Emerging leaves are yellow on Hydrangea Annabelle

kasjk

Can anyone cast a light on whether the newly emerging leaves on a Hydrangea Annabelle are supposed to be as yellow as this? I can't remember whether they were last year, but since then I've moved the plant and also planted two more next to it. They are all the same, yellow emerging leaves, yet at the bottom they are green... Are they supposed to be like this and they turn greener as they mature or is it a problem with all the plants?? The one was gorgeous last year and bloomed profusely. 

kasjk

It's been a week since my original post, but have had no replies. I've added some more images of what the plant looks like now... It's getting worse... Does anybody have any idea what causes this and what I can do to remedy it? 

Should I dig it up and pot it up until it recovers? I know the pH is pretty high in my soil but I thought hydrangeas loved acidic soil?

keran

I am not sure why, but I would be interested in what anyone else thinks this is down to.
I am going out to check what mine look like but I am pretty sure they are green.

kasjk

Ooh @keran , do you mind posting a picture of yours ? I just want to compare the two?

keran

Will do, I will go out as soon as its stopped raining 

kasjk

  

keran

apologies, mental afternoon yesterday. Hopefully pictures attached. They are only young plants, one is planted solitary and one is surrounded by a nepeta six hills giant 😊
all green leaves as you can see 😊

Fairygirl

You've moved it and you say you have two more next to it?
How did you prep the ground, and what is the soil like?
Is Annabelle a white flowerer? They mainly prefer neutral to alkaline soil

kasjk

Hmmm... Yes, it is very clear to me now that mine are suffering. Thanks @keran for the images, I need to take action somehow.

@Fairygirl I made a brand new flower bed by digging up the turf, adding some composted cow manure, planted the three hydrangeas and added bark mulch. I would also like to point out that the large hydrangea I had in the ground at my other house was doing really well. I dug it up, broke off a part of it to create a new plant, plus planted one I bought from a garden centre that was in a pot. So I now have three in total. And they are all suffering. 

I took a pH test of the soil and it was acidic, so now I am wondering if they need nitrogen? Or will this not help much considering the soil is so acidic? Would I be better digging them up and potting them up so they can recover?

Also, another thing I'd like to point out, I have planted a mock orange and some ammi majus in the same flower bed. They are doing really well, nice and green in colour. So must be something the Annabelles do not like. They are the white flowering ones, massive flower heads.

Fairygirl

I think the soil may be too acidic for them. The soil you had previously may have been better suited. The whites tend not to like acidic soil. I don't grow that one, but my white ones are in neutral soil.
Cow manure can be very potent too. I wouldn't want to use a lot of that, and it needs to be really well rotted.
I think you may need to lift and pot them for now, and look at altering the medium in the bed 

keran

I wait was thinking maybe too acidic. My soil is neutral 😊