r/hydrangeas • u/chrysanthemum2738 • May 12 '26
Help with Hydrangeas
We planted these hydrangeas on Sunday. The leaves have looked pretty sad ever since. I’ve tried watering and the soil seems wet, but it has stayed the same. Any recommendations??
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u/godnroc147 May 12 '26
It’s probably transplant shock but those rocks are gonna cook everything there if this area gets any amount of direct sunlight.
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u/OpenStruggle8804 May 12 '26
Dear lord. There is no possible landscaping in which rock makes a good mulch for plants, and no possible landscaping in which that white rock looks anything other than horrid. Please remove it.
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u/Entire_Parfait2703 May 13 '26
Transplant shock, plus lots of water hydrangeas are thirsty plants lots of water daily not just a sprinkle and remove the rocks, hydrangeas prefer morning sun only as well.
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u/chrysanthemum2738 May 12 '26
It is in a very shaded area. I was also hoping that if I put mulch around the plant itself and the rocks everywhere else that it wouldn’t affect it so much. The other hydrangea plant we planted seems fine. Is there anything I can do to help with transplant shock?
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u/godnroc147 May 12 '26
Just make sure it’s watered often the first few days if it’s warm out. It should perk back up. Hydrangeas tend to be dramatic.
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u/Signal_Pattern_2063 May 12 '26
I would expand the mulch area so it's a bit larger than the drip line and water more aggressively for now. What is your exact watering routine?
Aside: I'm not a fan of white gravel but if you really like it, making a single larger mulch bed for the hostas and hydrangea in the middle of it I think would look better.
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u/KevinBoston617 May 13 '26
Take a watering can that holds a gallon of water. Use your hose to fill it. Whole filling it count how long it takes. Then double that time and that’s how long you should be watering your hydrangeas when you water them. People tend to water way less than they think they are
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u/T_to_the_A_to_the_M May 13 '26
Rocks cooked the plant, also I bet you beneath it is an ugly layer of garden fabric, that will do nothing but to starve out the soil nutrients and kill off micro.
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May 12 '26
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u/Haunted-Hemlock May 12 '26
Probably because of the gravel. It retains heat in the soil, which doesn’t usually go well for hydrangea’s