This is the time of year to be alert to deer damage on hydrangeas. The weather pattern of deep cold, snow, and ice storms has made it increasingly difficult for them to get around and find food sources to sustain life. Deer tracks are the obvious tip off so here's what to look for:    DEER TRACKS IN SNOW: NOTE CLOVEN HOOF

Boy Caught in Snowstorm We have had a few nights where the temps have dropped in to the high 30s, a stark reminder that it’s time to prepare to wrap some of my bigleaf (macrophyllas) and mountain (serratas) hydrangeas for winter. Those that aren't planted in protected locations as I described in my other blog posts,  https://bit.ly/2lRGNlm  and  https://bit.ly/2A8tzZE  need a little help if I want to give them their best chance of having their buds make it through the coming winter to see flowers in 2020.  Exactly what does this mean right now? SHRUB COVERS : something to safely protect the plants from ice and snow, maybe even give them a few degrees of insulation.

HYDRANGEA MACROPHYLLA WITH DISEASED FOLIAGE On my recent garden visits, I’ve noted an abundance of leaf spots and unsightly foliage on hydrangeas. They can be bacterial leaf spot from an infection by Xanthomonas campestris, or Cercospora which grows from the pathogen Cercospora hydrangeae . I’m also seeing powdery mildew on many plants. You can thank Erysiphe friesii var. friesii (formerly Microsphaera friesii ). If you’ve got blemished foliage, a trip to your local extension office can diagnose which it is so you can apply the proper treatment, if at all.

In July, I wrote about webworms (Hyphantria cunea) on panicle hydrangeas. For the past several weeks , the second generation has been active in my neck of the woods. And boy, are they active! It seems every day they form new webs where none were the previous day. That will continue through October or until the first killing frost. Ugly doesn’t come close to what the plant looks like when these beasties are at work.

I have been roaming around these past few weeks, visiting open gardens throughout my local area. The panicle hydrangeas have been just glorious in every garden I have seen with their undeniably spectacular flowers and form. Not to mention the impressive flowers of oak leaf hydrangeas are showing their magnificent colors as well.