My hydrangeas suffered from leaf destruction like yours affecting most leaves - After contacting several gardening centers, I contacted Cornell and was given the reason for problem - adult four lined plant bugs and sure enough I saw them on leaves - problem develops in early spring when eggs hatch so must be attacked then -

Pia hydrangeas bloom on old wood so they don’t do so well in our cold Canadian winters. Macrophyllas don’t do well in humid environments too. Lol…”wilted just”…when you “look at them the wrong way”. You have to save your “sanity” by planting plants that will do well in your native environment. 🤩😊Awesome story Laura & enjoyed it thoroughly! I love panicle hydrangeas too! Wish I could have more garden space to plant them all. “Stop the madness”! ⬅️🙏💚🪴

I planted a Little Quick Fire last year and it’s such a happy go lucky plant. Good choice.

On my daughter's you tube searching for a reason my big leaf hydrangeas are being black spots suddenly. I came across your video, only one I could find with helpful info on black spot, thank you! I recently hired a landscaper a few months ago. He took my money and only completed half the job and I'm learning more each day, the half he did was all wrong. One reason being, I'm in the south and he planted big leaf blue hydrangeas and they get afternoon sun where he placed them. Mine have yet to bloom and I'm fighting this black spot like crazy. It's unfortunate I realized how much I love gardening and learning about it a little too late. I wish I had done my home work sooner before I hired someone to do my landscape. I agree, there are great landscapers I unfortunately didn't hire one lol

I've experienced the same black spot and yellowing of leaves with one of my mop head hydrangeas in Maryland. After seeing your video I've garnered the courage to replace it. Thanks. Plant happiness.

Yes, thank u… stop the madness. I have had so many problems with hydrangeas but don’t wanna give up either… you’ve given some great suggestions! Best from CO!

Great lesson on gardening and philosophy. Seriously, whatever you said makes perfect sense. I have the same issue with big leaf with dark sports on them. Your video now makes me think 🤔. Thanks for sharing.

Totally agree with you, & love your glasses, they look great on you 👍

Hello I hope all is well! The one thing about hydrangeas is that no matter how far apart you plant them, you suppose to water them at the base of the plant. If you water the entire plant especially after the sun goes down the water doesn't dry & that's why you have the brown spots. 😉 Still place them the required feet away that's on the tag but DO NOT over head water them. Give them a good soak in the roots & base of the plant twice a week. If potted make sure you have holes at the bottom of the pot & put two boards underneath to let the water drain. 😊 I'm still learning them & I hope this helps.

I like your message 😄 Life is too short. This is especially true for gardening. I started gardening only from March this year. I got lots of brown spots on my hydrangeas leaves recently since the fall started. I’ll try to prune them and move them around (all in pots) in my garden. But if the situation doesn’t improve, I’ll get some new varieties next year. I got these hydrangeas from the local grocery store at big discount anyway 🤣

Thank you so much for sharing. I have an oak leaf hydrangea that has developed anthracnose. I’m going to take it out.

So helpful!

Large swaths of pebbles, gravel are heat traps. I applaud u for getting rid of grass though (complete waste of time and money) Over time my gardens morphed till my whole yard was winding pathways leading to various 'garden rooms' with a different theme. Tropical/ desert/ oriental etc. Visitors love wandering thru to see what's around the next curve lol. It's only 1/4 acre but seems endless. I planted according to watering needs also so didn't have to irrigate the whole thing. I love your carefree attitude and have subbed immediately. Kind regards from this aussie chick.

Thank you I have the same hydrangea. They do pretty well

I planted two hydrangeas this Spring. I have a little lime punch hydrangea that is starting to bloom. Some of the leaves at the bottom have black spots. I probably don't need to water them every day. I ordered the copper fungicide. I also planted a Quick Fire Fab Hydrangea. I water this hydrangea everyday and have no fungus on this plant. These two panicle hydrangeas are in full sun. My endless summer hydrangea is doing better since I relocated it to an area of my yard that gets morning sun and afternoon shade. I water this hydrangea everyday. I had issues with my Pinky Winky Hydrangea. It wasn't leafing out at the middle of the stems. I realized what the problem was. I had noticed these small holes at the top of wood stems. Pinky Winky was infested with borers. I cut the stems down until I no longer saw holes. I then applied a dab of wood glue on top of stems. I replanted my Pinky Winky in a pot. The stems are starting to leaf out everywhere and I see flower buds! My Pinky Winky seems to like it better with just morning sun and afternoon shade. I also give my hydrangeas Miracle Gro Miracid every two weeks.

thank you for sharing for this video.

Happy Gardening!

Thanks for sharing your view on this. I have had the same problem with my mopheads in Georgia. I decided to plant Strawberry Sundae paniculatas in the backyard to see how they would do compared to the French Hydrangeas and they can take the heat and humidity without developing any fungus on the leaves. This year I will be pulling out the mopheads. It hurts my heart but it's not worth the aggravation. You spend so much time taking care of them and by August they look like hell! So sad :-(

I grow mophead hydrangeas in New Orleans, so I know allll about heat, humidity, and watering! I also grow in a ton of shade (under oaks), so if I want to see a beautiful perennial that flowers, mop head hydrangeas it is! My hydrangeas get watered everyday via drip irrigation (10 mins @5am, everyday). Prior to me having them on drip, I did have to water everyday. They are a super thirsty variety. I do get brown spots on them at some point every year, but the flush of blue and pink flowers are just too irresistible for me. Thank you for sharing your journey!

This gives me Hydrangea HOPE! 👏👏👏🤞🤞🤞❤️❤️❤️

I totally agree with u 😊

I have several big leaf (unknown varieties) they are big babies and need loads of water (just like my oak leaf) but they're doing well besides constant water. I believe the term "flagging" is what they do and it's to protect themselves. They're not suffering from any fungus or spot issues. I will admit that when they were given to me I was told they were Hardy HIbiscus and I treated them as such the first year until I got no blooms (because I cut them back lol). This year they're gorgeous and the flower heads are giant. I agree that the panicle hydrangeas are much much easier and just as beautiful. I have many different panicle hydrangeas and love the show they put on and carry on into the fall. I'm not sure they're going to carry their color into fall as well this year since everything has bloomed at least a month earlier than usual. The plants and weather have a mind of their own. Autumn Joy Sedum is in full bloom too! Crazy

One of your videos sold me on Pinky Winky. The bigleafs do ok for me in southcoast MA but I prefer the panticulatas. They are less demanding, they bloom longer and the pollinators like the fertile ones like Pinky Winky. And no pruning worries

🌳🌿🌳ENJOYED🌳🌿🌳

I’m having the exact same problem with one of my mop head hydrangeas. Which I’m planning to rip out soon.

One thing that might help is to not use sprinklers anymore and use drip so you can control how much water goes to the plants and so there is no excess moisture on the plants which causes black spot .

I just found your channel and you’ve gained a new Subscriber.. We moved into our home 10 years ago and the first thing I bought was a colorful Hydrangea and funny that the local garden center gave me and my neighbor a free one as well because it was Mother’s Day. I was a new gardener and did not know much, needless to say, I’ve been struggling with them ever since… Well, I’ve come a long way and becoming a very serious gardener as I want to plant easy care Perennial garden’s that only need maintenance.. I pulled those macrophylla’s out 🙌 ( Husband planted them in the back of property, I wished him luck 🍀 😂) So I spent a small fortune and bought 5 Incrediball Hydrangea’s to replace them and I’m so excited to see the results.. on the search for 9 more to plant on the other side of the front of our House .. zone 6a, in Northwest N.J. 🙌🍀🌱

I got one small leaf hydrangea attacked by brown spots in spring. Then another same variety, later in summer (UK). For now, I decided to leave them in ground, just regularly remove all diseased leaves and flowers, and plant strong smelling salvias next to them, and see how they will be next year. Salvias are recommended by gardeners to plant next to roses to prevent black spot fungi, which is apparently put off by their smell. So I decided to do same with all plants and fruit trees that suffer from brown spot,just as an experiment.

:32 Yes but I reeeeaaaaallly want to hear that story! I am trying to gradually replace my lawn as well. Back yard I have removed 75% grass and replaced with hardscaping. BUT now I hate it because there is no rganic, natural views. It is hard and ugly. I am working on front yard next, but NO hard surfaces AT ALL. Please do a video telling your story of ditching your lawn

I’ve had the same battle with my Original Hydrangeas. I have moved them around 3 times and am so tired of being disappointed every time. I may have to get rid of them. So sad.

I just now planted my first garden hydrangeas about a month ago. I notice half of the flowers are perfect and then some are not. I am new to hydrangeas and don't know why that is happening. I'll see how it goes. The flowers that ate blooming are beautiful though.

Right plant, right place! I have plants that I gave up trying despite adoring them, because after awhile it's just not worth the energy and disappointment. It's funny you say the panicles are easiest to start with. That's what I started with (several years ago) and killed two! 😄 I'm in central Texas and I've had more luck with Endless Summer macrophylla than panicle. Go figure! I'm a much more seasoned gardener now, so I've decided to try Little Lime one last time this year. 🤞I have to give mine a couple hours of morning sun and then filtered sun and shade the rest of the day.

Hi, thanks for your perspective. I so agree. What zone are you in?

Where are you located that it so hot and humid? That was a great video! Thanks for sharing.

I live in Indiana where it's generally not that hot or humid. My Bush is two years old and I have the same problem and it hasn't bloomed. Should I dig it out and do away with it?

Mophead hydrangeas do not like western sun. They are a partial sun plant. The fact you had to water them every day was a sign something was wrong with where they were planted. I also noticed you have a lot of mulch with no ground covers. This would help keep the ground cool and maintain moisture.

Love you mam

black spot on all my containered hydrangeas. sadly they probably must go, like you say :( love your content! i’ve been all in on limelight’s and oak leafs and your channel has excellent experience based content for the limelight’s which i haven’t been able to find most places in the youtube’s. have been trying to propagate limelighs via cuttings for a few years and i’m not sure i’ve had success. Then again they get the “wild propagation” technique where i shove the pruned twigs into shady cool area of the yard. Even with the terrible conditions i’ve had about 20-40% succes

I live in Missouri. It's so hot and sunny, you can't plant hydrangeas in full sun. They need morning sun only...

What garden zone are you in?

In Hawaii, we can only grow mopheads, doesn't get cold enough to grow paniculatas, can't even get them.

I have the same problem with my Wax Leaf Ligustrum shrubs. It was determined by my local extension office that the shrubs are suffering from Cercospora Leaf Spot fungus. There is no cure for this fungus. It will not kill the shrub, but it will continue to cause the leaves to get black spots, turn yellow, then brown, then die and drop off of the shrub. You can treat the shrubs with Heritage SC or DACONIL fungicide every 2-3 weeks during the growing season. I'm presently treating my shrubs with these fungicides and it is a nuisance! I'm debating whether I should get rid of the shrubs. What's interesting is that the shrubs were thriving for a couple of years until I decided to relocate them in the same flower bed last summer. One of the shrubs was relocated to a new garden in the back of my home and it as well continued to suffer from this fungus! I determined that the fungus lives within the soil around my home and probably throughout the neighborhood or within the region where I live (Maryland) and when I damaged the roots when I dug up the shrubs, they were exposed to the fungus when they were replanted. So, as long as you do not damage any roots when planting new flowers, shrubs, and trees, they will be safe from this fungus!

l~Love♡Blue~Color-Japan-Somuch♡-謝謝♡♡♡

I’m hope you do not throwaway. You can grow them in the pot. Florida

Looks like my Miss Kim Lilac ☹️

I think the reason your big leaf hydrangeas got spots might be from the sprinkler hitting them. I agree they’re high maintenance, but for me nothing compares to a Nikko blue in full bloom. The panicle ones look great as well, but I wish there was more color variation.

hydrangeas grow best when you leave them alone no fertilizer no cutting back old wood no over watering !!

Try not to wet the leaves. Water at the base of the plant.

Looks like the hydrangeas were in the sun, that’s the problem.