We have a standard that we would like to grow a foot taller. Is that possible? There is no clear leader although there is one branch that is growing straight up. The photo isn't great but you can see that the branches are much thinner than the trunk. Is it a graft? And if so, is that as tall as it gets?
Wide photo.
Patience, Patience, patience...
Peony,
So you are suggesting that it will grow despite the main trunk seeming to be truncated? I much prefer waiting over pruning so I hope you are right.
thanks.
The branches will get thicker and longer. If you wish, you can pick out a few branches that seem to be growing more upright and stake them so they stay up, and don't droop. This will allow them to harden in that manner, and it won't be so cascading. But yes, they will get longer and thicker with age.
Pollyk----thanks for suggestions. I also have a standard paniculata that I would like to see taller. The other hydrangeas around it have grown so tall that you can no longer tell that it is a tree form. So, I will follow your suggestions in trying to encourage the branches to grow upward. Of course, I will also have to trim these branches to get blooms on new wood, so I think that it will have to be an experimental thing. Out of the 110 hydrangeas that I have, this is the only standard so I don't want to lose it.
Shirleyd
Zone 7b
