I seem to remember that leaves normally grow back on the branches. This year, the leaves seem to be coming back from the base/roots. I assume that is due to the harsher winter. Does this mean I should not expect blooms this year (the buds are set the year before, right)?
If this is a hydrangea that blooms on old wood then yes, join the club. You will probably not see blooms until Spring 2014. Some exceptions are due to weather that tricks new stems to bloom in autumn when the summer temps go down. Others are due to dried out looking stems that actually are still green and have buds still capable of blooming. Most flower buds are located at the end of the stems but some may be further down, perhaps in areas that are still green.
If this is a hydrangea that blooms on old and new wood then you will get flowers in late June to July.
If this is a hydrangea that blooms on new wood, you will get blooms at the usual times, normally somewhere between June thru August.
Thank you for that very detailed and helpful explanation! I did not know some hydrangeas bloom on new wood. It looks like my variety is listed for both old and new, so there is some hope for this year. :) I get the impression I am not the only one whose hydrangea is growing from the roots this year. I will miss seeing so many blooms this year in my city. :(
Thank you!
Same here. Some pulled through so well while others do look so terrible with mostly just growth from the base and not much (if any) elsewhere.
Oakleafs did very well here. Macrophyllas in protected locations did "ok"; those not in protected locations just have growth from the base. How did your paniculatas do, pirl?
Very well, Luis. The mopheads had the most problems.
Beni Gaku, always so reliable in the past, really looks so sad. Now two days of summer heat in May isn't helping.
My hydrangeas are looking sad too. The new growth from the roots is fine, but the leaf and flower buds from last year appear to be in very poor condition and I doubt they will open.
Same here.
Awwww That is sad that it happened to so many. I am thinking I will trim my branches....they are dry and brittle, so they must be dead. The good news is my mom has the same variety, and she does have a bud that I think is on new wood. Weird thing is that hers is newer. Hers was partially protected by a deck, though.
Once you make the first cut of the "dead" wood you just might find it's green and not dead at all, just slow to recover.
Thank you Arlene , I will delay longer before I start making any cuts.
Barbara
You just might want to try a test and cut one branch to see if it's green inside or not.
Thanks, all. I have broken a few off....and they have all been dry, gray/brown, and brittle. :(
Not good news. Sometimes it is good to be able to cut them back to good wood and this year it may be that some get cut back totally to the new green growth.
I agree. I figure I will only cut a few inches at a time, in case I do hit some green sections. Thanks for the help. :)
Sounds like an excellent way to approach it.
I pruned one in 1" increments. It was one of my macs and found green so I decided to stop and leave the hydrangea stems alone and see if the plant decides to leaf later. Will recheck by the end of the month.
I tried with Shooting Star - no stems showed any green so I cut them all back. It seems to be a touchy plant from what my California DG buddy told me and from my own experience.
In the meantime - most are looking so pathetic!
My old Mini Penny wood was very much dead, so I pruned it all back. However, I found one bud on new wood! :):):):)
Great!
Lucky you, Carolinaflower8. New wood is still not showing flower buds here. Only selected Macs in some protected areas are showing bloomage. All oakleafs are now officially blooming. Dead looking stems with green are not leafing out either so they better hurry as the end of the month is fast approaching.
I have gotten a few small flowers on my old wood by waiting a long time before cutting down the old wood and one large beautiful bloom that I think also came from old wood. I see no signs of flower buds on any new wood yet (these are reblooming hydrangeas). Anyone else seeing flower buds on the new wood yet? I have 2 endless simmer plants and 1 forever and ever plant
Rebloomers produce blooms starting around June in the South but in July up North. Similar to paniculatas; they only bloom on new wood but, for example, my Limelight started blooming late June and those up North will do so mid July or so..
Thanks, Luis.
I will keep faith and wait patiently (or perhaps impatiently). I will be so happy if I see the signs that the newest set of leaves are the start of a flower, rather than producing another set of leaves.
I will let you know.
Barbara
Well, I had a mix of results. The dead-loking stems that had green and which were on unnamed macrophyllas did not leaf out so I pruned them at the base. However, some of the dead looking stems with green leaf out and bloomed in Mme. Emile Moulliere, a white macrophylla. It has impressed me a lot. I can almost count on it to bloom, albeit a smaller number of blooms.
I will keep waiting and let you know if I get blooms on the new wood. I may also have a problem with a bit too much shade.
Well, it is now July 29th , and not a sign of a bud on the new growth of my 3 reblooming hydrangeas (Forever and Ever 'Together'' and two Endless Summer plants, 'Original' and 'Blushing Bride'. It is very discouraging. I may try to give them a good trimming, because I don't think any buds will come at this late point and I don't feel the buds for next year are forming yet.
Did anyone else see blooms from new wood forming on their reblooming hydrangeas yet?
I do hope some had more luck than I did in 2014 with these plants.
Best wishes to all!
Barbara
Barbara - I don't have the hydrangeas you have and many of mine did not flower or didn't do well this year but this one is so splendid that it makes up (a little) for all I missed. There is a second chair to the right but it's totally hidden by the immense size of Blue Bird/Teller's Blue.
In the second photo you can see the second chair and you can also spot the hydrangea in the background with the worst performance of the year. The greenery is just now getting to amount to something.
That one is gorgeous indeed , a beautiful lace cap hydrangea. The picture of the next hydrangea, of course, is not so pretty - just sticks. I guess there is new growth coming up from the ground, but I can't really see it in the picture. I have just one old fashioned large hydrangea, which I cut down a good bit July 2, so I think it will bloom normally next year. I do not think the next year blooms form before that date.
Let's look forward to a better year for hydrangeas in 2015.
Do you have a very large piece of land? We have just a quarter acre.
Barbara
Even when using Preview we can no longer post photos until the latest glitch gets fixed so I can not show you a close up of the pathetic hydrangea but most others have rebounded and every paniculata has performed well, as always. I am trying the photo again.
Next year has to be better!
Just half an acre but it feels larger with every passing year! Previously we each had quarter acre plots in Hicksville and Rockville Centre.
It just is not easy to eliminate plants and gardens to make it easier as we age.
Hurray! It worked.
Now I can see the new growth coming up. Are the brown sticks part of that hydrangea or are they branches of a taller plant that flowers above the top of the picture?
I only got the gardening bug at age 72 . That's why I call myself' 'hope to learn'. I am a late starter. I just turned 80 this year so I'm not exactly a youngster. We have lived in Greenlawn 60 years this July.
I haven't cut my 3 rebloomers yet, but I think it may be senseless to wait much longer. It seems very doubtful they will start budding this late, but then again, who knows?
Oops! Make that 55 not 60 years in Greenlawn this year. We were married 60 years in October of 2013. Okay, that's straight now.
Barbara
I cut most of my brown stems back in May so I'd say you would be safe to cut yours at this late date. There is always next year....
At least the paniculatas are looking great now. Here is a small hedge of them at Rock City two weeks ago.
Barbara - you're doing well for someone new to gardening. Wow! That's a nice long marriage! I agree with hcmcdole and would cut back any brown stems back. I was pleasantly surprised to see so many did grow and I did get some blooms.
In the photo you referred to, the sticks are the one hydrangea that was most resistant to put on a lot of new growth so those sticks belong to the hydrangea below it. I'll try and get a better photo tomorrow.
I have cut all the old growth back. I was debating cutting the new growth back to control the size of the reblooming plants. I don't think I will get new flowers on the new growth either since I see no signs of buds yet. Was just wondering if they are being delayed a full month too so that buds might actually show up in August.
You are a very prompt responder to messages. Thanks!
I'm sure you did the right thing by cutting them back. It's doubtful that you'd get any (or many) August blooms.
If you don't have any paniculata hydrangeas now is the time to go looking. They're in full bloom and so lovely.
1. Limelight
2. Tardiva (about 15' tall now, after many years - treelike)
3. Pink Diamond (I've yet to see any pink!)
4. Quick Fire (definitely pink!)
I have cut all the old growth back. I was debating cutting the new growth back to control the size of the reblooming plants. I don't think I will get new flowers on the new growth either since I see no signs of buds yet. Was just wondering if they are being delayed a full month too so that buds might actually show up in August.
That is a very pretty picture of the Paniculata - so full of blossoms while staying quite low in height
Don't cut your new growth back as this may (or probably will) affect your blooms for next year. August starts tomorrow...
You might not get any blooms this year. I've got Endless Summer, Blushing Bride, Twist-n-Shout, Penny Mac, and a few more "re-bloomers" but they are done as far as I can tell.
Get a variety of hydrangeas so you won't be totally disappointed in the future. Oakleaf, Paniculata, Arborescens (Annabelle, Incrediball, etc.), and a cool one is Involucrata (Blue Bunny). My Blue Bunny is in its second summer and about to bloom again (not heavy bloomer but cool blooms nonetheless).
Here are a few hydrangeas from this morning. Snowflake (over but still lovely), Vanilla Strawberry, Limelight, Pinky Winky, and Phantom
Here is Blue Bunny from last year.
