....setting the record straight. Some macrophyllas "DO" bloom on new wood. Boy, have I been living in my own fairy land for too long!! But, to be fair...most do bloom on old wood. I am proud to say that I have blooms for the first time in two year's - on new wood!!
Hydrangeas.....
That's exciting to know, thanks for the info! Tracy (hope mine will bloom this year.)
Mags I wish you could have seen some we saw on our trip. Roz has some beautiful ones I took some pictures but they don't begin to show the true color. And Cala's friend Ruby had one of the darkest purple I have ever seen. They where everywhere and the color so vidid.
Mine are getting way too big, with all the rain we've had this year, they are just bending over and too many pretty blooms are laying on the ground. Old wood or not, I think I must cut them all back severely after they finish blooming this year. I may be cutting off a lot of next years blooms, but they will just have to go or start breaking from the weight.
LOL They do bloom on new wood. In fact I was suprised to hear they ever bloom on old wood since we always cut them to a couple inches above the ground after the first heavy frost and therefor never have old wood for them to bloom on!
ooohhhh nooo azalea can't you put a little mini fence under them to hold the wait? I've seen that done here with peonies. I don't know if it'll work for you or not just that i'd mention it. Hate the thought of you losing next years blooms. LOl Tracy
I know some bloom on new wood and some only on old wood, I swear I can't seem to tell the diference on mine, seems like they bloom on both!! I just have the old fashioned Mopheads. This pic was last year, now it is much bigger and litterally falling over - not a pretty sight!
Azalea, we have one just like that and it has bloomed for a long time. Now flopping over. I think they are so pretty I probably won't touch it.
Zany it must be your lovely climate!! I honestly think mine are going to bloom because of all the rain, the plant food and below average temps. I wouldn't dare cut them back each year, unless the canes had completely withered. Azalea, it's a shame to have to see them like that but what can you do!! Rain, rain go away, come again another.....year!!! :-) Peggy I wonder if you can find out the name of the purple one that Ruby has - I've been wanting something like this for a long time.
See what Michael Dirr had to say in this link and scroll down to the second paragraph about 'Endless Summer'.
http://www.mcdonaldgardencenter.com/outdoor.htm
Then another testament from a nursery grower...
Bigleafs (macrophyllas) are the most diverse and colorful group and perform best planted away from the heat of midday. Flowers are produced on old wood so prune carefully in early spring by removing last years blooms just below the flower head. Because buds are set in the fall, flowering may be eliminated if there is an untimely freeze. Alan Summers of Carroll Gardens in Westminster, MD reports that a new cultivar H. macrophylla ‘Endless Summer’ may be a break through plant in this group because it blooms on both old and new wood. Also noted for its winter hardiness, ‘Endless Summer’ produces big, showy 8-inch flower heads of pink or blue (depending on pH levels) throughout the summer and grows 3 to 5 feet high and wide. While ‘Endless Summer’ will not be widely available until 2004, Summers reports that a pre-release is scheduled—a select group of nurseries including Carroll Gardens will offer a limited quantity available in the fall of 2003.
One more.....
http://www.conweb.com/hydrangea/pruning.shtml
Tracy-are you having trouble getting yours to bloom too? This is the 3rd year for mine and I don't think I'm gonna get blooms again! I'm about ready to move it. Whats the best spot for the Blue Nikko, anyone? I'm 5b. It's only gotten to about 2ft. tall and wide and it's the biggest it's been of all 3 years. Does it take several years to bloom??? :(
langbr - just reread my post, i should've said next year not this year as i just got it this year and it's bare root so there's no way in that it'll bloom this year. yours is much better looking than mine is at the moment it just got it's first new growth a few days ago, until then still looked like a pot with collection of twigs stuck in it. Do you mulch yours over the top of the bush each fall? I read somewhere that in our zones you need to do that if you don't plant in a pot so you can move it into a garage or something in the winter. LOL Tracy (my hydrangea's the big pot with twigs in it, i'll have to take another pic cause it now has some new growth so it doesn't look quite as dead)
Tracy-no I haven't mulched over the bush before. I need to talk to my aunt as she has a HUGE bush that is just lovely. I need to find out what she's doing. I'm kind of worried I've got mine in too much sun. I hate to move it as I've made this my "acid-loving" bed with the azaleas I'm collecting. My plan was to add hydrangeas but wanted to get one going to make sure all was good before I added more. After the 1st full season and no blooms I started reading up and discovered mine bloomed on old wood and I had cut it back to the ground in the fall. That was a disaster. I'm not sure I can get it to bloom as it dies back every year, but I see tons of people in this area with gorgeous blooms right now. So I guess I need to be mulching. Anything's worth a try at this point.
Hi Everybody,
I bought 2 Nikko Blues and 1 Sister Theresa about a month ago and they've been sitting on my porch because it won't stop raining here :) I plan to put them in my back yard but it is shaded over by a gigantic water oak. Will they do OK there? The tree's canopy is about 15-20 feet up but I live in the city and there are two story houses on either side of me. Will they bloom in that much shade?
Another question, the hydrangea that the nursery called Sister Theresa is a lacecap (it had buds but no blooms when I bought it) and all the pictures I've seen of Sister Theresa were mopheads. Was my plant mislabled?
Hi Zuluqueen definitely a mophead and not a lacecap. I would phone the nursery for some answers to this mix-up which happens all too often. I would have said that the tree's canopy would have been an ideal spot but it seems that the area doesn't get any sun at all and that wouldn't be favourable. I grow mine facing East and morning sun. Another thing is that these shrubs need ample amounts of water and competing with roots of trees would deprive it of moisture I would imagine. Could you plant just outside the canopy of the tree and would the shrubs then receive any sunlight??
Here are some very interesting facts regarding hardiness and flowering and note that the trials were conducted in zone 7a.
http://fletcher.ces.state.nc.us/staff/rbir/hysurvival.html
Like Zany, I was surprised to here that they don't bloom on
new wood. I've had Nikko's for more than 20 years here in zone 5. They bloom on new wood every year. Some years there are a lot of blossoms other years, just a couple. I don't do anything to them except cut out the dead canes in the spring when the new growth is a few inches tall. Last year they were loaded, but this year the buds are sparse. The ones that get a eastern exposure do the best for me. They start blooming the first of July and look glorious for more than a month. It's one of my favorite plants.
I planted four all summer beauties the north side of my house last spring. They are loaded with blossoms, again on new wood. From the looks of it, they are going to be taller than the nikko's. I hope they are as full.
Branka - there's hope for me yet. I see you're 5a so maybe I just should leave it alone another year. Mine is planted in my front border which is on the North. It goods sun in the morning, but is heavily shaded in the afternoon by the house. You mentioned blooms in early July so I'll just see if I don't develop some blooms in the next couple of weeks. Branka, do you mulch yours over as hilliebillibo mentioned? I really WANT this thing to bloom!
Zuluqueen,
I have a Niko Blue in a large tub under the oaks. It gets only filtered light in the morning and the early afternoon. Full shade after that. It was loaded with blooms the last two weeks of May, first two weeks of June.
The constant rain and occasional wind we have been suffering has beat it up pretty badly, but I see new growth.
Yours will get filtered light under that oak?
Mine is in a tub for two reasons - competing for water with the surrounding oaks would be bad for it in the spring, and that area of the yard tends to hold water, so the hydrangea might be drowned in the summer.
It seems quite happy in it's tub.
Cheri'
I don't mulch mine but there are a lot of leaves that fall off of the oaks and I leave them in the flower beds to help protect the plants and to acidify the soil to keep the flowers coming back blue instead of pink.
Cheri',
I actually do get some filtered sunlight. The area is also moist for most of the year (moss grows on everything) so I may be able to plant things in the ground and water when necessary. You know we're 5' below sea level here so water is not usually hard to come by! I've been thinking of doing a raised bed near the edge of the canopy to help with drainage. I've never done one before but I'd like to give it a shot!
Louisa, I'm glad you told me I'm not crazy in thinking my 'Sister Theresa' should be a mophead. I think I'll go ahead and keep the lacecap for the different texture. My husband actually likes the lacecap better than the mopheads :)
Mary Ann
Branka, thanks so much for posting! Do your leaves actually cover your hydrangea as i read i needed to do? Or just around the bottom for mulch? Very interested.
louisa - I had no idea there were so many different kinds of hydrangea, now i don't know what i have. very confusing I guess i'll have to wait til it blooms to figure it out.
Does anyone know of a really good hydrangea site that gives detailed care instructions by zone?
hillbilliebo, I just realized that you are not that far away from me, maybe 2.5 hours. The leaves only mulch up around the bottom. The canes are left sticking up and are exposed to the elements.
The good news: The sun finally came out yesterday and I realized that I do get a decent amount of sunlight through my big oak tree. I'm going to go ahead and try the hydrangeas there near the edge of the canopy. I'm assuming I can always move them if I need to?
The bad news: I've been keeping them on my covered front porch and I forgot to water them for a couple of days (90+ degrees even with constant rain) so some of the leaves shriveled and fell off. The blooms that were on the plants sort of shriveled too and didn't get any bigger (about the size of my fist). Do I cut those off? All of the plants have a good bit of new growth. Will I get anymore blooms this season? Help!
Oh,Louis thanks! That 2nd link is what I needed and from Kansas too! Guess I'll be moving it to a more protected environment or covering for winter.
Branka-I have to think that your macrophylla are well protected from the winters...is that correct? I saw a photo you posted in the plant dbase and it looked like they were up against the foundation....do they have southern exposure?
ZQ - just snap off the dead blooms at their necks. You should still see a show.
WAter them well and see if they plump back up first. What doesn't plump up can be removed. hydra =water and they do best when the soil is kept on the damp side.
I've been checking them and watering carefully since my goof and they're getting lots of new leaves but no buds yet. They appear to be well on the road to recovery. I'm just hoping for more blooms. Patience is indeed a virtue.
Thanks for the help!
Mary Ann
branka - 2 1/2 hrs? thats not very far at all are you going to the kyru in sept? - louissa the sites that you gave seem to suggest that what i read about covering the entire hydrangea bush in this area may be correct? Or did I understand that wrong? Also, if this is suggested in this area Branka's hydrangea seems to not need this treatment? I'm really confused now. But as mine is in a pot I may just keep it in our sunroom this winter or the garage where it won't get too cold. love the sites, but the hydrangea i got was supposed to have white, blue, and pink blooms how can that happen if the alkaline level in the soil determines the bloom color? I guess I'll have to wait and see what happens.
In my zone, 7a - we had an unusually cold winter and belated spring with many late frosts and this did kill the emerging new growth. The suggestion that they are hardy to zone 6 is probably correct but not a hard and fast rule, so protection with burlap seems a good idea if the winter and spring months are colder than is the norm. As for your shrub and it's colouration. Some of them do indeed change hues, but not the basic colour. For instance, mine start out white and green, then turn to a purple shade, then blue and as the season ends, a dusky mauve. Well, that's what they did near our last home near the sea - I have yet to see them bloom properly here but they are coming along now.