Smooth hydrangea: Diseases and Remedies (Save your Plant Now!)

NOTE: In this article, Smooth hydrangea and Hydrangea arborescens may be used interchangeably; in fact, Hydrangea arborescens is the botanical name for Smooth hydrangea.

There are shrubs with flowers that are popular and easy to recognize. There are only a small number of plants commonly grown in garden landscapes. The smooth hydrangea, also known as the Wild hydrangea, is one of those species. These shrubs don’t grow well above five feet and are best planted in the fall. The parts of the plants that are toxic to people and pets.

Why does my Hydrangea arborescens roots have rot?

If left untreated, root rot on your Smooth hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens) can be fatal. For this reason, if the symptoms appear, we highly advise that you adhere to our recommendations to keep your plant alive: Blackened and softened roots.
Smooth

Why does my Smooth hydrangea have gray mold spots?

A particular fungus that frequently affects flowers and spreads quickly is known as gray mold spots. This fungus is most likely to blame if you see any brown (or gray) spots. Don’t ignore these signs because doing so could cause your plant to die.

Our Solution

When you understand the root of the issue, the solution makes perfect sense. The majority of the time, it is caused by the Hydrangea arborescens being overwatered. We urge you to cut off the infected roots and leaves, remove the affected sections of the plant, and then repot your plant in a fresh container with sterile potting soil.

Why does my Smooth hydrangea have leaf spots?

Leaf If your plants exhibit symptoms like rapid color changes in the leaves or leaves that wilt or droop, we give you all the information you need to recognize them and rescue your plants. For owners of Smooth hydrangea, this kind of illness is among the most distressing.

Why are my Smooth hydrangea leaves turning yellow?

This is probably the most common problem in the gardening world, yellowing leaves. There are 2 main reasons for this phenomenon, overwatering, or a lack of nutrients.

When it’s overwatering, simply reduce your watering frequency, and if you think it’s a nutrient deficiency, here’s how to check it:

Here are some indicators of yellowing on the Hydrangea arborescens brought on by its numerous flaws:

  • Magnesium deficiency starts as yellow patches between leaf veins on older leaves. Veins stay green as yellow moves from the leaf center out. Leaf edges turn yellow last.
  • Iron deficiency also shows as yellowing between leaf veins, but it hits young leaves on plant tops and branch tips first.
  • The newest leaves are first affected by sulfur deficiency, rendering them completely yellow.
  • Potassium deficiency shows itself when leaf edges turn bright yellow, but the inner leaf stays green. Older leaves show symptoms first, and leaf edges soon turn brown.
  • A broad yellowing indicates a nitrogen deficiency. Yellowing starts with older, inner leaves. Yellowing spreads as it advances, eventually touching new leaves as well.

Our Solution

You only need to respond to the signs mentioned above. A gardening store expert will be able to provide you advice on how to purchase a specific soil to treat a potassium or nitrogen deficiency. Additionally, you can reduce how often you water your plants.

Is my Smooth hydrangea sunburned?

It is quite easy to find out if your Smooth hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens) has been burned by the sun. Just like on us, your plant will change color in this case, it will start to turn yellow or white.

Sunburned

As we saw above, the leaves of your Smooth hydrangea can also change color if it receives too much water or insufficient light.

To find out if the yellow leaves have been sunburned, look at the part of the bottom that is tinted closer to the base. The yellow leaf is probably burnt and not something else if this portion stays greener.

Why are my Smooth hydrangea leaves turning brown?

The classic sign that a plant has been overexposed to direct sunlight and sunburned is the development of browning leaves. Rest assured that while this may probably save your plant from dying, it will adversely affect its growth.

Should I leave my Hydrangea arborescens in direct sunlight?

No! If your Hydrangea arborescens (or Smooth hydrangea) has the symptoms described above, don’t leave it in direct sunlight, that’s the reason why your Smooth hydrangea is in such a state!

Our Solution

The remedy, as said in the paragraph above, is simple: just move your plant’s Smooth hydrangea out of direct sunlight. Your plant should swiftly re-grow with this strategy and appropriate watering.

Why are my Hydrangea arborescens leaves drooping or wilting ?

In most cases, this happens when your Hydrangea arborescens lacks water. This is especially the case for large plants, naturally they need more water than others.

Drooping

An easy way to know if your Hydrangea arborescens is lacking water is to under-weigh its pot, if it looks light, it means that the soil and the roots are probably quite dry, and therefore need water!

Our Solution

If the soil in your plant’s pot is completely dry, you will need to start by moistening it so that the roots will also benefit from the water. A common mistake is to drown the Smooth hydrangea right after a dry period thinking that it needs a lot of water.

This is the case, but giving too much water at once is the best way to finish it off, you should actually water the soil normally, resuming a quiet watering rhythm.

Caring Tips for Hydrangea arborescens

Water Occasionally

Water is necessary for your plant to live, but timing and amount of watering must be balanced. Overwatering could have disastrous effects on your own name, as we already mentioned.

The best way to know if your plant needs water or not is to touch the soil, if you feel it is still wet, it is probably a good idea to wait a few more days.

Always keep temperatures stable

Maintaining a consistent temperature for your Hydrangea arborescens is also a good idea, especially if it is kept indoors. At GreenShack, we typically advise reserving a temperature between 65 and 85 degrees F. Of course, avoid positioning your Hydrangea arborescens close to air conditioners, radiators, or other sources of hot or cold air.

Keep your Smooth hydrangea Dust-Free

This one concerns indoor plants, just like on your furniture, dust is also deposited on the leaves of your indoor plants, the problem is that it can prevent them from receiving the necessary light, this would slow down (or even stop) the photosynthesis process, and eventually, they would lose their colors.

This would also make the pests happy, a real descent into hell for your Smooth hydrangea.

To remove the dust from the leaves of your plant, take a microfiber cloth and gently rub the leaves. You can wet the cloth to make it easier to remove the dust, but never use corrosive products (such as rubbing alcohol!)

Keep drainage in mind

If you have a tendency to overwater, you should be mindful of your drainage, and if they don’t already have them, we suggest selecting a saucer and a pot with drainage holes.

You can add volcanic rocks (or any other pebbles with holes) to the bottom of your pot in the interim if your pots don’t already have holes in them. This will help to form a channel so that the water doesn’t pool there for too long (preventing the rot of the roots!).