Bigleaf Hydrangea, French Hydrangea 'Homigo' (Hydrangea macrophylla)

Bigleaf Hydrangea, French Hydrangea 'Homigo'
Hydrangea macrophylla

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Have you successfully overwintered this hydrangea yet? If so, do you have it in the ground or in a container? I can not find ANY zone information on this series of plants, and yet a number of places are selling them.

Yes, I have 3 that have survived 2 winters, all of which are in the ground; however, note that I am in Charleston, SC, Zone 8b and bordering on 9. To put this in perspective, I have a large split leaf philadendron in a pot outside that has also survived 2 winters - we don't really have winters here. I found 1 web site that indicated Zones 5-9 for Homigo. Will check for more info this evening, let you know if I find anything. Sheryl

To put the whole temperature thing even more in perspective, it is hot here now. And my Niko blue hydrangea is STILL blooming - it's on its 3rd bloom cycle for the year - probably confused by the weather. The roses are going strong - they bloom well into December. Winter here is the month of February. Most of the rest of the year the outdoors is a giant, communal sauna! Sheryl

I may move down with you for the winter - we've just had a week with days in the 20's & 30's and overnight lows in the teens several nights! I'm not ready for this!

I was interested in getting one of the Kaliedoscope hydrangea's last spring but didn't trust Springhill and their descriptions. I got a "Royal Red" hydrangea from them and I'm not sure if that one will make it. I pretty much need to stick to hardier varieties up here - All Summer Beauty, Endless Summer, and the PG's. Nikko blue did bloom for me this year, but it bloomed very late and a deer ate it before it dried enough to cut!

If you over-winter here, can I spend the summer up there? By July I can't get from my car to my office without having my makeup dripping off my chin. And while a sauna may sound nice, it's not so great a place to garden.

I got my Homigo and Hebella(sp?) from Cottage Farms. I could spare a cutting if you think you might be able to root it. Let me know.

About those cute little deer. SCREAM. I know how you feel. Every year we do battle over the front yard roses - and they always win!

I know what you mean (melting in the heat), I have a very short "comfort zone," and I'm very susceptible to humidity - once it get's over 60%, I'm a goner! Summers are usually pretty nice up here - it usually get's hot but usually only a couple weeks of "steamy" stuff. This summer we had none, really. 1 day of 90 degree heat. Most of the summer was in the 70's -- too cool, and rainy to boot. I'd rather have the 3 weeks of heat and put the AC on!

Deer - dontcha love 'em. I was such a bambi-lover until I started gardening... Best thing we've found up here to thwart them is dried blood, milorganite, and the spray on Ropel. I've got a Cornell professor across the street who's constantly doing research on new methods. The meadow where we built our house is where he used to set up his experiments. They think it's still "their" meadow in fall and winter, summer the dog lets 'em know it's not.

I'd love a cutting, maybe in the spring - too cold to send it now - it would probably freeze in transit. Our mailmen aren't renowned for speed! I've got a couple of different types as well: All summer beauty, Nikko blue, Glowing Embers and a couple of babies coming along - Royal Red, and Royal Purple aka Mathilda Gutges. Maybe we could swap cuttings.

A swap sounds great. Let me know when the weather is right for you. I have Nikko blue and glowing embers, but I'd love a cutting from the other 2 (when they are old enough, of course). I'll send you the Homigo even if the "Royals" aren't ready yet. I have some others as well: Big Daddy, Beni Gaku, Annabelle, hornli, and another red and blue lace cap whose name I can't recall at this time. Anyhow, just let me know when the temp's right.

Oh, about those deer. If your experiment yields any other interesting results, I'd love to know. I have used the "ScareCrow" device with near 100% results, but it has some obvious draw backs - and just can't be used in some areas (like the front door). I recently heard that some people are having good results with 2 strands of fishing line, 1 at about 18" or so off the ground, the 2nd at about 3-4' high (around the area). I know they can jump 7+ ft but it is my understanding that they are wary of anything in which they may become entangled and, hence, will not cross the line. Have not tried it yet; plan to this spring. I did find that they will not go near deer netting even when roses are hanging over the top and clearly accessible - this apparently for the same reason, fear of entanglement.

Yes, same here with the netting. It's keeps them off my bog rosemary that they dearly love to chomp on. That fishing line is interesting - I might give it a try.

If the Royal Purple's leaf out next spring as well as they did this year, they should be big enough to get a cutting from. I had one from the Royal Red that appeared to be rooting, but this fall it lost all it's leaves an I brought it inside to baby it. I honestly don't know if it's alive or dead at this point. I'm going to repot it in the next couple of days and will find out. My daughter's Golden clipped the top off of one of the new ones when he got into my garden last summer, that's what I'm trying to grow. I emailed Prof. Dirr who wrote the book, "Hydrangeas for American Gardens," about the Royal Red, trying to get some information but he said he wasn't familiar with it at all. He said he thought that it's probably an already named variety like Glowing Embers. I wrote back and told him that the leaves turn bright red in fall, more like Charm or Merritts Supreme, my Glowing Embers doesn't.