Your hydrangea is turning greener the longer you grow it? Prune it like this and you'll get another flush of blooms after autumn
The weather has been bad lately, and quite a few gardeners' hydrangeas have turned green. This is a fairly common phenomenon. Today Huahua will analyze for you why hydrangeas turn green, and how to care for them after they do!
Why do hydrangeas turn green?
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1. Variety issue
Some hydrangea varieties are green to begin with, such as 'German Regula', climbing hydrangea, and 'Fengtou' hydrangea.
2. Natural color change
Some hydrangeas change color as they age. For example, they start out blue or red, and over time turn green, which means the flowers are about to fade. Others are green from the start, and gradually shift from green to red or blue.
3. Climate effects
Hydrangeas prefer a stable growing environment. If hot, humid weather suddenly appears, their color will change, possibly to yellow-green or to other colors.
4. Green petal disease
When the soil is too alkaline, hydrangeas are prone to green petal disease. The inflorescence color fades and gradually turns yellow-green, and the flowers also become smaller and stop blooming.
What should you do if your hydrangea turns green?
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Depending on the reason for the greening, the solutions differ. There are mainly 2 types.
1. Natural greening: cut off the flowering stems
If a hydrangea slowly turns green from another color, it means the flowers are about to fade. Just cut off the green flowering stems directly to save nutrients, and new shoots will soon grow.
1. Pruning time
The best time to prune is from mid-July to early August, in the stage after the summer flowers fade and before new shoots emerge, which is the flower bud differentiation period.
If you delay pruning until September, you may cut off the flower buds, and it won't bloom next year.
2. Where to prune
New shoots grow from the base of the leaf stalk. The 1-2 nodes below the spent flowers will not produce new shoots, so when pruning, start cutting above the bud point below, about 2cm from the lower point, and keep 2-3 nodes above ground.
3. Note
The sooner you prune, the faster the plant recovers, the more flowers you'll get in the next round, and the better the flower color. Of course, if you like green flowers, you can also skip pruning.
2. Diseased greening: adjust the acidity
If the petals turn green because of green petal disease, you need to treat it promptly!
1. Cut off the diseased branches
Promptly cut off the diseased flowering stems and destroy them, and clean up the surrounding weeds and fallen leaves.
2. Adjust the pH
You can scatter powdered alum on the soil surface and let the soil gradually become more acidic with each watering. You can also spray a 500-1000 times diluted ferrous sulfate solution, and the color will slowly turn blue-purple.
How do you care for hydrangeas in summer?
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When hydrangeas encounter hot weather, they easily become dehydrated and wilt, with drooping leaves. Summer care is crucial!
1. Shade and sun protection
Strong summer sunlight makes hydrangea colors fade and shortens the blooming period. It's best to place them in a cool, ventilated spot or provide about 65% shade.
2. Watering
In summer, water evaporates quickly. Besides watering thoroughly, you should also mist the leaves every day and keep the potting soil moist, but not waterlogged, otherwise the roots will rot.
3. Fertilizing
During the blooming period, apply diluted cake fertilizer water once every 15-20 days. During the bud stage, apply a 0.5% superphosphate solution once, which can make the flowers bigger and more colorful.
4. Pest and disease control
In summer, hydrangeas are prone to anthracnose, leaf spot disease, and so on. When infection is found, immediately cut off the diseased branches and leaves, and use a 500 times diluted carbendazim or chlorothalonil solution to drench the roots and spray the leaves, once every 5-7 days, for 3 times in a row.
Gardeners, are your hydrangeas still blooming?
Have any green petals appeared?
Share with everyone how you solved it!
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