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Hydrangea struggling
pottering girl
Posts: 236
in Plants
I have 2 hydrangeas next to each other in identical containers. One has lots of new growth and doing well. The other has very little new growth, just the odd bud here and there. I noticed red ants crawling on the top so I have put a little powder where the nest is and fed both plants. Are the ants eating the roots or is it something else?
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Hi pottering girl. Ants do not actually eat roots but they can cause root disturbance if they are nesting in the pot. Have you checked to see if you have any signs of vine weevils - notches in your plant's leaves caused by the adults and any 'c' shaped white grubs with brown heads buried in the soil/compost. These are the larvae and do a lot of damage within containers and pots as they DO eat plant roots.
Hi Ladybird4, thanks I will take a look. The problem is that I don't have any leaves yet just a few buds. The other one right next to it has lots of healthy leaves. I will take a look around the soil to see if there are are pesky weevils. It is a bit of a mystery.
If you have ants in the pot it means it's very dry and hydrangeas like moisture. Give the pot a thorough soaking to re-hydrate it and then get a small bottle of essential oil of cloves from the pharmacy or a health shop and dilute it in 5 litres of water and pour on. They don't like the smell and will move on.
Thanks Obelixx. I have watered well in the last few days and the powder I put in seems to have worked as when I poked around looking for weevils there aren't any ants, nor are there any weevils. I am hoping now with a little TLC it can wake up and show itself.
Thanks all.