Despite the fact that the hydrangea is one of the water-hungry plants - after all, it evaporates a lot of moisture through the leaf surface - it reacts very sensitively to waterlogging. If your hydrangea begins to wilt even though it has been watered adequately, you may have meant too well and overwatered the plant.
How do you avoid waterlogging of hydrangeas?
To avoid waterlogging of hydrangeas, you should ensure good drainage, for example by placing sand or gravel in the planting hole, regularly loosening the soil and using planters with water drainage openings and pot shards on top so as not to block the holes.
How does waterlogging occur?
If you water the hydrangea regularly and the drainage hole in the planter is blocked by substrate, the excess moisture will collect in the flower pot. If the water can drain away but then remains in the saucer for a long time, the hydrangea will not like this either.
Outdoor hydrangeas often need care after long periods of rain when the water cannot drain away or seep away sufficiently. Waterlogging mainly occurs in heavily compacted and heavy soils.
The consequences for the hydrangea
Due to the waterlogging of the substrate, hardly any oxygen reaches the roots. Harmful fungi settle and destroy the fine root system, so that the hydrangea can no longer absorb moisture despite the excess water. If you pot up the hydrangea, the potting soil will smell unpleasantly putrid and musty due to these decomposition processes.
Saving measures for potted hydrangeas
If you intervene in time, many hydrangeas can be saved and will sprout vigorously again after a short time. Follow these steps:
- Unpot the hydrangea and carefully remove the wet soil as best as possible.
- He althy roots look crisp and have white tips. Carefully cut off any roots that feel mushy.
- Place the hydrangea in a planter from which the water can drain easily. Cover large drainage holes with pottery shards so that they are not blocked by the substrate.
- Pour in about a quarter of clay granules as a drainage layer.
- Insert hydrangea in rhododron soil (€11.00 at Amazon).
- In the future, only water when the top centimeters of soil feel dry.
Avoid waterlogging outdoors
If the soil is heavy, it is recommended to add a drainage layer of coarse sand and gravel to the planting hole before planting the hydrangea. If this is no longer possible, you can work mature compost into the soil to improve the soil. Also mix in some mature sand, this will make the substrate more permeable. Loosen the soil around the hydrangea regularly to prevent it from becoming compacted again.
Tips & Tricks
For planters, make sure that the drainage holes are already broken. Often this is not the case and you have to open the necessary drain using scissors or a hand drill.