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With just a little love, your hydrangeas will be back to their former glory in no time.
Key Takeaways
- Hydrangeas often wilt during heat waves to conserve water, so check soil a few inches down and water deeply if it’s dry.
- Help plants stay hydrated with mulch or compost around established hydrangeas, and remove weeds so more moisture reaches the roots.
- Give hydrangeas partial shade during extreme heat, and prune lightly only if plants have become top-heavy.
Hydrangeas are loved by many for their long-lasting, vibrant blooms that come to life in the spring and continue blooming long into fall. They’re also pretty low-maintenance once established, making them even more desired by homeowners who want the beauty of the flowers without extensive effort.
That said, hydrangeas do require some love and attention, especially in summer when it gets really, really hot. The truth is that excessive heat can cause hydrangeas to wilt—but there’s no need to panic just yet. With just a little TLC and these expert-backed tips, your hydrangeas will be standing tall in no time.
Meet Our Expert
- Lorraine Ballato, hydrangea expert and award-winning author and speaker
- Annette Hird, horticulturist and gardening expert at Easy Urban Gardens
- Larry Stein, PhD, AgriLife Extension horticulture specialist and professor in the Texas A&M Department of Horticultural Sciences, Uvalde
Maintain Soil Moisture
When a heat wave comes around, hydrangeas go into self-preservation mode and hold onto as much water as they can. In doing so, they start to wilt.
“It is not uncommon for plants to wilt when it becomes excessively hot,” says Larry Stein, PhD, AgriLife Extension horticulture specialist and professor in the Texas A&M Department of Horticultural Sciences, Uvalde. “Wilting is a way for a plant to conserve water by reducing their leaf surface area to direct sunlight and by closing their stomates.”
When this happens, check the soil to make sure it’s moist. “Dig down three to four inches, and if the soil balls together, you are good; if not, you will need to water,” he says.
Tips
If significant wilting is occurring, Annette Hird, horticulturist and gardening expert at Easy Urban Gardens, suggests watering the hydrangeas, letting the water settle into the soil, and coming back a few hours later to check the soil and water again if needed. “I always make sure that I water at the base of plants so I’m only getting the soil wet and that the water gets down to the roots,” she says.
Conserve Moisture With Mulch or Compost
If your hydrangeas are having a hard time holding onto water, adding some mulch to your garden bed can really help—but do so only if the hydrangeas are established.
“Mulch is recommended once the plants are well watered and growing well,” says Stein. He notes that the mulch will also decrease the temperature around the plant, further reducing any potential wilting.
According to Lorraine Ballato, hydrangea expert and award-winning author and speaker, compost can also help your hydrangeas conserve moisture. “You might want to amend soil at the base of the plant with compost, which will help it retain moisture better,” she says.
Prune ‘Leggy’ Hydrangeas
While hydrangeas don’t require too much pruning at all, sometimes they can become top-heavy, which may contribute to wilting.
“In some situations, the plants have become ‘leggy’ and top-heavy, which is also influencing the wilting,” says Stein. “In this case, a slight pruning is in order to reduce some of the leaf load and water loss.”
But “slight” is the keyword—going overboard on pruning, especially during the growing season, can be detrimental to your hydrangeas’ health. Stick to light thinning and the removal of spent blooms, along with dead, dying, and damaged stems.
Control Weed and Grass Growth
Sometimes pesky weeds and grass can be the culprit behind your wilted hydrangeas.
“Weeds and grass need soil moisture to grow, and if such nemesis is not present, then there will be more potential water for the hydrangeas,” says Stein. Basically, weeds and grass can be pulling the water away from your hydrangeas, causing them to wilt. Help your hydrangeas by keeping the soil around them free of weeds and grass. “Weed control can greatly reduce the chance for plant wilting,” he adds.
Provide Hydrangeas With Some Shade
Sometimes it’s just too hot to function, and that phrase isn’t limited to people—hydrangeas definitely feel it too. According to Stein, hydrangeas actually “thrive in dappled shade,” so when a heat wave comes through with no shade cover, the plant can take a turn for the worse and begin to wilt. The best thing to do in this case is to relocate the plant to a place where it will get partial shade. “If the plants are in full sun, then providing them with some shade can also help revive them,” says Hird.
Read the original article on Real Simple
