My hydrangeas are looking real healthy, here is a picture of the Annabelle that is loaded with buds this year.
Hydrangea Lovers Chapter 2
the leaves of the Annabelle vs. the "white" are definitely different. Yours are beautiful.
Right, your leaves of the white one looks like the leaves of the nikko blue. Like I said, never knew there was a white hydrangea like that.
It wont be long now, my hydrangeas are getting ready to pop. I'll get some pictures today sometime. I think they are a little further behind then last year due to the cool spring we had. I planted my Forever and Ever hydrangea yesterday. They always seem so much bigger in the pots, put it in the ground and thought, hmmmm THATS IT? :)
Heres Miss Anabelle...
Heres a pink one that was so beautifully mixed with blue last year. Only one budded out enough to see its color and its blue.
oops. pic didn't work.
And the Nikko Blue one that is budding out is showing pink. LOL
Your Annabell Looks stunning .
hi kathys999
how in the world do yo get them looking so beautifull.i have one that i can,t get it to do nothing,ive moved it a few times, but the leaves has looks like burnt places on them, i bought the stuff at walmart they said to plant it in but still the same,can you give me some advice on what to do
These are "Forever Pink" but my soil is acid so they are various shades. Jenny
This was just a cutting last year. It's a lacecap called Veitchii. Jenny
I "think" I have 'Forever Pink'. How tall does yours get?
John
Not as tall as my other hydrangeas. I guess maybe three and a half feet tall. I like them cause they won't take over. Do you have any other kinds? Jenny
I bought the Blue Nikko last year but, it withered away in the heat and died. And, the variegated somethin or other but, it isn't blooming or variegated this year (?)! I am not giving up on hydrangeas though. :-)
John
John, hydrangeas are fairly easy if you give them dappled sunlight (they can't take our Texas sun) or only morning sun and water. They like plenty of water but not standing in it. I keep mine mulched with pine straw and bark. I can root you some and send later on if you want to try again. The rewards are fantastic with hydrangeas because the blooms last so long. Jenny
I learned last year that mulch and plenty of deep watering are key for establishing hydrangeas. Is it too late to start cuttings this year?
John
No, it isn't too late as long as you keep them watered. I can go ahead and start a few for you. Jenny
I would be grateful!! :-))
John
sh1025, You say you can root hydrangeas from cuttings. I have a nikko blue I'd like to do this with. Do I just take greenwood cuttings and root them in water? I'd love to do it!
http://www.hydrangeaselect.com/care_and_maintenance.html
Pollyanna, go to this site and you can find out more than you ever wanted to know about rooting cuttings. Most of the time I just cut off a piece, strip off most of the leaves, dip in rooting hormone and stick in a damp flower bed. About 75 percent of the time they work. Jenny
My hydrangeas never bloom. They came from leftovers from mothers day, my parents used to own a flower shop... anyway they went from pot to ground and I never gave them much thought after that. I am wondering if i even have them in the right situation. They are on the North side of my house right up against the founndation. I have always had leaves that are quite normal looking but thats it. any advice would be appriciated. This is only one of three.
sh1025 Thanks for the hyperlink. Great information, but I'd kind of like to make a substitution for the perlite and peat moss starting mix. I use a potting mix called "Pro Mix" for starting all my seeds and new plants. Do you think I could start my cuttings in this instead of perlite and peat moss. I don't drive and this is what I have on hand right now. I buy a 3 cu. bag of this stuff each spring and you have to mix it with water to reconstitute it into potting soil. It has been better than any potting soil than I've ever bought so far. In fact, the feed store I get it from says the tobacco farmers use it to start their tobacco plants. I'd appreciate your input.
Another question, too. If I read it right, it says to cut the top leaves in half. If I'm interpreting it right, it means cutting half of the leaf right off, doesn't it? Thanks,
Jan
Jan, I'm sure your mix will be fine. This is another site that will show pictures so you can see exactly what they will look like. This is my favorite site for good info. Jenny
http://nantuckethydrangea.com/propagation.html
Jenny, This was the greatest website you sent me to! A picture is worth $l,000 words. I can't wait to get outside and start clipping. I'll have to wait until tomorrow morning when I don't have the grandkids to watch, but I have the sand, of all things. I had sand I had sifted to put over the soil of amaranthus seedlings to prevent damping off and I had lots left over, so I can add it to the potting soil to substitue it for the perlite. What luck! Now I'll get enough starts to end up with a future hedge of blue hydrangeas. Thank's so much for you help. Jan
Many times the Hydrangeas you receive for Mother's Day etc. are not bud hardy where you are so that is the reason for no bloom Scooby. Get Endless Summer or Penny Mac which bloom on new wood.
Scooby, I'm with Levilyla on your problem. You are much farther north and you probably are getting the buds nipped since many of the hydrangeas bloom on the previous year's growth. Even here in zone 8 my Teller Blue gets nipped at times. You might try relocating the hydrangeas to a more protected spot and mulch heavily with pine straw, or similar material. You might have to cover with something before a freeze. I have an Annabelle that is 3 years old and hasn't bloomed for me and I believe it is because it likes colder weather. You will just have to find a type that is suited for your climate. You might try those that L. recommended, Annabelle, Tardiva, Limelight, any of the paniculatas, oakleafs, the serratas such as Blue Billow or Beni-gaku would also work for you. Hope this helps you a little. Jenny
Scooby.. thats exactly where I have my hydrangeas, on the north side of the house, up against the foundation. I made my bed by tilling up the pretty much clay dirt and then tilling in compost with it. I then piled more compost on top and planted them, used landscape fabric on them, then mulch on top.
I RARELY have to water those bushes, the landscape fabric keeps the moisture in. I know its a nuisance to work with and can get ugly, but things can get readjusted with more mulch on top. I would say your hydrangeas are freezing the buds off. I can't tell by your picture how tall they are. But in the fall, you can put something over them and fill it with leaves to protect it. When mine were smaller, I used those 2 gallon black nursery pots after I cut the bottom out of it. I just put it over it and filled it with leaves. The are too tall to do that with now, so I pile leaves up around them and use wire fencing.
Starfly... your hydrangea looks healthy, all I can see in the picture is that it looks like something is eating on it a little bit, which happens and wouldn't cause you not to get blooms. Does it get plenty of water all the time? Does it constantly wilt down until the next watering? How much sun is it getting?
Your in a way hotter zone than me so this is what i would guess, the heat is stressing it.
sh1025.. very pretty! I love the varies colors you have on that bush, what an eye catcher!
John.. I read after bloom time is the best for cuttings. So about July or so. If you can get your bush to layer it really makes a BIG bush the next year. I had one to a natural layering and I severed it in the fall and tranplated it... its over 2.5 feet tall.
Kathy
kathys999, everyday it looks like it has melded down, i water it every morning real good,we have been getting a lot of rain here for the last couple of weeks,so its looking a little better,im afraid he gets lots of sun, should i move it ,it has all the afternoon sun,and now its getting up into the 90
Oh yeah starfly, I'd move it to afternoon shade. When a bush shows stress everyday, its no way it can be healthy enough at any given time to do what its suppose to do. I had that exact same problem with hydrangeas before I found the right spot and put landscape fabric around it, then mulch on top. It made a WORLD of differernce for me. If you have some fabric, just cut you a good size piece, (spread it at least 2 foot out from the bush, all the way around) and then throw some mulch over it. That mulch and fabric just helps so much in retaining the moisture in the ground. And hydrageas are water hogs. :)
kathy, I'm going to try the landscape fabric too. I have plenty but never thought about that to use on my hydrangeas. I will use it on a few that aren't big yet and I'm having to water everyday. Thanks, Jenny
Your welome Jenny, I am by no means a hydrangea expert. I just flunked a few times by putting the hydrangeas in the wrong spot, wore myself out watering them, (and they were constantly wilted down at the end of the evening) The last one I planted I said, ONE MORE and I'm gonna call it quits. Thats when it thrived up against the house and I went back and bought more. Once you get them in the right area, they are really carefree and so abundant with blooms.
Mine should have enough blooms for some pictures this weekend. :)
I do have most of mine against the house. The largest are on the north side and I don't water but turn on the soaker hose once a week. Those that are planted out and under trees need watering more often but then they are much smaller. I have one whole bed of hydrangeas on my western side but the evening sun is almost totally blocked by a huge oak tree that is probably a hundred years old. These I just planted last year as cuttings which I ordered from Frank at Nantucket Hydrangeas. I keep a soaker hose going most of the time since that side is so dry. They are thriving and most bloomed this year. To me hydrangeas are the most trouble free and easiest perennials to grow and they are so lovely with long lasting blooms. I don't mind watering to get them going. Hopefully next year those on the western side will have developed a better root system and I can just turn on the soaker hose once or twice a week. Jenny
sh1025 I have 20 of these babies started. About 18 or 19 are doing really well and it's been 5 days now. Why so many, I have no idea! One or 2 seem to been struggling a little. Who knows why. I treated them all the same. I ended up bringing them inside to air-condition them all and play music to them. If they live how long will it take to get big enough to plant outside (and give some away, of course)?
Pollyanna, I am no expert, but in my area all my cuttings are outside all the time (zone 8). In the winter I just pull up pine straw to protect them. Next year you should have a bud or two since most bloom on old wood. It takes about 3 years to get a really big bush. Jenny
sh1025 Thanks for your help. I've never done hydrangea cuttings before and I've always wanted another. I didn't know they were so easy. Gotta ask another question. I've never cut those canes off that are sticking up the next spring because they have leaves at the base of them. They look really ugly but the new ones hide them and make my only bush look really full. It's crowded now. I guess that means I should have been cutting them off, huh? If so, how do I do this? In the spring, or in the fall, and how low to the ground? Thanks, Jan
All the rest of you reading this, don't laugh. If you don't know, you have to ask, so quit laughing already. (At least I knew about the pine straw and lots of water.) :o)
I bought a Forever and Ever hydrangea from Lowes and planted it a couple weeks ago. It died. I don't feel it was anything I did. I was really surprised when I took it out of the pot and found only about 2 inches worth of roots. I didn't have alot of hope for it, but made sure I gave it extra care.. she curled up and died anyway. I called Lowes, (of course I don't have the reciept) and they told me that they exchange for credit or another hydrangea without a receipt. I could only get my money back if I had a receipt. Which is fine and dandy with me, just want another hydrangea.
Pollyanna, a general rule of thumb is the farther down you prune a hydrangea macrophylla the less flowers will form the following year. (the exceptions to this are the Endless Summer, Penny Mac, and All Summer Beauty. Those will flower off new or old wood. These plants you only need to worry about keeping them hydrated and they will always flower each year. It is up to you whether you want to cut them. If your bush is really full and they aren't adding to it I would go ahead and cut them out so new ones will form and will have buds for next year. Hope this helps. Jenny
That helps a lot. I guess I can prune the bush back to where I see new growth. I have broken them with my fingers before where they seem dead and brittle, so I'll prune them to that point and feel safe there. Thanks a lot, Jenny.
Heres a picture of my annabelle now, shes a little scraggly, guess I should have trimmed her up a bit but I don't like to mess too much with these hydrangeas because they make me so happy just being themselves.
