Hydrangeas dry the edges of the leaves: common reasons for what to do

Large cap-shaped hydrangea inflorescences do not leave anyone indifferent; both beginners and experienced flower growers strive to grow it. However, this garden plant may not always feel good on the site, which can be immediately noticed by some external signs. If the hydrangea leaves dry at the edges, dark spots appear on them or yellowness appears, then urgent measures must be taken to save them.

Why do hydrangeas dry the tips of the leaves

A change in the color or structure of hydrangea leaf plates is associated with various factors:

1. Violations of the water balance (excess or lack of moisture, water unsuitable for irrigation).
2. Nutritional deficiencies or deficiency of any specific micronutrients in the soil.
3. Change in soil acidity.
4. response to solar activity.
5. Sudden changes in air temperature, drafts.
6. Mechanical damage to the plant.
7. Disease or pests.

Drying of the edges of the leaves of hydrangeas is a very common phenomenon.

Before taking any action, it is necessary to correctly evaluate all the factors that led to discoloration or drying of the edges of the hydrangea leaves. After that, a set of special care measures can be carried out in order to normalize the situation. If this is not done, then the consequences for the plant can be the saddest.

Why do homemade hydrangea leaves dry?

Indoor hydrangea is grown as a potted plant, without transplanting it into open ground. However, it must be transplanted into another container annually. It is the consequences of this procedure that will become one of the reasons for the drying of the leaves around the edges. This may be acclimatization in a new environment or mechanical damage received during the work. An unsuitable pot or soil that does not meet the necessary properties can also affect the well-being of hydrangeas.

You can increase the humidity of the air by spraying from a spray bottle.

The reason for the drying of the edges of the leaves of a hydrangea growing indoors is often unsuitable climatic conditions. These could be the following factors:

1. Too low humidity. Corrected by daily spraying of plants with water from a spray bottle.
2. Changing the properties and parameters of the soil. Excessive alkalization is removed by watering with a weak solution of citric acid, and a lack of nutrients – by feeding.
3. Insufficient watering. The moisture content needs to be increased.
4. Too bright sunlight. In this case, the flower pot must be removed to a more shaded place.

Why do garden hydrangea leaves dry?

For hydrangeas grown in the open field, all the same reasons for the drying of leaves along the edges or their falling off are characteristic as for a house plant. Here is some of them:

1. Error with the place of disembarkation or transfer. If the new location is in direct sunlight, the plant may get burned.
2. Damage to the root system during transplantation. In this case, the normal appearance of the hydrangea will be restored in 2-3 months.
3. Alkalinization of the soil. Over time, the acidity of the soil gradually decreases. This happens mainly due to watering the bushes with tap or artesian water, which is characterized by increased hardness. Dissolved salts gradually react with the acid contained in the soil, and it becomes more and more alkaline, which is unacceptable for hydrangeas.

Lack of watering is a common cause of dry leaf edges in hydrangeas.

The most common cause of wilted leaf edges is insufficient watering. In this case, the water regime for the bushes must be reviewed and corrected.

Causes of drying hydrangea leaves

Most often, there are several reasons for the drying of leaves along the edges of large-leaved and many other types of hydrangeas, since all the factors leading to this phenomenon have a noticeable effect on each other. Therefore, it is necessary to consider this problem in a complex, weighing and excluding, one by one, possible errors in care.

Wrong choice of seedling

Mistakes in choosing a hydrangea variety for planting can also cause premature wilting of the plant. First of all, for this reason, the leaves of the most heat-loving species of this plant, the large-leaved hydrangea, dry. In regions with severe winters, it is recommended to grow it only as a tub plant, without transplanting into open ground. Tree-like and paniculate varieties are more winter-hardy. In these hydrangeas, leaf wilt is most often associated with a seasonal factor, since it is still a deciduous shrub.

Improper care

Improper care can be understood as any erroneous or insufficient actions of the grower, starting from the moment the hydrangea is planted. These are, first of all, various violations of the irrigation regime:

1. Use of poor quality water.
2. Too abundant or, conversely, insufficient watering.
3. Sprinkling during a period of high solar activity, leading to burns.

Untimely or improper feeding, excessive pruning can lead to wilting of the leaves of these flowers.

Mistakes in transplanting can lead to drying of the edges of the leaves of hydrangeas

In home-grown hydrangeas, risk factors are transplant errors, improper placement in the room, due to which the flowers receive too much direct sunlight, insufficient air humidity, unsuitable soil for growing.

Adverse weather conditions

Heat-loving hydrangeas do not always do well in areas with a cool climate and changeable weather. The following factors most often lead to the drying of the edges of the leaves in plants growing in open ground:

1. Abundant rainfall.
2. Prolonged drought.
3. Constant cold wind.
4. Sharp fluctuations in temperature.

Diseases and pests

One of the common diseases of hydrangeas is chlorosis. You can determine it by changing the color of the leaves, they become light green, with clearly visible dark veins. The cause of chlorosis is iron deficiency in the soil or a decrease in the plant’s ability to absorb this trace element. Favors the development of this ailment and too low acidity of the soil. To get rid of chlorosis, hydrangea is sprayed with a solution of ferrous sulfate and citric acid (2 and 4 g of each of the components, respectively, diluted in 1 liter of water). With the same preparation, you can also water the plant under the root.

Chlorosis is a common disease associated with iron deficiency.

Fungal diseases appear relatively rarely on hydrangeas. Here are the main ones:

1. septoriosis. You can recognize this disease by small brown spots on the leaves. If the disease is not treated, hydrangea leaves begin to turn brown, dry and fly around. At the first signs of septoria, the affected parts of the plant must be cut and burned, and then the bushes should be treated with preparations containing copper: Bordeaux liquid, copper oxychloride or copper sulphate.
   
   

   Hydrangea leaf affected by septoria

2. Mučnistaâ rosa. It often appears on the leaves as a light ash bloom. Affected shoots rapidly wither, deform and, as a rule, die in winter. They fight this disease by treating the bushes with various fungicides: Topaz, Chistotsvet, Fitosporin.
   
   

   Light gray bloom on the leaves – a sign of powdery mildew

3. White rot. A sign of the appearance of this disease is the darkening of the shoots, the presence of rot on their lower part, while a white fluffy coating becomes noticeable on the leaves. In most cases, the plant cannot be saved, so many flower growers, when white rot appears, destroy the hydrangea bush immediately, without waiting for the disease to spread to neighboring plantings. If it can be recognized at an early stage, then the affected parts of the shrub are removed, the cuts are cauterized with potassium permanganate, and then the plantings are treated with fungicides or special agents for white rot.
   
   

   White rot is a dangerous fungal disease

Of the insect pests, the following are dangerous for hydrangeas:

1. aphid. In small quantities, this small sucking insect is not dangerous, but its large colonies can seriously weaken or even kill the plant. The situation is aggravated by the fact that aphids reproduce very quickly, so their numbers can increase tens and hundreds of times in a short time. Due to the loss of nutrients, the hydrangea leaves darken and dry, the shoots wither. They fight aphids by treating the bushes with various insecticides, but if you notice small pockets of insects in time, they can simply be washed off with soapy water.
   
   

   Aphids are dangerous in their quantity

2. spider mite. Refers to sucking parasitic insects that suck juices from leaves and young shoots. It is found not only on hydrangeas, but also on many other garden plants. You can recognize the appearance of this insect by the presence of a thin cobweb that entangles nests with a pest. The affected leaves curl up and dry out. The fight against this pest is carried out by treating plants with special means – acaricides. If the lesion is not widespread, then the spider nests are cut off and burned, and the leaves are washed with soapy water.
   
   

   A thin cobweb entangling the leaves is a sign of the appearance of a spider mite

3. Gall nematode. This insect lives in the ground and is a microscopic worm that can live both in the roots and in the stem of a plant, gradually poisoning it with its waste products. The presence of the parasite can be determined by the characteristic swellings of a reddish color at the base of the stem – galls. In these places, the process of decay gradually begins, due to which the plant dies. To prevent the appearance of nematodes, the soil is treated with Aktofit or Fitoverm before planting hydrangeas.
   
   

   A plant infected with a root-knot nematode usually dies

What to do if the edges of the leaves dry on the hydrangea

Before you start taking any action to correct the situation, you need to determine the cause of its occurrence. First of all, you need to carefully examine the plant, identify changes that have occurred with the leaves or shoots, determine if there are signs of diseases and pests on the hydrangea. After that, it is desirable to do a chemical analysis of the soil to determine its acidity, restore the water balance, and carry out top dressing.

Soil acidity control is an important part of hydrangea care.

It is very important to evaluate the parameters of the microclimate: measure the temperature and humidity of the air, control the level of illumination. If you bring the values ​​​​of all these values ​​uXNUMXbuXNUMXbin line with the recommended ones, then most likely the hydrangea will recover very soon.

How to feed a hydrangea when the leaves dry

If hydrangeas were fed regularly, in the right amounts and at the recommended time, then additional stimulation is unlikely to improve their well-being. Fertilization is indicated if there is a clear lag in the growth of shoots, a pale color of the foliage. In this case, it is more advisable to use special fertilizers for hydrangeas, azaleas and rhododendrons.

A lot of complex fertilizers are designed specifically for hydrangeas.

They contain a complete set of trace elements necessary for the plant. Apply them in accordance with the instructions.

Tips from experienced gardeners

Here are some tips from experienced gardeners regarding the care of hydrangeas when the edges of the leaves dry out:

1. When transplanting hydrangeas, Zircon can be used along with watering. Thanks to him, the plant quickly adapts to a new place.
2. In extreme heat, even with intensive watering and mulching, hydrangeas may lack moisture, which leads to yellowing and drying of the leaves around the edges. You can increase the immunity of a plant if you treat it with a solution of a mixture of drugs Epin and Cytovit.
3. It is impossible to use artesian and tap water for watering hydrangeas without special softening. It contains a large amount of magnesium and calcium salts, which, when watered, more and more will reduce the acidity of the soil each time. Hydrangeas should be watered only with settled rainwater.

A short video on this topic can be viewed at the link below.

Conclusion

If the hydrangea leaves dry around the edges, then this is not a reason to panic. In many cases, an unpleasant phenomenon occurs due to the vagaries of the weather. For example, prolonged heat in July can cause the leaves on hydrangeas to dry in August. In this case, the natural regulation of the plant occurs, the root system of which cannot cope with the nutrition and water supply of a large amount of green mass. In addition, there may be several reasons, each of them needs to be dealt with in detail and the sooner the better.