My Blushing bride is a couple years (3) old and quite large now- maybe 4 feet high and wide. All the buds survived the winter so it is now blooming nicely. But I happened to see some potted Blushing Brides at a nursery recently and couldn't help but notice that the stems and leaves seemed much sturdier than mine. The leaves were thicker and darker green and the plant, even though small, just seemed to be more robust looking overall than my established one. The same goes for Twist and Shout. Although that is only a year old for me, I feel like I'm seeing the same weak stems and leaves that are just wimpy looking, for lack of a better word.
Am I doing something wrong or depriving it of something it needs? More sun? They are in the shade of the north side of the house, but it's bright there, and they do get some mid day sun. They do bloom- well enough, I think.
Wimpy stems and leaves on two Endless Summer types
Hydrangeas and all plants grown in nurseries get exacting light, food and water. We, at home, can't hope to duplicate what the growers do. Some hydrangeas just due to their genetics seem stronger and more robust to me than others.
Some growers also apply growth retardants to the plants that are sold at the nurseries to keep them more compact and easier to manage while they're on display. Once you get them home, the effects will wear off eventually and the plant will go back to its normal growth habit. The difference in leaf color could be something nutritional--hydrangeas grown in alkaline soil can often tend to be slightly chlorotic because the higher soil pH doesn't allow for enough uptake of iron.
A good local nearby-by nursery can tell you what type of pH your soil probably has. They also should have available soil pH kits that you can take home to test the soil with. While the readings are not as accurrate as in a formal soil test, it is probably good enough to tell you whether the soil is alkaline, neutral or acidic.
We have very acidic soil here. Blushing Bride's blooms have a tinge of blue to them. It had the pink "blush" when first planted. And the dark pink hydrangea I planted is now dark purple.
This message was edited Jul 5, 2010 6:22 AM