What Is Hydrangea – Why Are The Leaves Turning Yellow – Preventing Yellowing Leaves – Hydrangea Fertilizers – FAQ
If you are growing a hydrangea plant at home then you might run into a few different issues. The plant can experience turning yellow from a number of things. Thankfully we have put together this article that will guide you to amending your plant and having it turn back into its former self.
Some of the common reasons you might see a hydrangea plant turn yellow are overwatering, issues with the soil and general lack of nutrients. Some issues are more harmful to the plant than others. Hydrangeas are normally pretty hardy and can receive themselves.
What Is A Hydrangea
The hydrangea plant is a rather common houseplant that can be bought in most well assorted gardening stores. Just like most houseplants it grows the best in warmer temperatures and with plenty of access to sunlight.
It likes a soil that is kept rather well watered but at the same time gets well drained too in order to protect the roots from dying. It’s a perennial plant that can live on for a number of years before it might start wilting down a little bit.
Taking care of the hydrangea is generally very easy since it’s a low maintenance plant. Pruning or cutting the plant is rarely done. Instead, keeping care of the soil is most of the work. Fertilizing and adding some nutrients to the soil is very important. This will in the long term help your hydrangea a lot.
Why Is Your Hydrangea Leaves Turning Yellow
Like we said previously, there are a number of different reasons why you might see your hydrangea plants’ leaves begin to turn yellow. Below is a list of 7 common reasons you might see it happen. They are pretty easy to fix and you should quickly see an impact or result.
Overwatering
Overwatering any plant is never good. The roots have a really hard time surviving when this is happening. Too much water causes oxygen to have a hard time reaching the roots. Without any oxygen they will begin to drown.
If the roots die then they can no longer pass on any more nutrients to the rest of the plant. It will quickly begin showing as the leaves and the stalks cna no longer hold up itself. One of the common early signs of this happening would be the leaves starting to turn yellow in color.
To keep the hydrangea plant the happiest the soil should be slightly damp all the time. That will help keep the roots alive and well and still able to drain nutrition to pass on. Never follow a set schedule for watering, instead just water when the plant needs to. Sometimes it might not use up as much water as the previous weeks.
Lack Of Nutrients In The Soil
Sometimes a lack of nutrients will cause the leaves to turn yellow on the hydrangea plant. Often caused by not fertilizing them enough. Since you are most likely growing the plant in a pot, there isn’t any new nutrition able to pass in naturally.
This means we need to ourselves add this nutrient by fertilizing the soil. You thankfully don’t have to do this very often. About every other month or so seems to be the ideal. There is a risk of overfertilizing the soil too. This will instead cause the roots to begin to burn as there is too much nitrogen present.
If you wonder what the best type of fertilizer might be for hydrangea, then we will say that a general houseplant fertilizer will do the job. They can be found in almost any well sorted gardening store.
Diseases Related To Hydrangea
Three are a few different diseases that are related to growing hydrangea. The first one being root rot. This isn’t exclusive to this variety, it happens when there is too much water in the soil and therefore a pretty easy problem to fix.
Other than that it could be hydrangea mosaic virus or tomato ringspot virus too. These are really serious issues that can occur when the plant is not getting enough nutrients and sunlight. The immune system of the plant is weak and disease then has an easier time getting a hold of the plant.
Not Getting Enough Light
All plants will need sunlight in one way or another. But the amount that they need will differ. The hydrangea plant for example will need about 8 – 10 hours each day if you are keeping it indoors. Less during the winter of course.
But if the plant is consistently getting a low amount of sunlight then the leaves will begin to turn yellow as they are no longer performing photosynthesis. This is a very important process that converts sunlight into energy, but also is responsible for keeping the chlorophyll in the leaves, that being the component that makes them green.
Sudden Changes In Temperature And Environment
If you are moving your hydrangea plant from indoors into your garden instead then you might see some shifts in the way the plant looks. If you do it too early during the year and the nights still have really cold temperatures then it will harm the plant.
It should be said that hydrangea plants can grow fine outdoors during the summer, but wait with moving them until the temperature has actually gained. The risk for frost should be completely off.
Low Soil pH
If the pH in the soil is too low then that can also impact the roots quite severely. It won’t cause them to rot, but they will begin burning almost. It scorches the outside of them and makes them unviable for draining any more energy from the soil.
If the roots can’t work properly then that will greatly affect the rest of the plant. We recommend using some fertilizer for the soil if you notice a low pH. Fertilizers are the opposite and tend to raise the pH instead. If you don’t want to use fertilizers, then adding some calcium to the soil could also work. The organic way would be to use crushed eggshells.
Fungal Infections
Fungal infections can happen when the plant does not have a good immune system to protect itself. This is often happening when the soil is left unattended for too long. A humid and too watered soil will make for a good environments for these fungal diseases.
How Do You Prevent Hydrangea Leaves Turning Yellow
The best way to prevent a hydrangea plant from turning yellow is to simply keep it in the best possible nevoiremtn. This means caring for the soil and placing the plant in a very sunny spot.
Try and make sure the soil is slightly damp all the time and during the summer you can use some fertilizer to further boost the health of the plant. Place the hydrangea in a south facing window to help maximize the amount of sun it will get.
Using Fertilizer For Hydrangea Plants
The best fertilizer for the hydrangea plant is a general houseplant one. This will help boost the nutritional value of the soil and ensure the plant can continue to grow. But don’t over do it. Limiting yourself to using fertilizers about every other month or so only is what we follow. That way we protect the roots also.
FAQ
What Does Overwatered Hydrangea Look Like
An overwatered hydrangea plant will have yellowing leaves but if left overwatered for even longer, these leaves will instead turn black. The plant is basically rotting from beneath the soil right now.
Will Overwatered Hydrangea Come Back
An overwatered hydrangea plant comes back if you act quick enough. If you see that the soil looks like mud then you should move it to a warmer and sunnier spot. That will hopefully make the soil dry out a little bit quicker.
Hydrangea Leaves Turning Yellow With Brown Spots
If you are seeing brown spots in your hydrangea plant then you should check the soil. Is it really watery or muddy, or perhaps very dry? If any of that is true then you need to change something about your watering. Try and make sure the soil is damp instead to help create a healthy environment for the roots.
Additional Information
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