If Your Hydrangea Blooms Have Turned Brown, Here Are 5 Common Causes and Exactly How to Revive Them

If your prized hydrangea blooms are turning brown and wilting before the end of summer, it is a clear sign your plant is in distress. While these showy flower heads naturally fade in fall, premature browning means something is wrong and you need to step in quickly to save them.

To help you diagnose the issue and successfully revive your display, we have mapped out the five most common causes of brown hydrangea flowers below, complete with expert solutions.

To take the guesswork out of hydrangea care, a simple tool like this long probe soil moisture meter from Amazon is an excellent first step, giving you an instant reading of the moisture levels around your plant's roots so you know exactly when to water.

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1. They're Not Getting Enough Water

True to their name, hydrangeas are notorious water lovers. While drought tolerance varies slightly by variety, most hydrangeas need frequent, deep watering during the height of summer to prevent their appearance from rapidly deteriorating.

According to gardening expert Janet Loughrey, a simple lack of water is the most common reason these showy flowers turn brown. 'Because these shrubs rely on consistent moisture to maintain their plump, vibrant petals, dehydration shows up quickly,' she says.

Aside from crisping blooms, you will also notice browning tips on the leaves.

To combat this, Janet recommends increasing your watering schedule immediately, aiming for at least one inch of water per week. A drip irrigation system such as this one from Amazon would be useful, especially if you have large flower beds with many hydrangeas growing in it.

For a newly planted hydrangea, placing a slow-release watering bag, which you can find at Walmart at the base of your plant will provide consistent moisture and avoid any risk of it drying out in midsummer.

While you cannot reverse the browning on flowers that have already dried out, establishing a consistent watering routine will protect and preserve the rest of your summer display.

Janet Loughrey

Janet Loughrey has been a full-time garden photographer and writer for 25 years. She lives and gardens in Portland, Oregon. Previously, Janet gardened in the Adirondack region of upstate New York where she grew up. Experiencing different climates has given Janet a greater appreciation of the gardening challenges they present. In her own personal garden, Janet tends to an eclectic mix of roses, shrubs, perennials, and bulbs. Her most recent passion is growing annual flowers in containers from seed.

2. They're Exposed to Too Much Sunlight

'Hydrangeas grow natively in woodland settings where they receive partial or dappled shade. Too much sun can cause hydrangea flowers to turn brown,' explains Janet.

Similar to leaf scorch, delicate petals can also be scorched by the combination of too much sun and a lack of water. If your hydrangeas in pots are currently in a sunny position where they're turning brown, it's a good idea to consider moving them.

'Hydrangea shrubs perform and flower best in a location that receives morning sun and some afternoon shade. Move affected plants to a shadier site if they are not too large,' suggests Janet. 'You can also use a shade cloth or grow a tree nearby to provide some shade.' You can find shade cloths at Amazon.

If you are growing hydrangeas in containers, these plant umbrellas from Amazon are also a clever way of providing instant shade whenever and wherever you need it.

Remove any damaged blooms, stems and foliage with pruning shears to encourage new, healthy growth.

3. Heatwaves and Temperature Spikes Are Causing Problems

This common cause goes hand-in-hand with your hydrangeas being exposed to too much sunlight. These spectacular blooms are native to Asia and the Americas and grow in cool woodland settings. Too much heat, therefore, can damage their flowers.

'Even if hydrangeas receive adequate water and shade, the flowers can still turn brown if temperatures are too hot,' says Janet. 'If you live in a warmer climate, choose more heat-tolerant hydrangea varieties such as oakleaf hydrangea, or substitute with other more heat tolerant plants such as butterfly bush, chaste tree or crepe myrtle,' she suggests.

The good news is there are so many hydrangea varieties that can cope with higher temperatures, like this oakleaf hydrangea from Fast Growing Trees. There are also resilient shrubs that many gardeners are replacing hydrangea with, such as the Korean spice viburnum, featured below.

You can, as Janet suggests, also look into drought-tolerant plants as alternatives if you live in a hotter climate.

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4. They're Being Attacked by Pests

If your hydrangeas are well-watered and shielded from the sun but the blooms are still turning brown, pests might be the culprit. Failing to catch an infestation early is a common pest control mistake that can quickly weaken your plants and ruin their beautiful summer display.

Aphids and spider mites frequently target hydrangeas, causing widespread damage to the stems, leaves, and blooms. As these tiny insects feed on the plant, they drain its moisture and nutrients, which ultimately causes the entire shrub to wilt and turn brown.

Spider mites are tiny, sap-sucking arachnids that can be hard to spot with the naked eye. However, you can easily identify their presence by looking for fine webbing stretched across the leaves and flowers, along with a dusty, grainy residue on the undersides of the foliage. It is vital to get rid of spider mites immediately to prevent them from migrating to neighboring plants.

Similarly, aphids are destructive pests that weaken hydrangeas and cause discolored, stunted growth.

For an easy, pre-made solution to wipe out both invaders, a bottle of organic neem oil spray, from Amazon is a must-have.

Alternatively, if you prefer a classic soap-based remedy, garden insecticidal soap from Walmart is highly effective at washing away pests without damaging delicate hydrangea petals.

5. Their Blooms Are Spent

Of course, your hydrangea flowers may have also turned brown because they are spent and have come to the end of their flowering season towards fall. This isn't a reason to be alarmed, but you must take the time to prepare your hydrangea plants for winter so they can bloom again in spring.

'Hydrangea flowers naturally turn brown over time, similar to how other flowers age. This is a normal part of their lifecycle,' says plant expert Evan Torchio from Tree Menders. 'While some varieties can produce new flowers, most hydrangeas will focus on root and bud development as their blooms decline.'

As well as deadheading and removing spent hydrangea blooms, you should also prune hydrangeas at the end of summer. This is an opportunity to remove any dead and damaged flowers and stems so your plant can focus on new growth for the next season.

Take the time to read up on how to prune hydrangeas so you don't make common pruning mistakes and hinder new growth, and always use sharp essential gardening tools like these Fiskars pruning shears from Amazon.

Evan Torchio

Evan Torchio is a plant expert and the CEO and Founder of Tree Menders. He earned a bachelor’s degree in forestry and is a member of the International Society of Arboriculture. Evan provides advice on indoor and outdoor plants.

While you won't be able to turn a brown hydrangea flower colorful again, it's still important to take action when you see flowers turning brown before they're meant to. It's also worth checking surrounding plants for similar symptoms to ensure there isn't a wider problem in your backyard.

The causes listed here could also be the reason your hydrangea isn't blooming, so adjusting growing conditions accordingly can help give this cottage garden plant a boost.

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