Beginner Gardening: Sick Hydrangeas?, 1 by molegirl

molegirl wrote:
I have four hydrangeas. This is their 3rd year and 3 have prolific blooms ranging from sky blue to green(?). I fertilize with Osmocote in April. I live in zone 7b. The plants are in a shade/filtered light understory of Hazel, Tulip Tree, Rowan and Japanese Maple. This spring I noticed elongated "freckles" on the stems and realized that the plants are very leggy. Since I live in Washington I don't water unless there are 7 rainless days in a row during the summer and fall. My plan is to prune them this coming March. I am concerned. They are not the bushy, lush plants I anticipated. I want to help them but I don't know what to do. Please help. Thanks.