You bought a beautiful hydrangea at the garden store or received it as a gift and despite watering it every day, the hydrangea is not thriving. Flowers and leaves hang sadly, no new shoots appear and the earth smells rotten. Now it's time to act quickly so that the plant recovers and doesn't die.
What to do if the hydrangea is too wet?
If a hydrangea is too wet, you should check the root system, remove dead roots, place the plant in fresh substrate and water more sparingly. For outdoor hydrangeas, placing them in rhododendron soil and integrating a drainage layer of gravel and sand helps.
Check the condition of the hydrangea
If you are concerned that too much water is to blame for the hydrangea's stunted growth, you should first take a close look at the plant:
- Check the moisture of the substrate with your finger. If it is dripping wet and the soil smells musty, you probably meant too much watering.
- If the hydrangea was mostly watered from below, the surface of the soil usually only feels moist. However, water remains permanently in the saucer or planter. This also damages the hydrangea in the long term.
- If the plant is obviously too wet, carefully unpot the plant to check the condition of the roots.
Rescue is approaching
Remove the wet soil as much as possible and expose the roots. You can recognize he althy roots by the fact that they look crunchy and the tips are white or at most a delicate light brown in color. However, if many of the fine lifelines are muddy, reddish-brown and smell unpleasant, they have rotted due to waterlogging.
Carefully separate the damaged roots and place the hydrangea in fresh substrate. Water sparingly over the next few days and only when the top few inches of soil feel dry.
Avoid overwatering potted plants
- Make sure that the flower pot has holes in the bottom so that excess water can drain away.
- Cover these openings with potsherds or pebbles to prevent them from becoming clogged with substrate.
- Pour away any remaining water in the planter or saucer after a quarter of an hour.
- Watere only when the soil feels dry.
Waterlogging in the garden
If outdoor hydrangeas suffer from waterlogging, the only solution is usually to replant the perennials. Dig up the hydrangea carefully to minimize damage to the root ball. Enlarge the planting hole slightly and first fill a drainage layer of gravel and coarse sand into the planting pit in the lower area. Place the hydrangea in fresh rhododendron soil.
Tips & Tricks
To prevent root rot and overwatering, you can dip the hydrangea whenever the substrate feels dry at the top. After the bath, allow excess water to drain away thoroughly.