Last winter I posted that I was going to protect my Forever Pink Hydrangea by loosely stuffing it with falled leaves and wrapping it in burlap. I was not getting the blooms that I wanted. I was not sure if it was on this board that someone asked if it was necessary to go through all that trouble to protect it.
Here is the result. The lower bunch has self rooted so this fall I plan to cut it from the mother plant and move it to the new fence area.
WOW! I think I need to do that to mine. All of my peliminary buds die off in the winter so no blooms in spring. Did you cut the stems back at all and did you cover it completley w/ leaves?
Thx
I did not cut the plant back at all, I think it blooms on 2nd year wood. I left the leaves that were already blown into the plant. I started a large piece of burlap at the bottom by tying the ends together. And started adding more leaves as I brought the burlap up and around the plant, overlapping the burlap for full coverage. I also added some tall plant supports, just in case of heavy wet snow. And tucked a smaller piece of burlap to the top to close that up. And wrapping some twine loosely just to keep it all together in heavy winds.
It was pretty late in the fall when I did this, hoping that any bugs would have moved on due to the cold.
I hope you cover yours this winter just to see if it makes a difference. I'll be covering mine!
Chris.
This message was edited Jul 18, 2007 12:39 PM
I will definitely try it! Thx
I am going to try this idea too Chris. Thanks for sharing. Mine is supposed to be Nikko Blue. It is healthy now but definitely no blooms.
Ruby
Chris, after looking at your photo I'm thinking maybe it would be worth it to try again with my H. 'Nigra'! I planted one last fall in my new garden and lost it over the winter - I have almost given up on the H. macrophyllas, seems like our winters are too rough on them and we rarely have blooms :( However, I do have another 'Nigra' in a pot and the blooms are gorgeous so maybe I'll give it one last shot and try your method.
Start looking for burlap early in Lowes and Home Depot, I waited till October one year and could not find any. I store mine each spring in a plastic bag and hang it out of the way in the garage.
rcn, It should have made it in zone 6, I definitely would give it another try.
Ruby, here's to more blooms. V (for victory)
Oh, how gorgeous! That was definitely worth your trouble in wrapping it up!
:-)
Good tip on buying burlap early too. Thanks sweet heart.
Ruby
You can also buy a finer burlap in fabric stores if the garden centers are sold out. Probably more expensive but will do in a pinch.
Great tip.
Ruby
