Hydrangeas

I have a macrophylla hydrangea that has never bloomed because it gets killed to the ground every winter. It comes up and grows like a madman all summer but since it blooms on old wood, I am wondering if I will ever see it bloom. I live in zone 4B/5A a little north of Traverse City. Is there any kind of winter protection I can try? It is too big for a cone and burlap doesn't work. Should I give up and give it to my downstate family? I bought some of the new cultivars that bloom on new wood last summer so will be interested to see what they do this year. Thanks for any help you can offer me.
Leslie

You could try making a big circle out of chicken fencing and then filling the whole thing up with dry leaves. Gather up big garbage bags full of leaves and set them all around the bush and then make a fenceline of burlap around that. If that doesn't work then give it away. :)

Brenda

If you have to give it a lot of protection, send it south. There are plenty of cultivars that will bloom on new wood and there is plenty of work in the garden already to not make more if you don't have to. That's my opinion and worth just what you paid for it,LOL

I just remembered something else I do to protect those buds on the old wood. I spray the branches with Wilt-pruf. It puts sort of a wax over everything that protects the plant. Spray in late fall when the temp is over 40 degrees. I hope some of this helps. Planting right up next to your house foundation would be a good idea too so it's out of the wind.

At my city house we sold I had the most beautiful hydrangea. It was about 5' wide and 4' tall. It would get huge mophead type blue blue flowers on it. Of course I had to give it aluminum sulfate to get that true blue. It was planted right up next to the foundation of my family room on the north side of the house. It was surrounded by cement..........the cement block foundation to the house behind it, the driveway on one side and in front of it was the cement patio blocks of my patio. I do believe that stone and cement catches and slowly releases heat at night and was one of the reasons that hydrangea got to be so big and beautiful. When we moved up here, I didn't have the heart to dig it up and move it. It was in the perfect location so I left it for the new owners. Even there I used to spray with Wilt-pruf and put a burlap fence around it. It was one of my prized possessions along with my tri-colored beech tree I had to leave behind *snif snif*. I did buy two more trees and planted them at the farmhouse. They're coming along and in a few years they'll be the size of the one I left behind. :) Up here I have to fight the ants though that carry those aphid buggars up the tree that eat my leaves. I didn't have that problem downstate.

So, new places come with new challenges. All in all, like you, I'm blessed we were able to sell our city house and landed in heaven here in Au Gres.

Brenda