Hydrangea Pests & Diseases
HYDRANGEAS AND JAPANESE BEETLES
Have you found any Japanese Beetles on your hydrangeas yet? I have and I am not surprised. If you follow the Growing Degree Day (GDD) science, you know that these pests appear anywhere from 950-2150 GDDs. For those of you who aren’t familiar with GDDs, here’s a good site/link for you from University of Maryland…
Read MoreHYDRANGEA INSECTS: WHAT TO DO
Now that our gardening season is finally underway, it’s time to talk about hydrangea insects, what they are and what to do.
Read MoreHYDRANGEA WINTER PROTECTION
I woke up to a very dark 44 degrees F this morning, a stark reminder that I need to get organized to do some hydrangea winter protection. Those that aren’t planted in protected locations as I described in an earlier blog post need a little help if I want to give them their best chance…
Read MoreHYDRANGEA LEAF SPOTS
I am getting a lot of questions these days about hydrangea leaf spots and unsightly foliage. In most cases, the spots are from an infection by Xanthomonas campestris, or Cercospora which grows from the pathogen Cercospora hydrangeae. I’m also seeing powdery mildew on many other plants, like veggies and perennials that also blemish hydrangeas. You…
Read MoreHYDRANGEA SCALE
I was horrified this past weekend to spot an extensive case of hydrangea scale on my climbing hydrangea (hydrangea ssp. petiolaris). It was an accidental discovery as my original mission was to prune it back. As covered in my book, Success with Hydrangeas, climbing hydrangeas flower on old wood so I knew it had to…
Read MoreHydrangea Arborescens and Stuck Leaves
Are the leaves on your ‘Annabelle’ hydrangea arborescens stuck to each other? Inspect them and any other hydrangea arborescens you may have like Incrediball® or Invincibelle® Spirit. You may notice some leaves cupped together. It looks like the leaves above from my Invincibelle® Spirit. Interesting, huh? Don’t panic!
Read MoreHydrangea Leaf Spots
On my recent garden visits, I’ve noted an abundance of unsightly foliage and hydrangea leaf spots. They can be bacterial leaf spot from an infection by Xanthomonas campestris, or Cercospora which grows from the pathogen Cercospora hydrangeae. I’m also seeing powdery mildew on many plants. You can thank Erysiphe friesii var. friesii (formerly Microsphaera friesii).…
Read MoreWeb Worms On Panicle Hydrangeas
In July, I wrote about web worms (Hyphantria cunea) on panicle hydrangeas. For the past several weeks, the second generation of web worms has been active in my neck of the woods. And boy, are they active! It seems every day they form new webs where none were the previous day. That will continue through October or until the…
Read MoreHydrangea Care For July
If your garden is anything like mine, right about now insects and disease start rearing their ugly heads signaling time for hydrangea care. In most cases, they show up as a result of cultural conditions. We had a very wet and cool spring and things have finally begun to dry out. But all that rain…
Read More‘Annabelle’ Hydrangea Leaves Closed
Are your ‘Annabelle’ hydrangea leaves closed? To start with, inspect them and any other woodland/smooth (arborescens) hydrangeas you may have, e.g., Incrediball® or Invincibelle® Spirit. You may notice the same situation like my leaves in the photo. Interesting, huh? Don’t panic!
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