7 Reasons Your Hydrangeas are Drooping—and the Simple Fixes to Perk Them Up

Hydrangeas burst to life in the spring and display their big, beautiful blooms all summer long and into the fall season. There are many varieties of hydrangeas that come in all sorts of colors, shapes, and sizes, and some types can have blooms that reach up to 12 inches across. However, if your hydrangeas are looking lackluster and drooping, it means they need some assistance. Gardening explain told us the various reasons why your hydrangeas are drooping and how to fix the issues.

Underwatering

Jane Dobbs, expert gardener and gardening team lead at Allan’s Gardeners, says that one of the reasons why your hydrangeas are drooping could be from lack of water. “Hydrangeas love moisture. When the soil around the roots dries out, the plant loses turgor pressure, causing leaves and stems to droop. A significant amount of water is lost through evaporation and transpiration during hot weather,” she explains.

She advises checking the moisture level about 5 cm below the surface of the soil and watering early in the morning and deeply once or twice a week to combat a lack of hydration. Another tip she suggests is adding mulch to the soil to help retain moisture.

Overwatering

It’s vital to find the right balance when watering hydrangeas. Lucie Bradley, gardening and greenhouse expert from Easy Garden Irrigation, states that over-watering any plant can be as damaging as under-watering. In the case of hydrangeas, they will start to drown if they are provided with too much water.

“Their roots will suffocate from being in soil that is too wet, and this will be apparent as the leaves begin to droop and may change color from the normal vibrant green to yellow or brown,” she informs.

The main way to help fix this issue is to stop watering the plant and allow the soil to dry out before you water it again. “Push your finger into the soil knuckle deep, and only when it is dry at that depth should you water again,” she says. 

Poor Drainage

Another cause for hydrangeas drooping is poor drainage. Bradley says you should check the type of soil your plant is growing in to ensure there is sufficient drainage. “Heavy soils like clay will always hold lots of water, so ideally, you need to dig in organic matter, such as compost, leaf mold, or well-rotted manure. Or you could mix in sand or gravel to help break up the soil, to make it less compact,” she explains. 

Excessive Sun Exposure

Dobbs says a lot of direct sunlight, especially in the afternoon, can cause hydrangeas to lose moisture rapidly, causing them to droop. “Heat stress may be severe if the plant does not recover by evening. It is a natural reaction to conserve water,” she informs.

“Protect hydrangeas from intense afternoon sunlight, particularly in hot climates. A morning sun or filtered sunlight is ideal,” she says. You can utilize shade clothes to prevent your hydrangeas from getting too much light. 

Insufficient Sunlight

On the other hand, hydrangeas can also droop due to not getting enough sunlight. Bradley says that hydrangeas thrive in locations where they can receive some partial shade. Ideal conditions would provide them with sunlight in the morning and shade in the afternoon. This is especially true in areas where temperatures are generally higher.

However, if they don’t get enough sunshine, the hydrangeas will not grow strongly, and their stems will be too weak to support the flower heads.

“The only way to correct lack of sunlight is to move the position of your hydrangea, but you need to be aware that moving a hydrangea is usually done when it’s dormant, which is in the fall or early spring. If you need to move a hydrangea during the summer, you will need to do this as carefully as possible to reduce the chance of transplant shock,” she informs.

She says if you need to increase the amount of sunlight in your plant’s current location until you can relocate it, you can place a mirror against the fence or wall that is shading your plant. You can also use a reflective film or paint the surface white to reflect more light. 

Too Much Nitrogen in the Soil

Over-fertilizing any plant can cause a slew of issues and lead to hydrangeas drooping. “If your hydrangea is supplied with too much nitrogen due to excessive feeding, this can cause the plant to put on rapid vegetative growth, but unfortunately, this growth will be weak. With large flower heads, the weak stems that grow won’t be able to support their weight, and the stems will droop,” Bradley explains.

“Too much fertilizer can also negatively affect the roots so that they don’t work as efficiently absorbing water.”

She says to correct high nitrogen levels, you should stop feeding and just keep the hydrangea well-watered so the nitrogen has time to wash out. Moving forward, rather than using fertilizer with high nitrogen levels, use a balanced fertilizer and a slow-release fertilizer so that your plant isn’t overfed. 

Lack of Support

We love hydrangeas because of their giant gorgeous blooms, but Dobbs says that can cause them to droop. “A large number of hydrangea varieties have large, heavy blooms, which can cause branches to bend or flop, especially if the stems are weak due to rapid growth or insufficient support. Large flower heads, especially on varieties like Hydrangea macrophylla, can weigh down stems,” she informs.

She suggests staking drooping stems or pruning large, heavy blooms to prevent them from being too weighed down.