I cut this Hydrangea down to about 1 foot off the ground in the spring, and it grew back super fast and had full coverage. However, in the past few weeks it has gone from dark green to chalky green/grey leaves and seems like it is dying. Is this normal?
by CussonsCarex
8 Comments
Powdery mildew. You can get anti fungal sprays to treat it.
Looks like powdery mildew
It looks to me like powdery mildew.
It seems to be very common this year, presumably something about the weather encouraging it.
I have a number of plants with it and I’ve not seen it previously.
I’m not sure it’s worth worrying about now – the leaves will fall off soon for winter.
Powdery mildew caused by the long dry spell.
No point treating now as you will lose the leaves to the cold, remove them when they fall and start treating in the spring if you see any signs and it will be fine.
The important thing is two rake up all the leaves when they fall off. Most moulds spore when they are leave litter, so removing them makes it less likely to return next year.
Most fungacide are preventative, more so than curable so worth giving it a few sprays throughout next year, even if there is nothing visible.
Winter.