Why My Hydrangea Leaves Are Turning Brown

  • Drought, excessive wind, and too much sun can cause the leaves and blooms of hydrangeas to turn brown. The best conditions for hydrangea growth are protection from wind, wet soil, and dappled sunlight. The hydrangea blooms and leaves wilt and become brown because there is insufficient moisture around the roots.
  • When hydrangeas are planted in small pots, the leaves and blossoms become brown because the roots can’t properly absorb moisture from the soil in the smaller pots. Because of their large root systems, hydrangeas need constant watering to keep their leaves and petals from turning brown.
  • The hydrangea’s leaf edges get brown and crispy when fertilizer is applied excessively or too frequently. Applying a delayed release fertilizer at the beginning of spring will help prevent the bronzing of the leaf margins since hydrangea roots are extremely sensitive to excess fertilizer.
  • The flower buds and newly developing foliage development of hydrangeas can become dark and mushy in the Spring due to a late frost. The young growth is delicate and more susceptible to damage from frost. Cut back any hydrangea flower buds that are brown and mushy because they won’t bloom.
  • Hydrangea leaf spot fungus, which results in brown patches on the leaves, is typically brought on by overwatering. A hydrangea with dark spots and fewer flowers has too much moisture on its leaves, which encourages the growth of a fungus.

How do you handle hydrangea leaves that have turned brown?

Whether the hydrangea is in a pot or the ground, thoroughly rinse the soil with water. Most of the salts in the soil should be eliminated as a result. Once the soil is just beginning to dry out on the surface, wait a day or two before watering the hydrangea again. After that, water the plant normally. Make sure the water drains out the bottom of the container where the hydrangea is being cultivated if necessary. This will ensure that the salts are regularly washed out (this applies to houseplants, too). After root-burn, wait until the plant looks healthy and shows signs of having a strong root system before fertilizing it again.

Why do the leaves on my hydrangea seem burnt?

Hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla) can be difficult to manage in terms of water. They are usually produced in cooler climates, which tends to consume less water. Additionally, they have exceptionally big leaf surface areas, which causes greater water loss. Hydrangeas also lack the ability to control water loss under drought stress circumstances because plants do not seal their stomates. This is easily capable of causing wilting and the subsequent leaf scorch (Fig. 1).

Hydrangeas frequently experience leaf scorch. This is frequently seen when a drip emitter comes loose from the plant’s pot and causes tip burn. On the middle to higher leaves, the initial light brown necrosis frequently shows symptoms. The leaf margin closest to the leaf tip is where symptoms first appear. The light brown colour may eventually turn nearly black with time (Fig. 2). In extreme cases, the leaf necrosis might extend halfway back toward the root of the leaf, which is another crucial diagnostic feature (Fig. 3). On the other hand, newly expanding leaves have also been seen to develop a minor leaf tip necrosis along the leaf margin (Fig. 4). Because the necrotic leaf margin tissue cannot extend as the internal tissue grows, these leaves appear cupped and crinkled as they mature (Fig. 5). After a week of overcast weather, which would restrict transpiration and hence the plant’s ability to absorb water, these symptoms have been most noticeable. On plants, the symptoms appear while the tiny leaves are still in their whorls and around the flower buds. Other species have also been said to exhibit same characteristics. According to a study co-authored by Dr. Bill Miller of Cornell University, the necrosis on “Stargazer” lilies is brought on by a lack of calcium (Fig.6). They discovered that compared to the leaves around the flower bud, the flower bud was a higher sink (had preferential demand) for Ca. Ca travels to the flower buds rather than these surrounding leaves. As a result, a Ca limiting situation develops, leading to the cell death of the leaves. When zinnias are grown in the summer in hot, humid circumstances, the same problems can arise. While the growth is still in the whorl, the wrapper leaves that surround the flower bud develop leaf tip necrosis (Fig. 7). At three grower locations, we noticed that the newly expanding hydrangea leaves had leaf tip burn. The tissue at the leaf’s outer margin was sampled, and the tissue’s Ca concentration was determined to be low. For pink and white hydrangeas, the ideal substrate pH ranges from 5.8 to 6.2. The pH range for blue hydrangeas is between 5.2 and 5.5. As a result, to maintain the substrate’s acidity, less lime is normally supplied. This also implies that less calcium is being given to the hydrangea plant. The majority of calcium-based fertilizers are also basic, so they are normally avoided to avoid raising the pH of the substrate. If Ca does not naturally occur in the irrigation water, the plants will receive only very little amounts of Ca, and inadequate conditions are more likely to develop. High humidity in the greenhouse during flower bud formation may increase calcium deficiency symptoms on the young, developing leaves. Under these circumstances, Ca uptake from the substrate via mass flow is constrained by a lack of plant transpiration. The decreased transpiration reduces the amount of Ca that is accessible and causes the leaves surrounding the budding flower to burn at the tips. Promoting air flow in the greenhouse will aid in preventing this environmental shortage in addition to providing appropriate Ca in the range of 50 to 100 ppm. Utilizing horizontal flow fans or performing an air exchange to release the humidity will increase air flow.

Why are my hydrangea leaves’ edges going brown?

Using too much fertilizer or pesticides can make hydrangeas poisonous, leading to symptoms including browning or burning on the leaf margins, dieback of the leaf tip, and increased susceptibility to pests. Drift from herbicides may also harm the plant.

Do I need to remove the Brown hydrangea leaves?

If newly emerging hydrangea leaves or flower buds are exposed to a late-spring frost or chilly winds, they will turn brown. A unexpected cold spell can harm the newly emerging buds and leaves, which are exceptionally delicate and susceptible to injury. This can cause the buds to turn brown and wither away.

Naturally, hydrangeas grow in protected regions under trees that block chilly winds and produce a more stable microclimate that allows the young flowers to open up without facing a serious risk of frost.

Hydrangeas’ newly formed buds and leaves can become mushy and their leaves can turn brown when they sustain frost damage.

Since it is more exposed to the environment, the outermost growth is typically the one that suffers from the worst damage.

Sadly, the harmed flower buds are therefore unable to bloom, and the freshly growing growth is probably not going to recover.

Frost damage to hydrangea flower buds and foliage is more common in exposed areas, so plant or move your hydrangea to a more protected area of the garden, close to your house, or close to some other plants and hedges.

Particularly hedgerows are great wind breakers since they shield your hydrangea from the elements and might lessen the effects of frost.

There isn’t much you can do to save flower buds or younger leaves after they turn brown. As a result, prune back to healthy growth any growth that has been harmed by the frost.

In contrast to the flower buds on the plant’s outermost part, which are naturally less protected, hydrangeas frequently have growing flower buds farther down each branch. These flower buds typically survive a frost.

This implies that your hydrangea can still bloom, but much later and with fewer flowers emerging. With a little patience, you should still be able to enjoy some lovely blooms throughout the Summer.

Do I need to remove the burned hydrangea leaves?

It’s best to wait occasionally. Waiting before pruning plants is advised since it encourages new growth from lower down on the stem.

Fresh, young growth is brittle and prone to being burned or even killed by extreme heat and a lack of water.

Even without pruning, plants will continue to grow as they attempt to recover.

Burnt leaves on trees and shrubs will be removed over the next weeks. It will appear like fall has already arrived.

Shrubs, annuals, and vegetables can all be removed fully if they are absolutely dead.

Remove a plant, and then spread a layer of organic mulch over the bare spot that is left. Replanting can be done in the fall when it will be colder and the days will be shorter.

What occurs when hydrangeas receive too much sunlight?

After an early frost, I cut my hydrangeas back, and now I’m not getting any flowers. How come?

The question of how to prune hydrangeas is excellent. If you cut your hydrangeas back to the ground, the new growth will take some time to form and blossom. Be patient and watch for the green growth to emerge from the plant’s base. Your fresh blooms will sprout from there!

Last year, my hydrangeas produced a few little blooms, so this year, I fertilized every 10 days until I noticed blossoms beginning to form. What else can I do to produce large blooms?

On the foliage and blooms of my hydrangeas, there are brown dry blotches. What should I do to improve the hydrangeas’ health?

You most likely have anthracnose if the spot is circular, brown, and has a reddish to purple ring around it. Eliminate the damaged leaves and discard them far from your plants. Use a fungicide to treat, then repeat as necessary. The plants were excessively dry if the leaf edges gradually changed from green to grey to brown. If the flowers’ petal tips become brown, not enough water was used. Very rapidly, both the leaves and the blooms will exhibit signs of dehydration.

My hydrangeas were placed in a spot with at least six hours of full light and some afternoon shade. I discovered online that hydrangeas prefer to receive heavy watering once per week as opposed to daily light watering. My hydrangea shrubs have stopped blooming and are now turning brown. Why am I misusing this?

Can these hydrangea plants be grown in pots? A container would probably be a better choice because our garden gets really hot. Do I adhere to the same care guidelines as I would in the garden, such as watering, fertilizing, etc.?

Which kind of fertilizer do you suggest? Because of its large flowers, I am aware that certain types of fertilizer are excellent for hydrangea bushes, but I’m not sure which to purchase.

These plants were purchased because I wanted a large, gorgeous blue hydrangea bush in my garden. Big blossoms arrived, but they are PINK! what went wrong with me?

I would like to move my Endless Summer hydrangea to a more shaded location because I planted them in an area that is just too hot and sunny. What time of year is ideal for doing this, and are there any other pointers I should be aware of?

We advise undertaking any hydrangea bush transplanting while the plant is dormant.

As a result, you should move your hydrangea shrubs in the late fall, after the first frost, or in the early spring, before the summer blooms.

My neighborhood receives a lot of snow in the winter. Should I trim down Endless Summer Hydrangeas the same way I do my other hydrangea bushes? What more can I do to keep them warm throughout the chilly winter?