Brown spots on Hydraegea - Ask Extension
This Hydrangea was planted in Spring and was doing nicely until recently. It has dark brown spots on its leaves and some buds. I’ve been watering, ...
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Brown spots on Hydraegea #877113
Asked July 13, 2024, 5:33 PM EDT
This Hydrangea was planted in Spring and was doing nicely until recently. It has dark brown spots on its leaves and some buds. I’ve been watering, mulching, and fertilizing it with 5-5-5 fertilizer. I’m enclosing two pictures.
Baltimore County Maryland
Expert Response
Your plant is not a hydrangea but a rhododendron, which is a beautiful, shade-loving evergreen which will bloom in spring.
It actually looks pretty well, especially for being newly planted in this very hot and dry year and we would not worry about it, but keep it watered when needed.
Here is our watering information:
https://extension.umd.edu/resource/watering-trees-and-shrubs/ which will tell you how to manually check the soil.
If your mulch is deeper than 3 inches, remove some, and keep it pulled back from contact with the trunk.
Don't fertilize it anymore now.
You could give it some fertilizer in the fall that is labeled for acid-loving plants.
Christine
It actually looks pretty well, especially for being newly planted in this very hot and dry year and we would not worry about it, but keep it watered when needed.
Here is our watering information:
https://extension.umd.edu/resource/watering-trees-and-shrubs/ which will tell you how to manually check the soil.
If your mulch is deeper than 3 inches, remove some, and keep it pulled back from contact with the trunk.
Don't fertilize it anymore now.
You could give it some fertilizer in the fall that is labeled for acid-loving plants.
Christine
