Good Morning Garden Friends (My 30 something son calls me a Garden GEEK) I'm sorry I haven't been around for quite some time. I have a note from my mother. It was legitimate! Hopefully I'll be around for a while now. OK, here is my question. I have maybe 13 hydrangeas. They're all in differant gardens but pretty much the same light (part sun to full sun). I have 4 in front of my mothers deck. They've been there for 5 years and have NEVER grown a blasted flower. They are very healthy plants. Got any ideas?
hydrangeas
i have several peewee hydrangeas and they all bloom
I have one that is suppose to bloom blue-never has bloomed and is very healthy!!
no ideas here!!!!!!!
Mine didn't do well this summer either. I think the late spring freeze made everything screwy...good luck
Jacklyn
The normal problem with big leaf hydrangeas in zone 5 is that our late frost kills the flower buds. It don't kill the plants. The only solution is to winter protect them. Some people build a chicken wire fence around them and fill it up with leaves. They uncover when all danger of frost is past. Another method is to cut the bottom out of a large trash can, put it over the plant and fill with straw or other insulation material. The idea is to protect the buds from frost. The pg hydrangeas don't require protection. Let me know if you need more details.
Good luck
Gary
Yah, what Gary said. Some hydrangeas bloom on new wood (growth) only, some on old wood. Most/many places in Michigan have severe enough winter weather that the new wood is winter killed, therefore, no blooms. 'Annabelle ' produces on current years growth, 'Endless Summer' can do both. Once had a Nikko Blue, it died back to the ground every winter and regrew every spring-no blooms tho, as it blooms on old wood. Got rid of it. With that said, there may always be exceptions, microclimates, etc. I have trouble with rodents when I try to do the stuffed chicken cage thing.
Every hydrangea that garyt has sent me, has grown & bloomed. listen to whatever he says.
jackie......I have a Niko Blue that took 4 years before it would bloom, but it finally did bloom. I have it growing next to my house on the North side....however.....it does not bloom blue, but a soft pink....and its true, I never cut it back, I leave it alone.
Deann
I plan to put a "zone up bag" around mine this fall. I get an awful lot of wind off the lake and that will kill things faster than anything. I want to put one around another bush I have also that is struggling. If nothing else you can put chicken wire around it and fill it with leaves later on in the fall before we get that super hard freeze.
I had a Nikko Blue at my city house that was beautiful and just loaded with blooms but it was right up next to the house.
Brenda
Dori, my cousin has one that is suppose to bloom blue and didn't until she started fertilizing it. (not sure what she used) It bloomed really pretty blue blooms for her this year.
The big leaf or Macophilia hydrangeas color depends on the kind of soil they grow in. If the soil is alkaline the flowers will be pink. Acid soils will be blue. There is various methods of changing the pH of the soil. The H Paniculatas don't care about much about soil pH, the color will be the same. I have a few H. Paniculata Lime Light to trade. Some say they are the bullet proof hydrangea.
Gary
yes i have a lacy hydrangea and it usualy blossoms but this year with the later frost it did hurt the buds and no flowers this summer. i am planning to cover for the winter. i also have a lady in red no flowers this year either i will cover that this winter also. however i do have an oakleaf hydrangea that was absolutly georgeous this year.... do i have to cover that one???? Loon what is a zone up bag and where do you get them? are they something that you full with leaves or what???? Thanks for the help. when do i deadhead my oakleaf???? Ronna
Nikko blue blooms on old wood and since I rarely have the time to go out and winter protect I gave that one to my DIL who lives in an urban/more sheltered area where I've seen NB growing.
Endless Summer has been an endless disappointment to me...it seems the creator of ES are now admitting its not as good as it was suppose to be for blooming on new growth. My ES is now 2-3 yr. old and this year its just now making some buds...too late since we will be hit with hard frosts soon.
One shining star has been Limelight! GET IT! Not only does it grow faithfully on new growth with no protection but it is very drought resistant!
Also the old variety...I think its called Grandiflora peniculata
(or pee gee peniculata??)grows very well for me.
Annabelle is new for me and blooms well on new growth but wilts easily.
'Limelight'
This message was edited Oct 1, 2007 9:59 AM
P.S. Limelights blossoms will age to tinged pink on white.
What's a zoneup bag? Well, I bought two of them many years ago. I paid an awful price of $25 each. At the time I was living in the city and we were having mild El Nino winters. I had bought some pampas grass that is supposed to only be hardy down south. It was so beautiful that I thought I'd try to save it so I bought these zone up bags. Somehow with the bags and with the mild temperatures I kept it going for 3 years! The last year it had 82 magnificent blooms in it. I'd have complete strangers stop and knock on the door wanting to know what that plant was and where to get it. ha ha ha
One morning we had a horrible wind storm and my zoneup bag was gone. In a panic I told my then teenage son if he could find it I'd give him $5. He found it 3 blocks away up against the schoolyard fence!!
Here is a link where you can see what it looks like and a brief description of it.
http://www.gardeners.com/ZoneUp/default/StandardCatalog.VegetableGardening_SeasonExtending.09-152.cpd
Move Your Garden to a Warmer Climate with ZoneUp!
This closed-cell foam blanket creates a protective "micro-climate" that insulates your plants from sun-scald, wind burn, and extreme cold. Each protector will enclose a plant up to 3' wide, and you can tie two of them together to wrap a larger plant.
Lasts 3-5 years with seasonal use. For plants up to 30" high x 36" diameter
Loon......Thanks for the info on the "zone up" bag.....you got a bargin at $25.00.....on that website you shared, they now are $34.95.
Deann
nic bags. wish they werent so $$$$$. but if you really want to protect huh? maybe i can look elsewhere. Ronna
I read a tip somewhere that you can cut the bottom out of a garbage can and slip it over your bush/plant and then fill it with leaves after the ground freezes. That would work I think. I actually spotted an old metal can out in my woods left long ago by the previous owners. I just might try that to see how it works. If nothing else it would keep that pesky rabbit from chewing on my rosebushes..........at least one of them. :)
Loon.....I winterrize my Roses with just straw..........I make sure that the soil is covering the bud union at the bottom, wait for a killing freeze......or if you don't the critters like mice, or other rodents will set up housekeeping in it, and then cover my roses and other tender perennials with it.....
Deann
Deanna do you do the same with a hydrangea??? Or does the whole shrub have to be covered? Ronna
I dont cover anything here! I make sure that the rose union is covered with dirt
thats it!
you do not cover your hydrangeas??? I never have either but this spring I had no flowers on mine how disappointing.. I like the flowers on them. Maybe I will see whats out there for them that would be big enough.
Some Hydrangeas grow on old growth.
If that wood dies back no flowers.
Even the newer varieties like Endless Summer have failed to deliver on new wood since late frosts can do them in.
You can try putting a chicken wire cage around your hydrangeas and fill with straw. Don't be tempted to take the straw off too soon.
I don't cover a thing..sink or swim in my gardens. Only the tough survive.
Today I was visiting a friend and she had the most gorgeous hydrangea I've ever seen...it was a hydrangea tree...I MUST get one!!
gardenlady...........I do not cover my Hydrangers.....just my Roses....
The Endless Summer Hydranger is overated....I will never ever waste my money on that type again.....Next spring I am gonna buy Annabelle. That seems to be a very hardy one.
Deann
oh yes i have seen some of those, in fact i stopped at a house last summer and asked, what are those georgeous trees in the front of the house??? i was stunned at the flowers and they are just as beautiful this year as last... I really like them also. Ronna