Marianne's Response

Pee Gee Hydrangea Woes

Hi Marianne. My Pee Gee Hydrangea is not happy. Last year it was very happy, except at the end of the season, the flowers not only turned beautiful pink, but the leaves did too, which was odd. This year, the plant was slow to leaf, but finally did, seemingly happy.
But woe is me, in the picture you can see that the plant looks “droopy”. Perhaps from lack of water, but perhaps not. Question: At this point, should I trim off all of the leaves and let this year’s energy focus on the tree? As always, thanks for your help & advice. /s/Cathy

Posted by Cathy McLeod on August 27, 2024

Marianne's Response

No, do not trim off the leaves. The hydrangea needs them to make food for the roots. The "droop" could be due to the heavy blooms. From the image you sent, the foliage does not look diseased. The Pee Gee hydrangea looks healthy but heavy from the blooms or from rain. You should decide whether you want smaller blooms but more blooms, or fewer blooms but larger ones (which will wilt). To avoid a droopy look, do NOT prune your hydrangea in early spring. I know that this is recommended (to prune each branch of a Pee Gee hydrangea back by one-third). To get less "droop", just snip off the faded flowers. Add a slow-release plant food such as Osmocote around the base of the plant after the light pruning. This will give you more branches but smaller blooms and less droop. One more reason for droop could be heat. On very hot days, hydrangeas just look sad. Check how it looks during a cooler time. That will tell you if heat is the cause of the wilt. Keep the soil moist by using mulch around the roots. I predict you will have a happy hydrangea next summer. Keep growing, Marianne Binetti