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Honored Contributor
Posts: 16,075
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

@lillysmom , i had no blooms on my oak leaf hydrangea this year, what should i be doing for them ,to get them to bloom,and what time of year,and is there a all purpose fertilizer good for plants, bushes,and flowers?

When you lose some one you L~O~V~E, that Memory of them, becomes a TREASURE.
Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 7,652
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: All purpose fertilizer

[ Edited ]

 

 

@goldensrbest , if I have a shrub without blooms, I fertilize it in the spring just before a rain.  I use the same fertilizer for Hydrangeas, Rhodos and Azaleas.

 

Plant in well drained soil.  In Spring, put some compost around the shrub.  Work the soil around the drip line of the shrub and follow directions as to how much fertilizer to use.  Don’t get too close to the stock/stem of the shrub as you can burn the roots.   Then water.  Do it just before a rain to get the most benefit.

 

Prune right after it flowers so you don’t lose next year’s buds.

 

Having said all that, I had an oakleaf hydrangea that simply would not bloom.  I tried everything I knew to do.  It had lovely foilage but not one flower.  After it sat in the same location for three years I moved it to what I thought might be a more favourable location.  Still nothing two years later so I pitched it.  

 

Some times you just get a dud.  Good luck @goldensrbest .  I hope it works for you because they are beautiful.  LM

 

PS, here is what the fertilizer looks like.  It is granular.

 

17D3D9AB-5748-4005-BDB2-8FA371DF4998.jpeg

Honored Contributor
Posts: 16,075
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

They were planted 6 yrs ago, in terrible dirt, i hired some one to plant two areas for me, people used it for a dump,there were shoes, glass bottles, big pieces of  metal like from machines, even now when i dig  down the dirt is not good. There is no drip line,  just old country yard,lots of weeds.

When you lose some one you L~O~V~E, that Memory of them, becomes a TREASURE.
Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 7,652
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

@goldensrbest , that is kind of good news then.  You can replant the shrub in good soil and compost and fertilize in the Spring.  Don’t prune now.  Go to the outer limbs of the shrub in the spring and dig a small circle around the shrub at least 12” from the stem of the plant.  Sprinkle fertilizer, bury it with dirt you pulled away and water it.  Do it before a rain and the fertilizer will slow release.

 

If you have any more poorly planted shrubs, do them at the same time.  If you have winter (and I think you are in zone 5 like me) you can wait til next year to move it.

 

I think you will have good results.  Take a before photo and take another next summer/fall.  I think you will be pleased.  Good luck!  LM

Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,014
Registered: ‎02-24-2016

@goldensrbest  Hi! If you are in Zone 5, Oak Leaves do well in Morning Sun. Here in Florida where I live, they do well in Partial Shade. Since the Oak Leaf blooms on old wood, the best time to prune is late summer or early fall or what I do is just shape it up a bit since I planted it with plenty of room to grow. You can transplant it now. I would dig the plant where you have it carefully as large a width & depth as possible & then with your hands with gloves take some soil off the sides to show some roots. (I have done this when I lived in New England) Then in a new location, dig a hole twice as wide & depth as the exiting soil left but I would not prune. I have used Miracle Grow Garden Soil & mixed some peat moss. Since the Miragrow has fertilizer in the soil, I did not add additional fertilizer till early Spring which I use 5-10-5. Good Luck!