Is there something wrong with my Annabelle Hydrangea - Ask Extension
There are marks on the stems of my hydrangea and there aren't many blooms on it. Is something wrong with it?
Knowledgebase
Is there something wrong with my Annabelle Hydrangea #879913
Asked August 02, 2024, 1:39 PM EDT
There are marks on the stems of my hydrangea and there aren't many blooms on it. Is something wrong with it?
Lorain County Ohio
Expert Response
Barbara,
I am pretty sure you have deer eating your hydrangeas. Hydrangeas aren’t their preferred food but they will eat them. The stems and some of the leaves next them look exactly the way a deer eats. The reason you don’t have many blooms is because the deer are eating them. Deer do not have upper incisors which results in torn or ripped appearance of leaves and stems. This link has some examples. https://extension.umn.edu/planting-and-growing-guides/white-tailed-deer-damage
You can keep deer away from your hydrangeas in a variety of ways as detailed in the link above.
Sabinel
