My hydrangea's aren't blooming, nor do they seem to be producing any buds. Is this because I pruned them back (quite a bit I'm afraid) in Feb? Should I have pruned them like in the fall instead? The bushes look wonderful - very green and massive - but no flowers.....any ideas?
Hydrangea Not Blooming
If they are the regular mopheads, you probably did cut off the flowerbuds. Those hydrangeas like to bloom on old wood. You may get some blooms later on in the summer, though. Good luck!
Mine has only a few blooms this year . . . Mother Nature pruned it with a small storm last fall. =(
The upside is the bush is getting much fuller (this is only it's 3rd year), so if nothing bad happens, I'll have lots of blooms next year. That's what I keep telling myself, anyway.
Cheri'
I have an Ayesha that took 3 years to bloom. I told it last year if it didn't bloom, consider itself compost, Missy. You wouldn't believe the gorgous blooms last year. lol
what do you fertilize them with and how often?
mbock - on macrophylla if you need to prune you need to do so immediately after flowering as it will begin to set buds for the next year's blooms. So don't wait too long this fall to prune; probably should do it in late summer.
Thanks to everyone for all the good feedback. I'll be sure to only lightly prune this year - and to do it in late summer! It's the reqular mophead variety and I fertilize it with Schultz Expert Flower food - I think it's 10-60-10...but I may be remembering wrong. It's been beautiful until this year! One question to anyone that can answer it - what does "setting buds" mean? I looked this weekend in all my books and can't find anything about it really? Just curious.....
Thanks again for all the advice and help!
I have a question about Hydrangeas as well. I have two that have jet to bloom. One I believe is not getting enough sun so I plan on moving it in the fall. The other gets plenty of sun. I have not been pruning them since i don't know if I have the ones that bloom on last years wood.
I did get a pathetic looking bloom last year on the sunny one. If I'm not mistaken, it bloomed on new growth. Can I assume from that that it doesn't bloom on old growth? When I did go to cut back the sticks last week, they are slightly green inside - so I stopped. I have put some fertilizer for Hydrangeas, camelia, etc around it - about 6 wks ago.
HELP!
Thanks!
I'm going to a seminar on hydrangeas this Saturday. If I learn anything useful to these questions, I'll get back and post.
I had my hydrangea about 4 years and it finally bloomed this year. It is in mostly shade.
Darius, where is this seminar? I got laid off today so my last day at work is Friday...
Betty, it's at the Hayesville Library. If you want to make the 1-2/2 hour trip, let me know and we can get together.
Sorry to hear you got laid off... almost inevitable at our age.
This message was edited Jun 9, 2004 8:22 PM
Well, it looks like I may get unemployment for 26 weeks or possibly more if congress o.k.s an extension. I will start Social Security next June.
I don't think I can get that far in the morning to get there in time (these things usually start early), but thanks. Can I pick your brain later?
Betty, it's at 2:00 Saturday.
GardenGirl, Hydrangeas love plenty of water (but well drained), morning sun or dappled sunlight, and like to be mulched with an acid type mulch such as pine straw or oak leaves. I just use the Sam's Choice fertilizer for acid loving plants (like miracle gro). Best time to prune is late summer right after you've enjoyed the bloom. You may have varieties that are too tender for your region. You might have to move them to a more protected area. Hope this helps you.
I am anxiously waiting to learn what Darius finds out from the seminar. Maybe she can give more info on the subject. Jenny
This message was edited Jun 10, 2004 8:55 AM
Thanks Jenny. I think the variety is OK in this region because it's survivied temps in the teens. It does get afternoon sun - although not direct since it is next to a fence and under the neighbor's tree branch. I just mulched it yesterday, but used hardwood mulch vs. pine. I will get some pine mulch and spread that around it.
I have another that only gets morning sun and it has never bloomed. I will try spreading some pine mulch around that one too. Thanks again!
When they say setting buds - it is in reference to the buds for next summer's blooms. Once they lose this years blooms, the buds for next years blooms are already set - so pruning them after that will only ensure they will not bloom there next year. It was also suggested to me at a local nursery that I use a 10-10-10 or 8-8-8 fertlizer on them twice a year (spring & late summer).
This message was edited Jun 10, 2004 1:22 PM
Darius, We all want to know anything you can tell us about our big old mopheads (and other varieties!). And thanks, gizzmo93 for the info about setting buds! I'll definitely not prune them back much this year at all - and I'll do it at the right time. All this wonderful info - I love it! Thanks again! Marcia
Looks like I'd better tighten my belt and economize on everything so I can't come to Hayesville. But thanks for letting me know about it, darius....
Okay, folks... there was a LOT of information, so I'll condense what seems pertinent to this thread. Our speaker was a Master Gardener specializing in Hydrangeas from the Univ. of GA Extension Service in Atlanta so all the timing information is based in Atlanta weather.
One very important thing she said was that hydrangeas do BEST if they get 3-4 hours of morning sun (makes them flower better) and afternoon shade. Those that get afternoon sun will probably wilt and if so, DO NOT water them until maybe 8 in the evening or early the next morning. That gives a chance for the roots to supply ground moisture to the leaves. If they are still wilted in the morning, it means the ground hasn't enough moisture, so water thoroughly.
The common hydrangea (hydrangea macrophylla) which can be either mophead or lacecap, should be pruned after bloom but no later than August 1st in a zone like Atlanta. This is also the only hydrangea that can change color (actually hue) depending on pH and aluminum in the soil. This hydrangea sets buds on last year's wood (in the spring and is subject to bud damage from late frosts) and some may rebloom in the fall.
Oakleaf usually doesn't need pruning but if done, it's best after the blossoms begin to fade.
PeeGee hydrangea (hydrangea paniculata 'Grandiflora') should be pruned in March (again, Atlanta weather) back to 6-12" from the ground. Plant blooms on current year's wood. May be left unpruned.
Smooth hydrangea (hydrangea aborescens 'Annabelle') which is a mophead, should be pruned in March (again, Atlanta weather) back to 6-12" from the ground. Plant blooms on current year's wood.
Climbing hydrangea (hydrangea amola petiolaris) may not need pruning except for shape. By the way, these will not bloom until they have reached the maximum height of their climbing surface, whatever that happens to be.
There is a new hydrangea that the speaker thinks may change what's now available in hydrangeas. The new one called something like Everlasting (sorry, somehow I didn't write down the name) will bloom continuously from spring to fall, rather than being a re-bloomer. She thinks demand for that one will mean nurseries will stop carrying some of the varieties now available.
Edited to say I found the name of the new hydrangea: Endless Summer.
This message was edited Jun 13, 2004 11:25 AM
Darius, thank you so much for the great information. I just found out yesterday that there are 2 differenct Annabelles. One supposedly has much stronger stems than the original. I'd love to find that one because this morning I woke up to see all my huge Annabelle blooms broken by the storm we had last night. This happens every year. :(
pins, our speaker was Michele Browne, and she showed a photo of her own Annabelle growing in a delphinium cage she got at Smith & Hawken.
Darius, Thanks for the info! I bet it was a super class. As I live just a zone up from Atlanta - this really helps me plan my pruning stage. I've also decided to remove some small holly bushes from around the plants - so they have more room to bush out and I won't need to try to keep them trimmed back so much! Very helpful! Thanks again.....Marcia
Thanks Darius. I have the common hydrangea and it's also at the office where I worked. It quit blooming because the new landscaping company that took over the maintenace of the cemetery grounds cut it all down late in the season, thereby cutting down the growth that would bud in the spring. I got them to leave it alone this past fall and it is blooming again this spring...
Darius, thanks so much for sharing the great info. Did the speaker mention anything about fertilizing, etc? Jenny
The only thing she mentioned about fertilizer was specific to when she cuts her Annabelle back in the spring, she adds some Black Cow and some osmocote before mulching. (She lives in the city and composted cow manure or horse manure is not available except in bags.)
Hi, there, I'm new to the Site, but I love hydrangeas and have wonderful luck rooting them. I had an Oakleaf which was about 7 years old and had never bloomed, and this early spring (Feb?) I fed it BloomStart in addition to Osmocote and told it to bloom or be gone and it's really bloomed its head off.
I'm hunting an Endless Summer plant. They seem almost impossible to get at the moment...I did find 3 Penny Macs which I'm told I will love and they are everblooming.
Does anyone have Endless Summer cuttings?
Pat
Pat, the Penny Macs are only re-bloomers, not ever-bloomers. That is, they bloom in spring and then once again in the fall.
Michele talked about them yesterday, and even had photos pf Penny McHenry's (for whom the Penny Mac was named, and the founder of the AHS) garden which is on the Garden Tour this coming weekend in Hotlanta.
Darius, I have an Penny Mac that came from Penny's garden. Mine does bloom all summer long. I just looked and it is in full bloom and has several buds in all stages. The blooms after the first rush are not nearly as full, but it has blooms all summer long.
Also, Penny told me a couple of month's ago that a Mini Penny is about to be released. Can't wait!
There are tons of Endless Summers for sale in Atlanta. I have one but it is too small for cuttings yet. Maybe next spring I should have some.
pins... glad to hear your comments on the Penny Mac. The only thing I had to go on was what Michele had to say yesterday.
patdart, it sounds like your soil is low in phosphates like ours here in the mountains. It took my common mophead hydrangea 4 years to bloom but I gave it more fertilizer and some bone meal this year which may have helped (or it simply matured enough to bloom, lol). However, I will use both the Black Kow and bone meal from here on...
Woodspirit1, gee, it's been years since I did a soil test...maybe I should do it again. Everything else grows great and that thought hadn't occurred to me. Thanks for the idea.
I live on a heavily wooded lot and have a lot of deer, right here in the middle of town!, and discovered this morning that they love sedum Autumn Joy almost as much as they do coneflower! I love to see them, but hate what they do to my hostas, and everything else, but they LOVED the sedum. Bit it all right off at the ground level. I've tried every remedy I've come across and nothing seems to work...
Besides, we're having a lot of rain in the last three weeks, so everything gets washed off. Any brilliance on this?
Pat
I think moth balls help with bunnies; maybe deer?
Hi:
In our PA garden our Hydrangeas never bloom because the deer eat the buds during the winter.
Well, that's a bummer.
Will a forced hydrangea (I got it as a table prize three years ago) ever bloom? Mine has been the ground since I got it and has very healthy leaves but has never bloomed. Last year I didn't prune it at all...before that I did. Any ideas?
I'm going to be very blunt with you. I don't think it will ever bloom for you.
The "Florist's Hydrangeas" that you pick up in the grocery store or florist shops are usually zone 8 or 9 only. I picked up one for 4 dollars once about 6 years ago and put it in the ground. I looked up everything I could find about them and still kept mine, thinking it might bloom. It is about 5 feet tall, and has never bloomed, no matter what the weather has been. In a protected spot too. Don't know why I kept it, but it is coming out this year. Don't waste your time unless you want it for foliage. Go get an "Endless Summer"!