Hydrangia won't bloom

I have had a Hydrangia for 6 years and it has never bloomed. It is healthy and growing like crazy, but it just won't bloom. What am I doing wrong???

Some cultivars bloom only on old wood.Do you know which one you have? It is possible they are being winter killed or pruned at the wrong time. Lynn

I think it's likely one of the two things that Lynn suggested. What zone are you in? If you're anywhere colder than zone 6b then you'll get the best blooms by protecting the plant over the winter with a cage full of leaves, otherwise the buds can get frozen off. Or if you're pruning it too late in the fall or too early in the spring you're cutting off where the blooms would be. If you're in a warmer zone and you haven't been pruning it at all, then the other two possibilities are not enough sun (they don't need a ton of sun, but if you have it in complete shade where it doesn't get any sun that'll make it not bloom well), or if you're giving it too much nitrogen fertilizer that can encourage lots of green growth at the expense of blooms.

Ok I am in zone 6. North Central WV The bush has never been pruned. It gets lots of sun, just some late afternoon shade. Haven't put nitrogen on it. It is really healthy, and I don't know the name of it.

I guess the next question is does it ever even set buds that fail to open? Is your soil too alkaline?Also,there is a lot of controversy about feeding them,but many people swear Epsom Salts will make a stubborn plant bloom.I have used Miracid on mine.
You might find this helpful http://www.emmitsburg.net/gardens/articles/frederick/2008/hydrangeas.htm

Lynn

If you try the Epsom Salt,use 1 tablespoon to a gallon of water.

This message was edited Jul 28, 2008 4:52 PM

If you're in zone 6a rather than 6b that could make it cold enough that you're losing the blooms to frost, although I'm surprised that you've never seen any blooms at all, I would expect that you'd get a few blooms here and there in some years and maybe some years with none. Some people on the hydrangea forum have also mentioned using bloom booster fertilizer on them so you might try that next year and see if it helps. It also wouldn't hurt to try protecting it for the winter just in case it is in a really chilly part of your yard or something.

I'm in 5a and year before last my husband covered the wrong plant.My Hydrangea 'Glowing Embers' grew beautifully,but no blooms. When I originally purchased it the company said it was hardy here,but I have since read that it is not.Although the bush survived the winter much of the wood did not,hence no blooms,

Lynn

Unfortunately when companies talk about hardiness, they're generally talking about whether the plant itself will die or not...they don't bother to mention that tiny little detail that even though the plant survives, it won't bloom. I guess they figure people wouldn't really care about that! LOL

ecrane,
Why would any of us care if a plant blooms........Right!!!

My good old Annabells and PG's bloom consistantly in zone 5, but my others, the pink and blue types, have never bloomed. They just exist.

Annabelle and the PG's are different species than the others and they bloom on new wood, that's why you don't have trouble with them. Except for a few newer cultivars, the macrophylla's (the pink and blue ones) bloom on old wood, and if you live in zone 5 and don't protect them over the winter you won't get blooms. If you'd like blooms though, all you need to do is build a cage around them and fill it up with leaves for the winter, then remove the cage in the spring after any chance of frost is gone and then you should get some flowers. Either that or dig them up and replace them with one of the newer reblooming cultivars (Endless Summer series, Forever and ever, etc)

Thanks ecrane3, I'll try that this fall.