My daughter-in-law gave my wife a beautiful potted hydrangea for her birthday. We tried to transplant it to a shady area but it didn't make it. However, the experience encouraged us to search out and plant a few hydrangeas. Can you tell me if there are any hydranges that are best for beginners? I was told by my daughter-in-law that hydrangeas had to be planted in the shade; at least in our area. Is this true? We know nothing about hydrangeas other than the one potted plant and it was beautiful. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Chuck
Buying and Planting My First Hydrangea
I don't know where Perris is, but assuming it gets hot there in the summer I would plant it somewhere that it gets some morning sun but not afternoon sun because that could fry it. However, make sure it's not in total shade, I had one planted where it got almost no direct sun and it did fine but never bloomed until I moved it. I would also make sure it's planted somewhere that you can easily irrigate it--hydrangeas are definitely not a xeriscape/drought tolerant plant. And I wouldn't plant it directly under a tree if you can help it--I did that once and the plants wilted horribly because the tree was sucking up most of the moisture that was available and not leaving any for the hydrangea. This may not be a problem for people in rainier areas of the country, but here with our dry summers it's better to keep them away from the thirsty trees.
As far as good ones for beginners, I don't know that any are necessarily better than others if you educate yourself on how to care for them, but you may want to get one of the cultivars like 'Endless Summer' that blooms on new wood, that way you don't have to worry about what time of year you prune it because it'll still bloom (most cultivars of H. macrophylla and H. serrata only bloom on old wood, so one of the biggest beginner mistakes is pruning them in the fall which cuts off all the buds so then they don't bloom the next year)
I have one on the north side of my house that used to get no direct sun at all (before I cut down a tree) and it bloomed beautifully. I think light shade is ok.
I have 6 different hydrangea cultivars and I just water and prune and give them a small amt of fertilizer. ( I did include a lot of organic soil ammendments when I planted them.) My only problem is that some of mine get hot afternoon sun and wilt a lot. I'll be moving them this fall.
Have fun!
Sherry
Chuck, I live in San Bernardino, not far from you at all - it gets yucky hot here too! I planted two Lady in Red's that are doing beautifully, in partial shade (probably a wee big more shade than sun). They have been super quick growers and I picked them up this past spring at two different Home Depots. I also have a no-name variegated lace top (in purple), and the foilage is just beautiful on that one too; not a ton of blooms. It's in a front yard border, again partial shade. I planted that one about 5 years ago from a grocery store plant that I never thought would make it, and now I'm constantly cutting it back so it doesn't take over my entire space. Gotta say though, Lady in Red is definitely my favorite.
Dear amarantha00,
I am still keeping the space I have allotted to Hydrangeas open. The space has a little morning sun and then all the rest of the day it has filtered sunlight. I will check Home Depot this spring (2007) for Lady in Red.
Dear ecrane3,
I will be sure to check with DG when I prune the hydrangeas. Thanks for the warning. Sorry I missed your birthday but I wish you a belated Happy Birthday!!
Dear Sherry (firstyard),
Were the soil amendments that you included just the common ones or were they special to hydrangeas? Thanks for the good wishes.
Take care,
Chuck
hello my garden friends. Last year I had ordered four Hydrangeas from Springhill. All died, not sure if it was my fault or theirs. I am expecting replacments from them any day now. I desperately want these to grow. Can I plant them in pots, I have very difficult clay soil, or would they be happier in the ground, I would dig as deep as I could, and add admendments, but are their roots strong enough to fight the clay?
Full shade, is that what I am hearing? How would they do in a carport that is open on two sides?
Any help would be appreciated.
Dayna
dwerland...
I've grown hydrangeas in clay soil, but you have to ammend the heck out of it. I gave mine a hole about 20" diameter and the same deep. Mix the COARSEST ammendement you can find with the soil by about 1/2. (1/2 soil, 1/2 ammendment ) OR you could mix 1/3 soil and 2/3 Azalea Mix....this last combo will give you a better chance of getting them to be blue.
By "coarse" ammendment, I mean something like Bandini Redwood Soil Ammendment. It keeps the soil from clumping together.
I've also planted them in solid peat moss and they did fine.
I don't know how hot it get's in Nipomo, but your location of the carport sounds good. Even where I am, by the ocean, they burn in full sun, so I've moved them three times!
Remember to keep them damp. They like a lot of water.
That Lady in Red sounds like a good one. I'm gonna have to keep my eye out for that one. : )
Amarantha00, do you have a picture of yours blooming?
~Lucy
I would not plant them in full shade--they won't bloom well unless they get some sun, but afternoon sun if you live in a hot climate will be disastrous for them, so I would put them somewhere that they get a bit of sun in the morning but nothing during the heat of the day. Also, I would avoid planting up next to the walls of the house, driveway, etc where you're going to get reflected heat on the plant.
You can plant them in clay soil, I have that here too and I've had no trouble with mine. I don't use amendments, but if you do, I would highly recommend amending a large area of the garden bed around where you're planting the hydrangea, not just the planting hole itself. If you have clay soil and you amend only the planting hole, the plant's roots want to stay in that nice loose amended area and they won't grow out into the soil. This creates two problems--one is that the roots will eventually grow round and round the hole, creating a pot-bound effect, and also since the clay soil around the planting hole doesn't drain very well, it creates a bathtub effect where the plant's roots are sitting in too much water too much of the time because the water drains very slowly out of the planting hole, so you end up killing it by overwatering. What I do with trees and shrubs when I plant them is dig a hole, shake off as much of the nursery container soil as possible, and plant it directly in the hole, backfilling with the native soil that I dug out to make the hole. That way, the roots have no choice but to grow out into the native soil.
As far as containers in the carport...I've found that hydrangeas wilt easily in the summertime, and I have a feeling your summers may be hotter than mine so personally I think they'll be happier if you have a suitable area where you can plant them in the ground. But as long as you're vigilant about the watering and the carport has the right amt of sun (some in the AM, none in the PM) they could do fine there too.
I had to google Dublin, I had no idea where you are. I see you are north of me near the Bay Area. Nipomo is just about dead center on the coast of California. We don't get too hot, 40 minutes north they get triple digits in the summer, but not us. We very rarely hit the 90's maybe a few days during the summer. We pretty much stay in the high 70's low 80's all summer. We also very rarely freeze. I live in paradise! I wouldn't live anywhere else.
Gosh I haven't been to Long Beach in a hundred years. My grandparents used to live in San Pedro and my Grandma and I would take the bus to go shopping over in Long Beach. In fact I think my grandpa is buried there.
Thank you for all the advice, I will use it. I am going to try the azalea soil.
Thanks
Dayna
Sorry...I saw zone 8 and assumed you were farther inland, I thought everything along the coast was zone 9 or 10 so I figured you were in one of the inland valleys where it does get pretty nasty in the summer. I would still make sure it doesn't get too much afternoon sun, but if your summers aren't too bad I think you could pretty easily keep it happy in a pot if you'd rather do that than plant it in the ground.