Our bridal wreath refuses to bloom. We cut back all of the plants--they were quite tall--on the advice of a landscape professional and they have grown back nicely. They appear to have some buds, but barely bloomed last year and so far nothing this year. Bridal wreaths are blooming profusely all over town. Our plants, which we inherited when we bought our home, are on the north side and so do not get a lot of sun. But I have seen local plants in full bloom under maple trees in what appears to be full shade. What is wrong with ours?! Is there anything we can do?
Bridal Wreath
Did they bloom before they were cut back? They do like sun and produce flowers on last years growth.
I also inherited bridal wreath when I bought this house. I think some of it may be as much as 75 years old. Some I renewed by thinning over 3 years, and some I cut back hard two years ago. The second group had little bloom the first year after pruning but has been magnificent since. Overall, both techniques have produced the same results.
Do you have lots of new growth coming up from the base? The oldest canes will bloom the least, and the new vigorous one the most. Also, as Grammyphoeb said, it blooms on old wood, so the new growth the spring after pruning will bloom the NEXT spring.
I have a real love/hate thing with my bridal wreath. It's not a very interesting shrub, IMHO, except for those 10 days or so in spring when it knocks me out with its beauty. I do have fond memories about it from my childhood, so the love part always wins.
Julie
Thank you for your replies. Our bridal wreath did bloom, although not well, before it was cut back. It was not very shapely so at first I tried pruning with little improvement. After it was completely cut back it returned very nicely and has a nice shape. There appear to be buds, but no flowers. I do know that they bloom on the previous year's growth. All except one were cut back year before last, and even the one done last year appears to have buds. They just don't seem to develop. Perhaps it is a lack of sun. Yet two tree peonies right next to them bloomed beautifully. Do you fertilize your bridal wreath in any special way?
I don't feed mine at all, although they are situated in good rich garden soil that is regularly mulched with shredded cedar bark and topdressed with compost every other year or so.
This year, I watched them more closely than I have before, and I noticed that the buds went from teensy to fully opened within 2 or 3 days.
What happens to the buds on yours? Do they all open? Do they dry out and turn brown? Just vanish?
Julie
I've never fertilized mine and I've never done very much pruning. They tend to be kind of an unshapely bush anyway and hard to tame. I do try to keep it so that my husband can get by them with the lawnmower and prune off branches that stick straight up in the air instead of weeping over. I'm not that expienced with solving gardening problems and if you don't find a solution here try a local nursery if you have one - one that actually has people running it who know what they're doing!! As Julie says most of the year they are a shrub that is in the way and not very attractive but WOW when they are in bloom and I'm even allergic to that awful fragrance. I also remember them around my grandmother's house and I thought they were the most beautiful thing I had ever seen when the flowers just spilled over from them!! Keep us informed as to how they are doing.
Hurrah! The Bridal Wreath is finally blooming--a "late bloomer" I guess you could say. The shrubs are not densely covered in flowers, but are making a good showing. I am concluding that not enough sun is the issue. I have been keeping track and think they get no more than a half-day of sun (all my research says "full sun"). The one that was cut back last year is actually flowering the most because the sun hits it first. It faces west and the other three are around the corner of the house facing north. The one on the northeast corner gets some morning sun in addition to some afternoon sun. The one on the northwest corner gets afternoon sun sooner that the one in the middle, which has the fewest blooms. So I am encouraged--better late than never! They border our screened porch, so I can admire them when I have my afternoon tea.
marcha - terrific!! Glad to hear they are blooming. I also find some things don't flower as quickly as others when they don't get as much sun. Eleanor
I have one on the NE corner of the house, and a much larger one on the east side of the property. I cut the larger bush back heavily 2 Falls ago; no blooming at all the following year, but this year, it's full of buds although it has not bloomed as yet...but it's getting ready.
The NE corner one is in full bloom now, and it's beautiful. I cut it back 3 years ago...almost to the ground and I thought I killed it...we didn't see anything on it until this year.
I, too remember them from my parent's house in MA. They had a huge cluster of them...probably 15 bushes that they'd cut back every 4 years or so. They'd come back gangbusters in flowers about 2 years after the heavy cut and bloom well until they'd take over the driveway, then be cut back once again.
They're special to me....many years ago, before Frank and I moved up here, we lived with Mom and Dad after Dad became disabled in an accident. One summer evening, Frank and I were sitting on the front steps enjoying dusk when Frank noticed a number of bright green dragonflys zipping around the Bridal Wreath. We got up and walked over to the bushes, and they were full of these beautiful dragonflys...I don't know what species they were...it was rather dark, but there must have been 200 of them. There was no pond in the area; the property was close to the ocean, and the next morning, they were gone.
But, nonetheless, a wonderful memory....Les
Hi, Marcha - Great news! I noticed this year that one bridal wreath that I had actually forgotten about - in shade for half the day and getting less sun each year - bloomed a full two weeks later than the others. That's a great image, you and the bw and a nice cup of tea!
I've never noticed dragonflies around my bushes, but I'll keep an eye out now. Some of those moments are pure magic, Les.
Julie