Content
Hydrangea chlorosis is a plant disease that occurs due to a violation of internal metabolic processes, as a result of which the formation of chlorophyll in the leaves is inhibited. At the same time, their color changes to yellow, only the veins retain their green color. Chlorosis is caused by iron deficiency. It can be either too little in the soil around the plant, or the hydrangea itself is not able to assimilate it. In any case, treatment of the disease is necessary, it will not go away by itself. Usually, it is enough to just feed the bush with iron to make the problem go away.
The danger of leaf chlorosis in hydrangea
A plant that lacks chlorophyll in its leaves is not able to fully provide itself with the carbohydrates necessary for its nutrition. This leads to inhibition of the growth and development of the bush. He begins to fade, lose shape and beauty. Ultimately, if the necessary measures are not taken, the hydrangea can die.
The appearance of the disease is global in nature, the localization of yellowing foliage is rarely observed
In some cases, the color change from day to day is imperceptible. It is recommended to look at the hydrangea from time to time and compare its appearance with neighboring plants.
Signs of chlorosis in hydrangea
Symptoms of chlorosis of large-leaved hydrangea (like its other varieties) are manifested not only in the yellowing of the foliage. In addition, the following signs of the disease are possible:
- reduction of leaves in size;
- their wilting or twisting, other changes in shape;
- falling leaves and flowers;
- changing the shape of the buds;
- drying out of shoots at the growth cone;
- stopping the development of the root system;
- partial or complete death of roots.
Usually, several symptoms are observed at once, since the lack of hydrocarbons that feed the plant affects all its parts almost simultaneously.
The neglected stage of chlorosis - areas of death of leaf tissues are noticeable
Causes of chlorosis in hydrangea
The main cause of the disease is the lack of a sufficient amount of iron in the plant, which is necessary for the formation of chloroplasts. This can be due to two phenomena:
- lack of iron compounds in the soil;
- the inability of the plant to assimilate iron, metabolic disorders.
And if with the first case everything is relatively simple, and the reason lies in the poverty of the soil or substrate used for growing hydrangea, then the second is already much more difficult and it is problematic to figure out what caused this violation.
For example, in the spring, metabolic disorders can be due to the temperature difference between day and night. The rate of chemical processes in roots in cold soil and leaves warmed by the sun will differ significantly. That is, the root system will simply not be able to cope with the assimilation of the required amount of iron from the soil.
This will lead to the fact that chloroplasts will not have enough chlorophyll, they will begin to perform their function worse. The synthesis of carbohydrates will be significantly reduced, and the leaves, due to an insufficient amount of green pigment, will change color to yellow.
Since hydrangeas require soil with a pH of about 5.5 and water is neutral in acidity, even regular watering will increase the pH. Sooner or later, this will lead to the fact that the absorption of iron from the soil will significantly slow down.
How to treat chlorosis in hydrangea
For the treatment of chlorosis of hydrangea paniculata, iron-containing preparations are used. Modern industry offers a number of similar products: Ferrovit, Antichlorosis, Micro-Fe, etc.
Mostly in such preparations, iron is used in a chelated form - in the form of a chelate complex compound used to introduce trace elements into the metabolic process.
In addition, they use the treatment of hydrangea chlorosis with preparations based on ferrous sulfate. Such a composition can be made independently:
- Dissolve 8 g of citric acid in one liter of water;
- add 2.5 g of ferrous sulfate to the mixture;
- to stir thoroughly.
It will be an orange-tinted liquid. The resulting composition is sprayed on the leaves of damaged plants. It can be kept in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Components for the preparation of an anti-chlorosis agent can be bought in special stores.
There is also another version of the mixture for the treatment of chlorosis. To obtain it, 10 g of ferrous sulfate and 20 g of ascorbic acid are dissolved in one liter of water. The method of application and shelf life of this product are similar to those discussed earlier.
How to cure hydrangea chlorosis
In general, the treatment of hydrangea for chlorosis consists of several stages and includes the following:
- Replacing the soil or substrate in which the plant is planted. Since hydrangea is quite unpretentious and tenacious, the cause of chlorosis lies, most likely, in a lack of iron. Its regular application, of course, will help, but you cannot fertilize the plant with iron all the time. Therefore, you will have to replace the soil in the hydrangea planting area or completely renew the potted substrate.
- Watering with acidified water. Alkalization of the soil negatively affects the ability of the hydrangea root system to absorb iron. Therefore, it is necessary to regularly either irrigate with acidified water, or use fertilizers that increase acidity (peat, manure, etc.)
- The use of iron-containing special products for spraying the plant. The formulations discussed earlier should be applied even after the substrate has been replaced. This is necessary in order to quickly satisfy the plant's need for iron.
Replacing the substrate in a hydrangea growing in the garden is the first step to solving the problem of chlorosis.
It should be remembered that the foliar fertilization is still more effective. When spraying, the plant completely restores its iron balance within 24 hours, with root feeding - within 72 hours.
Disease prevention
As noted earlier, one of the reasons for the low assimilability of iron is the low acidity of the soil. To solve this problem, the soil should be acidified from time to time. The easiest way to do this is to use citric acid. It will take very little - a few grains are dissolved in 1 liter of water and the plants are watered with this mixture.
There is another way to prevent chlorosis, it consists in burying small rusty metal objects in the garden in the places where hydrangea grows - bolts, screws, nails, etc. You can also scrape off rust from large planes and mix it with the soil under the plants.
Conclusion
Hydrangea chlorosis is a disease characterized by a deficiency of iron in plant cells. Its external manifestations are reduced to yellowing of the leaves with their subsequent fall.Iron deficiency leads to a decrease in chlorophyll in the plant, which affects the deterioration of its nutrition, wilting and further death. Chlorosis treatment, mainly consisting in feeding the hydrangea with iron, should be started as early as possible so that the plant does not die.
