Two years ago I brought home a dwarf peegee hydrangea from Alabama. I planted it on the north side of my house here in central Florida, zone 9b, and it has done nothing. The first winter it lost its leaves, then it grew a few the next summer. It repeated this a second time. It now has a few leaves on it and seems to be declining. It has never bloomed. The plant tag shows beautiful white blooms and should bloom from midsummer to fall. I am doing something wrong to this plant. Does it need acid fertilize or regular. It gets some sun. I would love to save this plant. If it survives until winter, I could move it. Please tell me your thoughts regarding this would be beautiful plant. TIA
hydrangea problem??
I've seen some PG's listed as being for zones 4-8, which suggests to me that it might not like your Florida heat & humidity. Hopefully someone from your zone will chime in--I don't count since California climate is so different from Florida (they do fine here, but we have no humidity). If that's the case then there's unfortunately probably not much you can do about it. But on the chance that it's not your climate, the first thing I would check would be the soil/moisture in the area where it is. If your soil is really sandy it could be it's not getting enough water, or if your soil does hold water pretty well I'd check if maybe that area is staying too wet. Hydrangeas do like plenty of water (which is why sandy soil could be problematic) but they don't like permanently wet feet either, so if you have clay soil or if it's planted in an area where water collects and sits then that coud be making it unhappy too. As far as fertilizer--it doesn't need acid fertilizer unless the leaves are looking chlorotic (veins are green but the rest of the leaf is turning yellow)
I think ercane3 hit the heat thing right on the head. BackyardGardener.com lists the heat zone for Hydrangea paniculata 'Pee Wee' as zone 9. The American Horticultural Society lists the heat zone for Deland Fl as zones(s) 9-10. I think your area is just at the edge of being too hot for this shrub.
I suppose you wouldn't consider replacing it with a palm or a banana? These are two plants I'd kill to grow but it's too darn cold up here! I guess zone envy can go both ways! LOL
If water is the issue, consider growing it in containers. How tall does the dwarf peegee get?
Height is 4'.
Oh, nice. I would try growing it in a half whiskey barrel or equivalent container.
If it's just too hot a zone for this shrub how does growing it in a container help? Keep it somehow in a cooler spot? I have no experience trying to stretch zones warmer, just in trying to grow the occaisional zone 7 in a zone 6, not a zone 9 AHS heat tolerant in a zone 10.
It doesn't help if it's a heat issue, I think Luis was suggesting the container if it was a watering issue that was causing the problem.
Ahhhh. Thanks - I get it. If I would have read Louis' post more carefully I would have known. Duh!
Dear Barberry,
I think you are several things working against you: wrong USDA zone, possibly lack of adequate water, and too much shade. I have planted a similar PG in the shade of a tulip tree. It got maybe 2-3 hrs of western sun and it has never bloomed for me. I've moved it to a sunnier spot and am hoping...
Too much shade will stop them from blooming, but it won't cause the other symptoms that barberry is describing. If they have too much shade they'll typically look very healthy but won't bloom.
I would hope that water is the issue for you. I know of a lady who lives in/near Orlando and she grows hydrangeas like crazy. However, she does make use of containers a lot and even has a frequent user Visa Card from the county water department (just kidding!).
The reason for the high use of containers is not necessarily soil problems (too sandy) but the fact that many trees get torn down when new developments are built so she has had to wait until her trees/shrubs grow tall enough to provide shade to the hydrangeas planted on the ground. The hydrangeas on containers get moved somewhat frequently during the year in order to get more afternoon shade.
She does protect her babies quite a bit though. Sudden drops in temperatures can kill buds and Central Florida is know for being on the 70s one day and 32 degrees the next evening so she will move the ones in containers or cover the ones in the ground.