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Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what’s in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience.

Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what’s in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways

Because of hydrangea’s beauty, they’re a pretty versatile and common flower to grow in a garden, but they’re also pretty sensitive, and their best qualities go to waste once they wilt. There are plenty of reasons a hydrangea might begin to wilt. One of the primary causes is water stress, which can be caused by both overwatering and underwatering.

We spoke with a master gardener for their tops for preventing hydrangea droooping—and we wish we thought of this sooner.

Meet the Expert

Bethie is a certified master gardener and content creator living in zone 6B.

Hydrangeas are the kind of flowers that need to be watered with a consistent amount of moisture to thrive. You can tell if your hydrangeas are underwatered by checking if the soil around the plant is dried out, if the leaves are wilting, or if the flowers look a bit scorched.

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Overwatered plants, on the other hand, might have yellowing leaves. But that’s not the only cause of wilting hydrangeas.

In a video all about hydrangea care, Bethie says, “Flower wilting happens when your plants are exposed to strong sun in the afternoon or really, really hot days.”

You’ll want to give your hydrangeas a “nice, deep watering every other day” to combat this wilting, Bethie says in the video.

She notes that this should allow blooms to spring back up overnight—but act fast. Multiple days of drooping could lead to brown, crispy flowers.

According to Bethie, hydrangeas take the hydra part of their name very seriously. If your flowers are scalded and browned, you can prune them by deadheading them and, as Bethie says, “do better next year.”

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Other Hydrangea Issues to Look Out For

Elizabeth Fernandez / Getty Images

While wilting hydrangeas might be fairly common, it isn’t the only way your blooms can be brought down.

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If you see splotches on your leaves that aren’t caused by sun scalding, you might have a diseased plant on your hands.

Pests like aphids, spider mites, and scale insects can suck energy from your hydrangea and make it look wilted.

Diseases like powdery mildew and root rot can also make your plant look less lively than usual.

In her video, Bethie shows a hydrangea plant with leaf spot disease, which can show up in “purple-ish brown splotches that turn to grayish light brown in the center as they age,” she said.

To treat it, apply a fungicide, avoid overhead watering, and water it in the morning so leaves dry out during the day and aren’t sitting wet, says Bethie.

No matter if your hydrangeas are wilting or blooming towards the sun, it’s a good idea to keep a sharp eye on their growth. After all, one day of wilting can be fixed—a week of wilting can’t.

Read the original article on The Spruce