Why are my potted hydrangeas floppy?!

[corahallett]

I bought 3 lovely healthy looking hydrangeas a few days ago. Potted them in nice big pots, with a thin layer of stones in the bottom for good drainage, gave them a good water. They were OK for about 24 hours, then one by one they started to droop. I'm making sure they have a few hours sun in the morning when it's not so fierce then moving them to a shady spot in the afternoon. The soil is still quite damp and the stems are kind of soft so I'm thinking maybe I have overwatered...should I unpot and put them back in with new compost maybe?

They’re probably just recovering from being transplanted.Don’t repot them again, they need time to settle. Just make sure you keep up the watering.

Hydrangeas need quite a lot of water I think. I’d keep them out of the full sun until they have settled into the new containers & give them a good water every evening

Thanks both. I've put them in a shady spot and gave them some water last night. DH has put a couple of extra holes in the bottom of the pots too as there was just one small drainage hole. One of them looks much better this morning, fingers crossed for the others!!

Assume you used ericaceous compost?

@2021Vision They don't need ericaceous soil

Have you pressed the soil around them to make sure there aren’t air pockets?

I have no idea what ericaceous compost/soil is so I'm gonna say no to that, but they do have a good handful of hydrangea food mixed in the top of the soil as per the packet. And they are well and firmly tamped down so the soil is pretty compacted. It's a bit of a mystery but I'm just going to keep them out of the sun and well watered for a few days and pray!

You only need that compost if you want the flowers to go blue, so don’t worry about that.

@4PawsGood

You only need that compost if you want the flowers to go blue, so don’t worry about that.

It's actually aluminium that hydrangeas need if you want them blue - but it also needs to be sufficiently acidic for aluminium ions to be available to the plant. Ericaceous (ie acid) compost alone mightn't do it.

(I'm a chemistry pedant when I'm not gardening)

I would stop moving them about, leave them in their shady spot, keep them well watered, and they should be fine.

That’s still the reason for using erecaceaous compost. I didn’t say it will give blue flowers.
I think my point stands.

@4PawsGood

That’s still the reason for using erecaceaous compost. I didn’t say it will give blue flowers. I think my point stands.

Not if she wanted pink flowers. Or if it's a white variety which will stay white regardless.

Indeed.

I'm an equal opportunities hydrangea owner. One blue, one white, one pink, all staying as God made them!