Hydrangea white spotted flowers

[peckerwood]

I’m new to hydrangeas so, I’m in need of some help I bought a Merritt’s Supreme last year 2018 and raised it in an outdoor pot. I planted it in the ground (dug a hole in red mud, filled with potting soil and leaf/chicken poop compost) this spring 2019 in March and it’s growth just took off in May. I think I may have over fertilized it because I just got my first bloom last week. The bloom is speckled with white spots which are beautiful but, I’m concerned it may be the beginning of powdery mildew. However, I’m just not sure. The white color is definitely in the petals not on top of the petals. There are no white spots on the leaves but, some leaves are slightly lighter green and not the deep dark green that Merritt’s Supreme’s leaves normally are when you first buy them. And some leaves have brown edged holes on them but, not an over abundance of them. I just need some guidance! Does anyone know if I should be concerned about my hydrangea’s health?

Thank you!

 

[poisondartfrog]

The brown patches on the leaves could be Botrytis. If there are only a few leaves like that I would remove them and burn them or discard them where they won't contact your soil or other plants. Don't compost them.
This fungus can also cause white to gray spots on flowers, but I can't really tell if that is what is wrong with your flowers. If those spots are Botrytis they will have a powdery appearance. I would cut the infected flowers off and dispose of them also.

Hydrangeas are susceptible to the fungus, and it often appears after foliage has been wet for several days, or even several hours.

 

[peckerwood]

Thank you so much for your informative post! I’ve purchased some fungicide and cut off the leaves- hoping I can stop it before it’s takes over!

 

[YoungJulian34]

Hydrangeas are very beautiful flowers. There are also hydrangeas in my garden. So, I agree with poisondartfrog. It really looks like a fungus. I hope you got rid of it and your hydrangeas are doing well. Well, I have another big problem. I noticed too late that my fruit trees were infested with aphids, which had already grown and moved to some of my plants. If someone knows a proven way to quickly get rid of aphids and save my plants, please let me know. I found a blog hobbyplants.com where there is information about this, but I am not sure that these methods work, I first encountered this, please help save my garden.