Hydrangea Outlook

Looks like most of my Hydrangea's were frost bitten to the ground. There is life from the bottom on all but one. So sad! I bet no blooms this year? What happen to yours?

Mine look normal, but I did notice my neighbor's look terrible. Hers are much larger/older than mine......don't know if age plays a role here or not.

My hydrangas are fine but my camellia bud are all frost bitten and brown. A lot of the rhodies also.

I only have one hydrangea and it has new growth on it. Must have missed that bullet.

I just posted on another thread, before I found this thread, that at least 6 of mine are dead to the ground but coming back from roots. I don't know if I'll get blooms or not this year. Many of them have split bark from freezing while they were still in active growth. All of the damaged ones are macrophylla types.

I have some young plants coming back at the ground and a couple of older that seem to be doing ok. -

Mine are 50/50 - and there's no hard or fast rule. Paniculatas are all okay. Serratas and some macrophyllas are coming back from the roots. I don't think I lost any (fingers crossed).

Looks like two of mine might be completely gone. No growth anywhere yet. I won't pull them out until I'm completely sure. I should count to get the actual number of hydrangeas that are damaged, but I fear I would be depressed over it.

This is the sad state of my hydrangea. It was a nice variegated lace cap. Have had this for years.

This is 'Twist and Shout' one of the endless summer hybrids. It faired much better.

My old variegated one looks just like that. It's been in place 11 years. It's always slower to leaf out than the one next to it but this year no leaves, just a bit of growth at the bottom. Guess I should be glad it's not dead.

Mine look mostly like your Twist and Shout.

Yep, I have been taking note of lots of hydrangea damage. Some rhodies too. I'll be very surprised if there are flowers this year.

I only have two hydrangeas, and they are both doing well - just shows how much more temperate Portland is compared to you folks further north.

Was anybody else looking for this? http://www.greatgardenplants.com/index.php?pageId=1159

Interesting you should post that site. I ordered a Strawberry Vanilla from them back in March and the only word so far is it is back ordered. About to give up and look locally for one.

I just saw the posting below and the link on Chris Hansen's Facebook page today:

"Finally! Announcing the arrival of this amazing new paniculata Hydrangea Vanilla Strawberry with armloads of giant blush-pink flowers produced in mid summer! We've patiently been waiting for these plants to grow and are now shipping them to avid gardeners around the country! We sold an AMAZING 600 in the first few weeks! I have to grab one of these for my own garden!"

Thanks so much for posting that. I guess I must have missed the post. I am just recovering from cataract surgery so maybe when mine arrives I will be able to work in the yard again. This whole not being able to work outside is the pits!!

I just hope the new one doesn't turn blue/lavender like my Twist N Shout did. If it does, then I guess I will have to amend the soil.

Sure, no problem. I'm not sure of whether this one stays pink or is dependent on the soil - maybe somebody else knows. Our soil is acid, too, so blue is predominant here.

The post I sent is from Chris's Facebook page. I didn't see it on the website, so I don't think it's that YOU missed it.

Enjoy. I'm trying to hold back until I see how it does from others, but my resolve may fade.

I have watched and coveted this for a while so I just decided to order one this year. I found a Strawberries and Cream at our Lowes. It is really a nice colored one.

I hope that's what it is. The big box stores have some good deals, but you really have to know what you're looking for as they often don't label things correctly . . .

LOL oh how well I know. It looks like and as it was not labeled, I keep asking the sales person until he got the order from where it was shipped and received at the store. It did say Strawberries and Cream..looks like the pictures I have seen. Oh well, it it isn't, I still love the plant. It is doing nicely so I am happy.

Well, and that's the important thing, right? Get what you like. It sounds like you are a smart shopper, so you won't have to rely on whether they get it right. :-)

LOL, no not a smart shopper but I just love hydrangeas!! Maybe I should rephrase that, I love plants.

Plantaholic, like the rest of us?

Wow--This is kind of a scary post!! I have never known hydrangeas to freeze out in the PNW. Here though, on the S. Or Coast, they are not so bad. However, naughty, lazy me... I did not prune them last year. I usually do that in Nov. We live in a cold spot for this area, so some looked kind of peaky after the big freeze, but not anymore. Going like crazy now. I still have to prune some, so will either have very late blooms or no blooms. Better than dead, though, I guess. Sorry for you loss to those that did lose their hydrangeas. That's just wrong.

Bee, I didn't get around to pruning mine either, and am wondering if that helped a bit. I have had no losses, but then I am in a location that is protected by surrounding forest.

Yes, I am a plantaholic as well as a fabriholic. Horrible combination!!!

My Vanilla Strawberry hydrangea arrived yesterday. Can't wait to get it planted and see how it does.

I bought 2 (greedy me) of the Vanilla Strawberry last year, and they both bloomed beautifully . One was purchased locally at Watson's and the other was bought online. It took awhile for the online bareroot one to catch up. I will look up a picture and post it.

Most of my hydrangeas died to the ground also. I will have to go outside today and do a looky look.

I ordered mine online and it is a really nice plant. Is potted and was still moist when delivered. I have been wanting this ever since I first read about it.

Glad someone mentioned damage to rhodies. My large, old yellow rhodies have very few blooms this year, and a couple of other of my rhodies did not bloom at all. Others are doing the same as usual. Is it possible that the lack of blooms is from the early freeze? Also I have very few blooms on my lilacs that are generally covered with them.

Some of my hydrangeas have yet to make a showing in terms of green growth. It's going to be a sad year for blooms, I fear.

Hi Pixy---I thought lilacs liked cold winters. They bloom like crazy in states like Iowa, Ohio,Montana, Wisconsin(?) Not sure about Wisconsin. But, I think, Rhodys like mild winters. So the early freeze makes sense. The rhodys set their buds in the fall.
My very, very old lilac is making a good show this year for the first time in ages. I am many miles south of you, though.

I know what you mean about lilacs. I wondered if it was because of the very early freeze we had, when things were still growing . I have one lilac that is blooming okay, but it gets more sun than the others.

What about pruning? They sort of demand annual pruning from all I have read. And don't be gentle. Reading and doing are two different things, though. So make lots of lilac bouquets. The easy way to prune.

The one that is blooming nicely is too tall to reach the flowers. But this blooms every year. The other, older ones, get regular pruning after the bloom.
I counted yesterday and I have 13 hydrangeas that died back to the roots. Two of those may not recover. Blast!

I am sorry for your loss, Pixiedish. It's hard to lose any plants you love.

I'm hearing this and seeing this all over the area. And, interestingly, the Peonies seem to be doing MUCH better (more growth, more blooms) this year!

I was wondering if any PNW people have a Crape Myrtle Tree? If so has it leafed out? Mine has not. I think one more is history.
I have had this tree for years too. Only boomed once, two summers ago. I bought it for the cool bark.

All my lavenders bit it this year - no growth on any of them. And the curry plant. And the santolina. Still counting casualties.

On a optimistic note, I did put in a real nice hebe this year despite all the woes of those who have lost them. This one is a purplish one, hopefully will be more than an annual...

I have 6 very young crape myrtles (2 years old, only about 3 feet tall and wide). They are putting on decent growth on the base, and about half of the branches also have buds. Overall, they probably suffered quite a bit, and I think 1 of the 6 is completely gone (conveniently this was one I was going to move anyway---so if any had to die, I'm glad it was this one.) I'm having a hard time getting them established. They didn't do much for me last year. And they take forever to get leaves around here. (Still just buds on the established branches, so they are not very attractive right now). My neighbor has a fairly large one, however, and it is coming back fine. Hot summers his blooms beautifully in August. Last summer it didn't bloom much, and probably won't this summer either. They need hot, hot weather. After seeing the gigantic crape myrtles in Texas, I realized how puny ours our. I'll give them another couple of years before deciding to make a change or not.

I did not suffer any spanish lavendar losses. Mine are blooming and huge right now (posted pic on "picture thread" thread.) Unfortunately, my 2 year old was entranced with the bees yesterday---I couldn't keep him away from the lavendar. Every time I turned my back, he was deeply embedded in it again and trying to catch the bees with his bare hands. He ended up with 3 bee stings. They looked like honey bees---their stings must not hurt very much compared to a yellow jacket----as he only cried for about 30 seconds with each sting. And I guess he is not allergic. Hopefully the early exposure will not cause his immune system to develop an allergy to them later in life.

Last year of La Nina for a while, I hope! So we can get back to zone 8 gardening, instead of becoming zone 6's!