Make sure your tulips are receiving enough sunlight by placing their pot under the sun and watering them sufficiently. For top-heavy tulips, use a stick or other support to help your tulips stand up straight. This will help make them grow stronger. To treat Botrytis blight, a common disease, remove all infected foliage and flowers and apply a fungicide spray. Spring has sprung, and one of the most beautiful flowers to see blooming this time of year is the tulip. Stately, tall, and colorful flowers, tulips, make a spring flower garden truly dazzle. But this might not be the case if your tulips are drooping, which can come from a myriad of causes. We chatted with flower and garden experts to find out why tulips droop and what to do about it. Insufficient Sunlight Tulips love sunlight and have a natural tendency to grow directly towards a light source. If that light source is not directly above them, the tulips can grow sideways, making them appear wilted, even though the flowers are perfectly healthy, Lotte Berendsen, an expert botanist from the PlantIn app, explains. To fix this problem, provide your tulips with sufficient sunlight, and make sure that the light source is placed above the pot. Keeping your tulips, even in pots, as a container garden, outside is the best way to grow them, as they will naturally grow up towards the sun while outside, Berendsen says. Want more gardening tips? Sign up for our free gardening newsletter for our best-growing tips, troubleshooting hacks, and more! Top-Heavy Tulips Sometimes, tulips’ flower heads are simply too large and heavy for the stem to keep them upright. But this is more common in tulip varieties with large, bushy flower heads, Berendsen explains. “Unfortunately, there’s little you can do to help your top-heavy tulips stand up naturally,” she says. “We suggest adding a stick or other support to help keep your tulips standing straight.” Sometimes, the plant will gain strength from a bit of help and eventually may be able to stand up on its own. Lack of Water Tulips are thirsty flowers and love lots of water. For this reason, no water can make a tulip flower droop, Charlotte Denne, a wildflower seed grower, says. The tulips’ stems become dehydrated, and then the flowers droop, as the stems are not strong enough to support the weight of the blooms without water. One way to fix this is to give the flower more water to keep the flower upright—or, treat the tulips as a cut flower garden, trimming the stems and placing the flowers in fresh water immediately, Denne says. Diseases Tulips are susceptible to a few diseases that can cause wilting. “Botrytis blight is the most commonly found one in tulips,” Berendsen explains. “This disease can cause dramatic wilting, browning, and blister-like lead or flower spots.” To treat Botrytis blight, remove all infected foliage and flowers and apply a suitable fungicide spray, she says. In the future, you can prevent Botrytis blight by applying proper crop rotation, keeping your plant’s foliage as dry as possible, applying preventative fungicides, and researching disease-free variants of your favorite tulip varieties. Blocked Stems It’s rare, but tulip stems can become blocked. Air bubbles or a buildup of bacteria, which forms a slimy biofilm, can block water uptake up the flower’s stem, Denne says. To fix this problem, you can re-cut stems at an angle under the waterline to clear blockages, she says. However, it is difficult to diagnose blocked stems beyond cutting the flower and seeing if it regrows. So, after cutting the flower, enjoy the flower in a bouquet while you wait. Old Age As with anything, tulips naturally age. And as they age, they droop, Denne says. You can enjoy the flowers as they last or replace them with fresh blooms, she says. Berendsen agrees and explains that if your tulip bloom is wilting and drooping because it’s at the end of its growth period, it’s better to let it die. “Tulip blooms last two to four weeks, so if your tulip has been in bloom for the past weeks, consider that it’s time to say goodbye,” she says. Snip the bloom once it’s entirely brown, as close to the base as possible.

Landscaping hydrangeas—potted or otherwise—will come back if planted within their USDA zone. Hydrangeas sold as flowering plants rarely return because of a forced early bloom period. Overwintering hydrangeas is low-maintenance and can be achieved with mulch and the right container for potted plants. Whether your hydrangea comes back next year depends on the type: Some last only a year at most, while others can last for decades. Here is how to successfully grow hydrangeas as perennials in the ground or in pots, what you can do to get them through the winter, and other hydrangea care tips. Are Hydrangeas Perennials? There is a significant difference between the small potted flowering hydrangeas that are sold by florists and a hydrangea that you bought at a nursery and planted in your landscape. The first kind is short-lived by design and the second kind lasts for years, if not decades. Small potted hydrangeas that are sold as flowering plants are not perennials. Also called florist hydrangeas, these hydrangeas have been forced into flowering early, and have weak stems and a much smaller root system as a result. This affects their ability to get established in the soil the same way, which greatly diminishes their chances of surviving the winter, and are more susceptible to diseases.1 As for landscaping hydrangea shrubs, these can be perennials. However, whether they come back every year depends on the hardiness of the hydrangea, which varies between hydrangea species and varieties. If the USDA zone of your location matches the hardiness zone requirements of the hydrangea you planted—and the rest of the growing conditions are also met—it is highly likely to come back. Want more gardening tips? Sign up for our free gardening newsletter for our best growing tips, troubleshooting hacks, and more! Hardiness Zones for Hydrangeas Generally, members of the Hydrangea genus grow in Zones 3-9. Some species or varieties have a slightly narrower hardiness range: Bigleaf hydrangea: Zones 5-9 Oakleaf hydrangea: Zones 5-9 Climbing hydrangea: Zones 4-8 Within the species, there are also differences in hardiness between the cultivars. For example, Endless Summer is an outlier, a particularly cold-hardy bigleaf hydrangea that survives winters as low as zone 4. If your hardiness zone is lower or higher than that of the variety, it will grow as an annual. Florist hydrangeas are also grown as annuals. A frost-free climate (Zone 10-11) is not suitable for growing hydrangeas as perennials because to go dormant and bloom the next year, hydrangeas need a cold period during the winter. How to Grow Hydrangeas in Pots Hydrangeas in pots can be grown as perennials, but they need a little extra care. Select a frostproof pot to prevent cracking; clay, terra cotta, or ceramic pots are not suitable. Make sure the pot has large drainage holes. Place the potted plant in a protected spot, such as north- or east-facing site to avoid strong sun exposure and temperature extremes. Potted hydrangeas dry out much faster than plants in garden soil. Water frequently, up to once or twice a day in hot weather whenever the top inch of soil feels dry. Water slowly and deeply until water drips out of the drainage holes. Fertilize the hydrangea twice, once in early spring and again in mid-spring, to make up for the washout from frequent watering. Do not apply fertilizer after late July. How to Overwinter Hydrangeas If you have planted a hydrangea that is suitable for your climate, there is no need to protect in-ground hydrangeas during the winter. However, covering the area around the shrub with 3 to 4 inches of mulch insulates the roots against the cold. Potted hydrangeas need to be winterized, even if they are hardy in your zone. Burying the container in the ground soil before the ground freezes is only practical for smaller pots. For larger containers, build an insulation silo by placing the container in a larger container filled with mulch or straw. Alternatively, wrap the container (not the plant) with several layers of bubble wrap or burlap. Tips for Growing Hydrangeas Finding the right amount of sun exposure for your hydrangea is key for it to bloom. The warmer your climate, the more shade the hydrangea needs; locations in morning sun and afternoon shade are best. Do not overfertilize the plant. Instead of using commercial fertilizer, working organic matter such as compost into the soil every spring is often sufficient to add nutrients. Using organic matter avoids too much nitrogen, which leads to lots of foliage and fewer blooms. Hydrangeas need consistent moisture. In dry spells and hot weather, keep an eye on the plant. If the leaves look wilted during the day and don’t recover in the evening, water deeply. Familiarize yourself with the budding and flowering pattern of your hydrangea because that determines the right time to prune hydrangeas.

Ensure that you are watering your plant according to its needs—not too much, and not too little. Check your plant regularly for signs of pests, fungus, or other topical maladies. Consider if your plant is getting everything it needs, including space and soil nutrients. Taking care of plants is rewarding, especially when it comes to fruit trees or other edible plants. But it quickly becomes a stressful endeavor when you spot a mystery problem, such as your citrus leaves turning yellow. Whether it's an orange, lime, grapefruit, or lemon tree's leaves turning yellow, we've rounded up some of the most common reasons why the foliage might be full-blown yellow or speckled with spots, as well as solutions, straight from experts. Overwatering People who care deeply for plants can be so concerned with underwatering that they end up overwatering their tree. Soggy soil can lead to root rot for the likes of lemon and orange trees, leading to yellow leaves and other problems. "It’s best to repot the plant as soon as possible if you’ve accidentally overwatered it, or if you notice that the soil is very compact and dries out pretty slowly," says botany expert Nastya Vasylchyshyna. When doing so, replace old substrate with fresh, dry soil, and examine the plant's roots, cutting off any rotten parts with sterilized pruners. Then, treat the remaining roots with fungicide, Vasylchyshyna recommends, and your tree should be as good as new. Want more gardening tips? Sign up for our free gardening newsletter for our best growing tips, troubleshooting hacks, and more! Underwatering On the other hand, a lack of water can also cause the leaves on your mandarin, lemon, orange, and lime trees to turn yellow and eventually dry out entirely. The good news? Vasylchyshyna says it's totally possible for your tree to bounce back. "If your citrus is lacking moisture, water it more frequently and generously, soaking the soil all the way down," she says. "You can trim any bare, leafless shoots to encourage new growth." It's easy to assume that watering requirements are the same across the Rutaceae family, but it's good to look at the specific variety you've planted, how old it is, and where it's located in your garden or home. Nutrient Deficiencies Nitrogen, magnesium, zinc, nitrogen, manganese, and iron deficiencies are common among citrus tree varieties. You can combat this with soil testing and a complex fertilizer that can counteract any low or high levels of nutrients in the soil where your tree is planted. "Make sure the plant food you choose has the right ratio of macronutrients—such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium—and contains necessary micronutrients as well," says Vasylchyshyna. She recommends a fertilizer with an NPK ratio of 2-1-1. You'll want to adjust this as the seasons change and your citrus tree flowers. Stick with the aforementioned ratio in spring and summer. "Once the citrus starts to flower, reduce the share of nitrogen in favor of potassium (an NPK ratio of 1-1-2 or 1-1-1)," she says. "During the fruiting season, keep the nitrogen levels low and increase the share of phosphorus and potassium; a fertilizer with an NPK ratio of 1-2-2 works best at this time." Plant Diseases There are a handful of diseases that can inflict your citrus tree and lead to the yellowing of its leaves. Some are specific to certain varieties of citrus, whereas others you'll find wreaking havoc across various tree types. One of the main diseases citrus trees are susceptible to is chlorosis; this issue can arise through a few different factors—from pest infestations to overwatering to physical breakages. In many instances, you may want to prune a lemon tree or other citrus variety to stop the spread. Pests Like any plant or tree, citrus fruits can attract a range of bugs to its branches. While some are undoubtedly essential and supportive (like pollinators), some cause trouble for your trees. One example in particular is spider mites. "These pests can be quite hard to spot, especially early on, as they hide on leaf undersides and in leaf axils," says Vasylchyshyna. "They pierce leaves and suck the sap from plant tissue, which causes the foliage to turn yellow." Give your trees thorough examinations, using a magnifying glass to spot any tiny critter infestations. Oftentimes, the best way to solve for these problems are through hosing down the tree and using an insecticide or acaricide. Fungus Fungi can cause problems for citrus trees and lead to the development of diseases, with common symptoms being yellow leaves. Fungicides are usually the most effective way of clearing out the fungus; oil is another helpful solution. Before taking action, visually determine the exact type of fungal problem your tree is having and the best fix depending on the kind of tree you have. The Pot A common, though unexpected, culprit of yellowing leaves is often the pot your tree is in. Trees growing in a planter as opposed to in the ground may feel restricted, leading to yellow leaves. "When choosing a pot, make sure it accommodates the root system, leaving just enough space for new growth," Vasylchyshyna says. "If your citrus gets root-bound, it can't properly absorb water and nutrients." If this happens, repot your plant as fast as possible into a container twice the size of the previous one. While doing so, loosen the roots of your plant to encourage healthy growth. Once this is done, be sure to give it plenty of attention and care so it can recover from the shock.