitive to frost damage which causes the leaves and flower buds to turn brown and mushy with a dying appearance.
Water them for longer.
If you notice that your hydrangeas are starting to look stressed, de Corral says to try and shift your watering schedule to less frequent one, but with longer intervals.
Remove the wilted hydrangeas from your arrangement and re-cut the stems on a 45-degree angle. Make a vertical slit in the incision and hold the stem upright in the boiling water for about 60 seconds. Place the hydrangeas back in your floral arrangement and they should revive themselves in an hour or so.
Brown, tan, yellowish or black spots on hydrangea leaves may be anthracnose. You can also identify it by cankers that form on stems and branches. Anthracnose can be fatal to hydrangeas, so prune out dead or diseased plant parts and destroy them.
Here's what to look for: Leaf discoloration: hydrangea laves typically become yellow and brown when overwatered. However, the discoloration can also be a sign of underwatering. Usually, when the plant is overwatered, the browning occurs on the edges of the leaves.
You can use vinegar to lower the pH of your soil, but be aware that in order to achieve blue blooms, you will need both an acidic environment and aluminum ions. The acidic environment will also need to be a sustained over a period of time, which could be hard if rainwater is washing the vinegar away.
Shallow or inconsistent watering.
If a hydrangea is being watered every other day for twenty or thirty minutes (sadly, standard automatic irrigation settings) the plant is likely to wilt in hot weather. Once the flowers wilt a few times they will turn brown.
Some gardeners report success in turning their hydrangeas blue by applying coffee grounds to the soil. The coffee grounds make the soil more acidic, allowing the hydrangea to more easily absorb aluminum. In addition, fruit peels, lawn clippings, peat moss and pine needles, are thought to have a similar effect.
Wilting flowers and leaves plus, yellowing, browning of the leaves are symptoms of a plant with root rot due to poor soil drainage, especially in hydrangeas planted in very small pots. The leaves scorched brown with leaves curled and dying is most likely because of exposure to too much sun.
A wilted plant can recover in a few weeks with the right care and attention to address the root cause of wilting. It is worth noting, however, that not every wilted plant has the stored energy to make a full recovery, and some plants can take months to look as they did originally.
The leaves start drooping and the stems aren't able to support the heavy flowerheads. Hydrangeas should be planted in moist, rich soil. In soil that drains quickly, such as sandy soil, wilting occurs much faster than in soil rich in organic matter with better water-holding ability. Shallow watering can also cause wilt.
Trim an inch off the ends of the stems and submerge wilted flowers in a bucket, bowl or sink filled with cool water. If you're trying to revive multiple stems at once, weigh down the stems in the water with a lightweight plate so they stay completely submerged.
Yellow or Brown Leaves
When a hydrangea has been overwatered, one of the most obvious signs is yellow or brown mushy leaves. Touch your hydrangea's leaves just to make sure – dry leaves can be a sign of underwatering, so feeling them will help you tell the difference.
Water at a rate of 1 inch per week throughout the growing season. Deeply water 3 times a week to encourage root growth. Bigleaf and smooth hydrangeas require more water, but all varieties benefit from consistent moisture.
Hydrangeas need regular water to thrive. Too little water can result in stunted growth and failure to develop flower buds. A drought in the previous growing season can also affect flowering the following year. Plants need consistent moisture, about 2 inches of water per week.
If your Hydrangea flowers dry out they will turn brown. Similarly, if the plants are growing in full or afternoon sun they will fade rapidly. Be sure to keep your shrubs deeply watered during hot weather. A layer of mulch around the plants will help keep the soil moist.
Typical symptoms include yellowing leaves, or irregular dry, brown blotches. Leaf tips and margins may turn brown, as well. Severely damaged leaves may drop from the plant. Leaf scorch results when the leaves lose water faster than it can be supplied by the roots, so wilting may occur before scorch is noticed.
Just add water! There are tons of different tips and tricks out there that involve hammers and boiling water, but the best way I have found to save a wilting hydrangea is to place it in cool water. This works 75% of the time for me, but sometimes, it's just a lost cause.
Hydrangeas are amazingly resilient, she says. If they wilt in the heat of a summer afternoon, they will likely perk up by the next morning. But don't let them suffer too often or the cell structure will collapse and the leaves may not come back until fall rain or even next spring.
Too much sun exposure can cause your hydrangea shrubs to burn on its leaves and blooms. Also, be sure to put your fingers in the soil to see if it needs watering. We do recommend a soak versus light watering each day, but you should be sure that the soil is always moist – not wet – by sticking your fingers in the dirt.