Hydrangea bush is so colorful that many people love to have them in the garden. The flowers of hydrangeas are most commonly blue, purple, and pink. Sometimes, the shades of hydrangeas might differ a bit. These flowers with green leaves make an excellent landscape view in the garden.
But you might have seen your hydrangea plants’ leaves falling in the winter. So, you might be confused about whether hydrangeas lose their leaves in the winter or not. You have to know the factors that trigger the leaves to fall from the plants. Moreover, you should know how you can care for the hydrangeas during winter.
Do hydrangeas lose their leaves in the winter?
Hydrangeas lose their leaves in the winter. Generally, losing leaves from the late fall to winter is natural for most trees. During winter, you will see the buds swell, and leaves fall out. But you should take care and prune the hydrangeas in the winter to keep them alive for the next season.
However, hydrangeas can be of different types. For example, oakleaf hydrangeas, climbing hydrangeas, endless summer hydrangeas, etc., are some of the hydrangea bushes. Different types of hydrangeas might have different effects in the winter. So, let’s see whether these hydrangeas lose their leaves in the winter or not.
Oakleaf hydrangeas:
Oakleaf hydrangeas don’t shed like other types of hydrangeas. Generally, most plants and hydrangeas lose their leaves from fall to winter. But oakleaf hydrangeas don’t lose their leaves like other plants. Even in early winter, oakleaf hydrangeas preserve their leaves. But at the last stage of winter, oakleaf hydrangeas might lose some of their leaves.
Climbing hydrangeas:
Climbing hydrangeas are another type of hydrangeas. Climbing hydrangeas also lose their leaves during winter. After spring, the buds of climbing hydrangeas swell and start to discolor. Gradually, the leaves fall out of the plant.
Endless summer hydrangeas:
Endless summer hydrangeas also lose their leaves in the winter. Sometimes, the leaves start to fall out from the plant early in the winter. So, endless summer hydrangeas need to prune. Moreover, proper care during winter will keep these hydrangeas alive for the next season. But like most other plants, these plants lose their leaves in the winter.
Do all hydrangeas lose their leaves in winter?
Yes, most hydrangeas lose their leaves in winter. It is pretty natural to lose leaves in winter. Because in the winter season, the buds of the hydrangeas swell and trigger the leaves to fall out.
Some hydrangeas might not lose all their leaves frequently. Some hydrangeas, like oakleaf hydrangeas, don’t lose their leaves vigorously in winter. The amount of falling-out leaves is less in this type of hydrangeas. But at the last stage of winter, the oakleaf hydrangea also loses its leaves.
Other types of hydrangeas lose almost all of their leaves in the winter. The excessive cold temperature in the winter also induces falling out of the leaves. So, it will be difficult to stop the leaves from falling out.
Even some hydrangeas lose their leaves in so many amounts that it becomes hard to live for them. So, if you can take care of hydrangeas during winter, they will live well until next season.
Do any hydrangeas keep their leaves in winter?
Most hydrangeas lose their leaves in winter. But some hydrangeas might not lose their leaves quickly in the winter. Moreover, losing leaves in the winter is pretty normal.
Some varieties of hydrangeas are evergreen. That means their leaves will stay green and will not fall out from the plant. But these types of hydrangeas are very rare. Some hydrangeas don’t lose their leaves early in winter.
You might see green leaves at the start of the winter. But the leaves will fall out gradually in excessively cold weather. So, hydrangeas generally lose their leaves in winter. But some rare hydrangeas are evergreen and don’t lose leaves in winter.
Why are the leaves dropping off my hydrangea?
You might know that hydrangeas will lose their leaves at any stage of their lives. But there are some other reasons that might be responsible. So, let’s see why the leaves are dropping off your hydrangea.
Winter:
During winter, hydrangeas go through very low temperatures. You might know that hydrangeas can’t bear excessively low temperatures. So, in the winter season, the leaves of your hydrangea will drop off.
Lack of watering or over-watering:
When the hydrangea doesn’t receive the right amount of water, the leaves might drop off from the plant. Sometimes, watering is not sufficient. On the other hand, over-watering might cause dropping off your hydrangea leaves. So, whenever the hydrangea goes through an abnormal watering schedule, the leaves might drop off.
Excessive sunlight:
Now that you know hydrangea leaves might drop off in the winter, you might think this plant likes sunlight. Hydrangea likes sunlight but not in an excessive amount. An excessive amount of sunlight might lead the plant to lose its leaves. Sometimes, the leaves might burn in the sunlight.
Disease:
You might take care of the hydrangea properly but still, see that the leaves are dropping off. The reason might be different diseases of the plant. For example, insects might induce diseases. Moreover, root disease will cause the leaves to drop off from the plant.
Lack of nutrients:
Some nutrients are essential for hydrangeas to grow. Sometimes, a lack of these nutrients will lead to falling off the leaves of hydrangeas. For example, when the pH level is misbalanced, the amount of iron will reduce.
As a result, the leaves of the hydrangea will be discolored and fall off from the plant gradually. So, lack of essential nutrients is another reason why the leaves are falling off.
How do hydrangeas look in the winter?
Generally, hydrangeas lose their leaves in the winter. So, the plant will look lifeless in the winter. In the early stage of winter, the buds of the hydrangeas will swell. The heads of the hydrangeas will turn dry.
Moreover, the heads of the hydrangeas will turn brown in color. Besides, the color will be faded gradually. The hydrangea leaves will turn fully brown and drop off from the plant. So, the overall outlook of the hydrangea will be gloomy and dull.
During other seasons, you will see the hydrangeas are green with their green leaves. But in winter, the whole plant will look brown in color. You will see no flowers and no leaves on the hydrangea at the last stage of winter.
Do hydrangeas need to be cut back for winter?
Yes, hydrangeas need to be cut back for winter. Generally, hydrangeas are not suitable in the winter. All their leaves drop off during winter. They remain in a scarce situation in the winter. That’s why people often cut back on hydrangeas for winter.
Cutting down the hydrangeas for winter is also known as pruning. If you prune hydrangeas, they will be preserved in the winter. In the next season, you will get fresh and growing hydrangeas.
You should cut back hydrangeas until spring. Because during winter, hydrangeas will go through continuous scarce weather for them. You should cut back the hydrangeas up to the ground. The hydrangeas will preserve themselves underground.
During the spring, the stems and buds of the hydrangeas will be growing. So, if you want to preserve hydrangeas for winter, you need to cut back them.
Why are my hydrangeas leaves turning yellow and falling off?
Sometimes, you might see that your hydrangeas leaves are turning yellow and then falling off. Several reasons might be responsible for this. For example, overwatering the hydrangeas might lead to the yellowing of the leaves.
If you overwater the hydrangeas, the root of the plant will always be wet. As a result, different types of root problems might be induced. So, the whole plant will be affected by the overwatering.
Sometimes, iron deficiency causes this problem. Generally, iron deficiency is known as chlorosis. If your hydrangeas are going through from a lack of iron, the leaves will turn yellow and fall off gradually. Moreover, too much pH level might cause this problem.
When the pH level of the soil is too high, it will cause iron deficiency. As a result, the leaves of hydrangeas will turn yellow and fall off.
Final Thoughts
Hydrangeas lose their leaves in the winter due to natural reasons. Generally, most plants lose their leaves during winter. In the low temperatures, hydrangeas can’t grow new leaves. Moreover, the buds swell, and leaves fall off. However, most types of hydrangeas lose leaves in winter.