I first want to mention that life threw us for a loop and I
haven’t been actually able to put work into this blog. I am working on starting
a small business and if anyone has ever done that while caring for your child
younger than a year, you know how hard that can be!
So onwards to what you are here to read about!
My greatest “gaffe” as of late has me feeling quite a dunce.
Much one of those smack yourself in the forehead followed by an “Aha!” moment.
I will admit it, I have killed three, read that three hydrangeas in the time I
have lived here. My husband thinks I am nuts to keep buying the “Endless Summer”
hydrangeas (so beautiful!) but he also
knows that I don’t “know the meaning of the word quit!” More on Endless Summer Hydrangeas
This has occurred for a few reasons:
1. Well Hydrated: Since I am a Minnesota native I had no idea that you
should water your Hydrangea daily if not twice a day during the heat waves we
get in the summer. So can you say crispy? I guess the fact that portion of the
name “Hydrangea” being “Hydra” from the Latin meaning “water” escaped me… I am
an idiot.
2. Curse of the black spot!: Here in South Central Kansas we
have lots of wind. With this come several problems, namely disease. This is
where I was dumb again. Having a degree in History really makes this oversight
inexcusable, it’s common sense. We had the Dust Bowl here, and while it is a tragedy
our topsoil moved west, it is also a recipe for soil to be whipping about on a
really hot day when there hasn’t been much rain. This means that the lovely
bacteria and viruses that you find in soil can be put directly on your leaves. Hydrangeas,
like roses, are cursed to have that black spot fungus (Diplocarpon rosae, or in this case hydrangae) that makes leaves ugly
and actually causes the plant to drop leaves. This is a problem when you have
to use photosynthesis to survive.
So DON’T water overhead, water at the base of your plants.
Use a soaker hose if you can, it will absolutely help you with that issue. (I
will also post later on effective watering practices) Unfortunately in South
Central Kansas this is one of those plants that you need to use fungicide regularly
on, after every hard rain or once a month. Do not use it more than 20 times in
the growing season as it can kill your plant. Or use a fertilizer with a systemic fungicide
in it. I didn’t know this; hence the demise of three plants already. I prefer
organic gardening or integrated pest management to using chemicals, but if you
don’t want ugly spotty dead plants I suggest you do this. Especially if you
want to compete with your neighbors’ rose bushes for prettiness.If your plant does get blackspot fungus remove infected leaves and dispose of them, do not compost them. Remove the debris from under the plant and dispose of it the same way. Spray with fungicide or use a systemic which is more effective.
3. No soggy bottoms: Even though Hydrangeas and Roses like
water they don’t like having their feet (roots) wet. They like to be well
drained. I stuck my Hydrangea in dense clay soil with a little compost for good
measure and it got root rot and died. If I had known I would have cut some
builders sand and a more humus filled compost in and basically tried to use a
very low on the clay soil. You never want to put a plant in the ground in just
a compost mix that isn’t combined with the native soil. This is a bad idea,
because you are creating just a larger pot, especially if you have dense clay
soil. What I mean by that is your roots won’t penetrate beyond your lovely
garden mix. This means essentially they will go around and around in a circle
and eventually choke themselves out and the plant won’t grow to its maximum
potential.
A good mix to follow is 60/40. 60% native soil mixed with
40% of your compost. Keep in mind that you NEED compost if you are cutting
builders sand into your clay to loosen the soil. If you just put builders sand
in with the clay you are making cement essentially which is going to kill your
plant because the water doesn’t have anywhere to go. Not a good idea. You also
want to avoid peat moss as an additive. Peat moss retains water, so does clay,
so you are just exacerbating the problem. Since most soil in South Central
Kansas is alkaline or basic (high number on the pH scale, we will get to that
in a later post on soil) you want to use an acidified compost, like cotton burr,
but any compost is better than no compost. Of course I will also talk about
soil testing and why it is essential in a later post.
As always remember a healthy plant is more resistant to disease. I didn't know this either so fertilize, water and mulch the heck out of it.
I hope this gave you some insights
as to why your rose or hydrangea or other picky plant may not be doing well.
Please feel free to ask questions or offer advice.
