Hydrangea autumn colour

katrinkemp · October 2020

This is a new addition i planted in spring. It never flowered and i changed her location recently. Now the Vanillla Strawberry Hydrangea gehts very leggy and leaves turn red. Is that expected? Can i hope for flowers in spring?
Thank you

Fairygirl · October 2020

If you've just moved it, it'll take a while to settle again. Colour is normal - they're deciduous.
They're also slow growing shrubs until properly established - which takes a while.
You also need to use the correct pruning method for it - or you could be chopping off flowering stems.

katrinkemp · October 2020

thanks @Fairygirl, yes just moved it a month ago as the shrubs next to her in the old location grown much bigger and took to much space. Is it ok not to prune it this year as i only bought it in spring anyway?

Fairygirl · October 2020

You need to find out what type it is. Most are pruned lightly in spring, just removing the flower heads, as they flower on old wood, and some are hard pruned in spring. Usually the paniculatas benefit from that pruning method as they flower on new wood.

I've just had a look and it's a paniculata, so it would be hard pruned in spring. Here's some basic info on it
https://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/hydrangea-paniculata-vanille-fraise-renhy-pbr/classid.2000011165/

luis_pr · October 2020

I would not worry about an early development of senescens on a newly planted hydrangea; just enjoy the colors. Senescens, the normal process of changing color and dropping of leaves in the Fall, can even occur earlier than normal when the plant is stressed because of transplanting; as summer weather arrives; and-or when there is a soil moisture problem.

Typical foliage color for a hydrangea leaf in the Fall is a medium yellow but there are many varieties that produce very nice colors. Oakleaf hydrangeas for example, tend to produce lots of res, oranges, yellows, purples, browns and greens. Macrophyllas like Lady In Red and Bloomstruck also are known to produce nice Fall foliage as well if they get sufficient sunlight in the Fall.

If your hydrangea is a Vanilla Strawberry then it is a hydrangea paniculata. Those are probably the most sun tolerant of all hydrangeas and can be in full sun except in extreme locations like where I live in Texas. Paniculatas develop flower buds anywhere from late Spring to Summer and then these open by mid Summer. Some varieties, like Quickfire bloom earlier and Tardiva bloom later. Because they tend to be vigorous growers, it is surprising that it did not bloom this year but perhaps the roots were disturbed too much when it was transplanted and it aborted the flower buds. The flower buds are invisible, located inside the stems and typically near the ends of the stems.

Their flowers can be deadheaded at any time but hydrangeas should typically not require pruning if you plant them where they can attain the estimated size at maturity specified in the plant label. Because they develop flower buds in late Spring, avoid pruning at that time. But it would be harmless to prune any stems that do not leaf out by the end of May; consider them dead wood.

Since hydrangeas prefer soil that is uniformly humid, I suggest that you try to maintain the soil as evenly moist as you can since periods of dry soil, humid soil, dry soil again, etc. may cause some foliage loss. Hydrangea roots are in the top 10cms of the soil usually so maintain 5-10cms of organic mulch up to the drip line at all times.

Hydrangeas newly planted or recently transplanted will be very sensitive to heat stress in their first (few) summer. Conditions that can trigger heat stress: temperatures above 29C, windy planting locations, etc.

Fairygirl · October 2020

The OP lives in the UK, so USA advice isn't always very relevant I'm afraid.

Hydrangea autumn colour

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