Last updated on April 7th, 2022
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When you have put in a lot of effort to keep your Hydrangeas healthy and happy, it can be upsetting to see the leaves curling, especially if you don’t know what the cause is or how to fix it.
When your Hydrangea leaves are curling, it can be a handful of things.
Transplantation Issues
If you have recently transplanted your Hydrangea, the leaves could be showing signs of inadequate watering. This can be particularly problematic if you purchased your Hydrangea from a nursery because the potting soil that nurseries use is often very high in peat moss and dries out very quickly.
In many cases when you look at the bottom of a plant you purchase from a nursery the roots are woven together and coming out of the bottom of the pot. It’s important to loosen the roots before you transplant them and make sure that you keep the soil uniformly moist from there on out.
If you have recently transplanted, whether from somewhere else in your garden or from a nursery, paying attention to a regular water schedule can rectify wilting and curling leaves quite quickly. You might also notice the leaves turning brown around the edges and eventually turning brown all the way across, but again, regular watering can fix this. This is especially true for Hydrangeas being grown in pots.
Fungus
A fungal infection could be a problem as well. If you notice that the leaves are curling but they also have brown spots, you might want to avoid watering in such a way that you get any water on the leaves. The best way to water your Hydrangea is to do so at the base of the plant. Any leaves that have dark spots and are curling should be removed. You should also remove large branches if the problem has spread significantly.
Fungus requires dark, moist areas to grow and this is why you might find it in parts of your garden that are overgrown, or areas where you have planted multiple Hydrangeas together, in any situation where there might be inadequate airflow and sunlight.
Fertiliser
If the leaves are curling and turning brown at the same time it could be a problem with toxicity poisoning. This is most often the result of providing the plant with too much fertiliser. It is recommended that you only use up to 2 cups of fertiliser for every 9.2 square metres of your garden and that fertiliser should be a 10-10-10 mixture.
If you have used too much fertiliser, a common problem for smaller gardens or container-grown Hydrangeas, just make sure you stop the use of any fertiliser for the rest of the season. There is a particularly high risk of this toxicity in the summer when your Hydrangeas get the highest level of sunlight, so be aware of how much you are adding in the summer months.
Pests
If you see that your leaves are curling, shrivelling, and eventually turning brown it could be a problem with aphids or scale insects. You want to remove any insects you find with a powerful stream of water or a mixture of water and washing up liquid. If this doesn’t solve the problem you can use a pesticide. This is something you want to get rid of immediately.
Overall, there are a handful of reasons why the leaves on your Hydrangea leaves might be curling and it’s important to be aware of their causes so that you can eliminate the reasons that might not fit your situation.
Image credits – Shutterstock.com
