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Can anyone hazard a guess as to what is wrong with this hydrangea

m02098975ANocN3Am02098975ANocN3A Posts: 22
in Problem solving
The soil I have is quite chalky so not sure if that is best suited to the hydrangea. I had been watering the plant every couple of days with about a litre of water. I am in Glasgow and weather hasn't been that warm. I don't think I was watering enough, so now I am filling a 10l watering can and watering every 2-3 days. Is this too much water? Not sure if plant is too far gone.

Posts

  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    How old is it ? Looks like a very young plant, did you buy it already in flower? 
  • m02098975ANocN3Am02098975ANocN3A Posts: 22
    AnniD said:
    How old is it ? Looks like a very young plant, did you buy it already in flower? 
    Yes, bought it in Lidl and planted it about a month ago.
  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    I suspect that it's suffering from transplant shock. 
    It's been brought into flower early (hydrangeas start flowering around now) and probably had a fair bit of warmth.
    It sounds drastic, but l would cut some,  if not all, of the flower heads off and concentrate on building up the root system.  If you can see buds further down so much the better, as they will grow on in "normal" conditions and then stay on to protect the plant over winter. 
    I am much further South than you though (SW England), so hopefully a forum member further North can confirm or give you advice more suited to your location  :)
  • BiljeBilje Posts: 811
    I had the same issue last year with hydrangeas bought in LIDL. I followed similar advice and also kept them well watered, although not large plants they are currently flowering hurrah. Good luck with yours. 
  • m02098975ANocN3Am02098975ANocN3A Posts: 22
    Bilje said:
    I had the same issue last year with hydrangeas bought in LIDL. I followed similar advice and also kept them well watered, although not large plants they are currently flowering hurrah. Good luck with yours. 
    How often and how much water do you use to water? Did you cut flower heads off?
  • UffUff Posts: 3,199
    I'm not so sure that there is anything wrong with your hydrangea @m02098975ANocN3A
    There is some nice healthy new growth and I'd say that the flowers have finished flowering and are slowly dying off. Mine aren't flowering yet and I'm a bit south of you. 
    I think AnniD's suggestion is a good one. Trim the flowers off and concentrate on watering it so that it puts out new roots and will give you a good display next year. By then it will be flowering at its normal time of late July. 
    SW SCOTLAND but born in Derbyshire
  • thevictorianthevictorian Posts: 1,279
    I can't really see anything wrong either. The flowers of these hydrangeas have been forced to bloom much earlier than they would if they were in the ground, so you are just seeing them die off naturally. They will brown on the plant, like they would naturally in the autumn.
    The leaves look happy and it's those that you should keep an eye on. Hydrangeas do best with moist soil and when they are thirsty they will flop a bit. So I'd basically just keep watering it until it establishes but don't really drown it and gradually extend the times between watering unless you have really hot weather (you shouldn't need to water more than twice a week after a few months). 
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    The problem with these supermarket plants is that they bring them quickly into flower,  people wouldn’t buy them otherwise,  but they’ve been in a greenhouse and never seen the great outdoors,  if you buy another,  gently introduce it to the outside by putting it out during the day and bringing in at night for a week or two, depending on how cold your nights are.  Once established it will cope fine.

    Theres  no need to cut the flowers off,  they don’t produce seed so it won’t drain the plant of energy.  That’s usually done in April,  the top flowers will help it cope with frosts. 

    It won’t need that much water,   If you don’t get any rain, just poke your finger in the soil and see if it’s damp.  If not, water it.  Don’t be tempted to use feed,  it needs to establish its roots and feed will make it grow top growth,  that’s not what you want yet. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • JacquimcmahonJacquimcmahon Posts: 1,039
    My recently purchased one went through the same stage of “sulking”, after a while it perked up. Clearly they are “forced” into flower too early, and somehow too much. Mine has much heavier heads than the young plant can support, so I have had to give it quite a bit of help. Once they gat a couple of years of growth they seem to give fewer heads but much better stalks to hold them upright and support all the weight of the flowers.
    Marne la vallée, basically just outside Paris 🇫🇷, but definitely Scottish at heart.
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