I've three small oak leaf hydrangeas (don't recall the cultivar name at the moment) - planted near a large cedar and some pines...well mulched. The rabbits enjoyed them last winter. I would love to have some blooms this year and am wondering if I need to provide an acid fertilizer now that I have some decent leaf growth ? Thanks.
Catherine
Edited: Looked in my file and see that these are Michael Dirr selections: "Alice"
This message was edited Jul 17, 2006 10:48 AM
Oak Leaf Hydrangea
Catherine,
I would provide them with compost, not a chemical fertilizer. They're a woodland shrub, and don't respond well to chemicals. How long have they been in the ground and how big are they? How much moisture are they getting? I have several groupings of oakleaf hydrangea and the ones that are is moist soil with compost topdressed twice a year are the heaviest bloomers.
'Alice' is a beautiful cultivar, I have 5 of them and enjoy them all 4 seasons.
thanks Starina for your reply - we had a terrible drought last year so these suffered. Their site is partial shade with adequate moisture. I researched a bit and realize now they bloom on old wood so the rabbit damage over the winter will mean no blooms again this year. But I will use some manure compost and devise some sort of cage for winter protection...blooms next year hopefully.
Ahh rabbits! They were not bad here this year, however two years ago they did so much 'pruning' I was threatening to start hunting, lol.
Well, maybe a year off from blooming will allow a larger root system to develop for a really spectacular show next year. I have caged things in chicken wire to protect them. Not very pretty but effective.
We have rabbits, groundhogs, voles and assorted critters to spare (don't get me started on the raccoons that lurk by my chicken coop).
I think I'll rig up some kind of chicken wire for these hydrangeas too - am determined to get those beautiful blooms.
Catherine