Hydrangea is an amazing flower. Inflorescences can have a different color. With poor care and adverse growing conditions, hydrangea leaves often twist. It is worthwhile to figure out how to act in this situation.
The main causes of leaf curl in hydrangea
The reason why hydrangea leaves twist can be either a mistake made in the care, or external irritants. All of them equally affect the health of the bush, its appearance and flowering.
Hydrangea can rightfully be considered the "queen" of the garden
Reasons why hydrangea leaves curl:
- Prolonged exposure to the scorching sun, drought.
- Excessive watering, resulting in excess water accumulating in the root system. In addition to twisting, the bush may turn pale and darken.
- Lack of watering provokes twisting of foliage, it begins to turn yellow and dry.
- Lack of nutrients in the soil due to rare top dressing. The problem arises due to the wrong dosage of fertilizer.
- Low acidity of the earth can twist plates. The pH level affects the color of the buds.
- Dry air.
- Pests and diseases.
Note! The listed reasons apply to both the room and garden varieties of hydrangea.
Insects and parasites that cause leaf curl around garden hydrangea
Dry air and the accumulation of water in the ground provoke the appearance of pests.
Spider mite
The main cause of the spider mite is low humidity. A small insect is located on the back of the leaf and twists a thin web. A sign of the appearance of insects is the formation of yellow-bronze spots on the plates.
Aphids feed on leaf juices
Leaf aphid
The aphid selects the underside of the leaf for its location. These whitish insects are in the form of a boat with legs. Sticky juice is secreted, which lays on the plates. Aphids multiply rapidly, laying larvae on leaves. It feeds on the juice of the flower, causing the bush to dry out.
Gall nematode
This type of pest is invisible to the naked eye, but their activity is harmful to plants. They feed on the fleshy parts of the bush and suck out all the juices from it. The plant stops developing, and the leaves begin to curl and deform.
Additional Information! In nature, there are 25 thousand species of nematodes.
Grape snail
The insect appears on hydrangeas with a thick and high crown. Among dense foliage, it is easier for her to remain invisible. Stalks and hydrangea leaves are eaten.
How to treat hydrangea bushes from pests
It is easy to get rid of aphids, since insects are light and do not hold well on leaflets. It is enough to wash them off with a stream of water. You can use a soap solution that also helps with the destruction of the spider mite. Why do hydrangeas curl leaves?
For serious cases of insect damage, special chemicals are used - insecticides. They process not only the bush, but also the soil, in order to exclude the appearance of new problems. Effective drugs are Actellik, Fitoverm, Akarin and Spark.
Leaf deformation due to hydrangea poisoning by herbicides
There are times when, due to the effect of herbicides, hydrangeas twist leaves along the edges, what should I do and what are the first signs of a problem? Even young leaves can become yellow, the edges of all plates begin to curl, and the sheet itself is deformed. Leaf plates are not able to grow to the desired size, become narrow and dry out.
The problem arises after the plants are sprayed with herbicides to eliminate weeds. The drug is absorbed into the soil and gets through the roots to the tissues of the bush.
Note! To reduce the effect of the herbicide, hydrangea is abundantly watered to reduce the concentration of the drug. If this does not help, transplant the plant to a new place.
Viral infections that infect leaves and cause them to twist
Infectious diseases cause deformation of leaf plates. Diseases such as white and gray rot, powdery mildew and septoria cause damage not only to the plates, but also stop flowering. They are caused, as a rule, by improper care and adverse growing conditions.
White and gray rot affect the root system, as a result of which the development of the ground part of the bush is suspended. Powdery mildew affects the leaves, a gray-white coating appears on them. Due to septoria, brown spots of 3-5 millimeters in diameter are formed on the plates.
In such cases, treatment is started immediately. The bush is treated with fungicides that contain copper and iron.
Note! Copper and iron help restore the formation of chlorophyll in cells. The state and preservation of green color of foliage depends on it.
Ring spotting
A common disease that affects hydrangeas is ring spotting. The first sign is the formation of arched patterns or rings. This viral disease is dangerous because it can destroy a bush in a short time. The first thing to do is to remove the affected areas and treat the bush with Fitoverm. Some gardeners recommend replanting the bush in new soil, removing all the ground from the roots, as it is infected.
The leaves dry out due to a violation of the formation of chlorophyll in the tissues
What to do if the leaves curl and dry due to chlorosis
Sometimes, due to chlorosis, hydrangea leaves twist, what should I do in this case? Signs of chlorosis are yellowing of the leaves, but the veins remain a natural green hue. They twist and dry, later completely die off and fall off.
When this problem occurs, hydrangea is carefully treated with drugs that contain iron. For this, Atichlorosis is used. Of the folk method, treatment with a solution of iron sulfate is well affected. You can water not only the soil, but also spray the shrub itself.
Note! After treatment, as a preventive measure, it is recommended to water the plant with a weak solution of citric acid.
Disease prevention
In order to avoid serious problems with growing panicle and other types of hydrangeas, special attention should be paid to care. It is best to carry out preventive measures in advance, which should include:
- Regular watering with quality water. Do not use chlorinated cold water.
- Loosening the soil after completely absorbing water into the ground.
- The correct dosage of fertilizers. In the spring, nitrogen fertilizers are used; after buds are opened, phosphorus-potassium fertilizers are used. The first and last feeding is best done with organics: manure, humus, compost.
- Periodic treatment of hydrangea shoots with fungicidal preparations.
In addition to preventive measures, it is worth carefully choosing the place to grow. The soil should be neutral and loose, and groundwater should pass at a depth of more than 1 meter. Open areas with little shading are good. They should not pass strong drafts, so it is better to plant hydrangea on the western or eastern side.
Timely prevention will save you from many problems.
If the leaves are wrapped in tree hydrangea or its other species, then you should find the reason and begin treatment. You should not run such situations, because the problem can be serious. The best treatment is prevention, so care for the bush must be carried out correctly and in a timely manner necessary measures.
