Garden

[jlkz]

Hydrangea posting update:

Worried about my habit of cutting down the hydrangeas that I have done every year.  Through early October I had only 2 blooms.

Now, the plant is almost 5 feet tall and wide.  Yesterday I saw the beginning of blooms on almost every stalk.

How did it get so off kilter in blooming ?  Me ?  or the crazy weather ?

[Lilysmom]

@jlkz, now you leave those stalks alone!!!  No trimming.  Your plant is probably saying 'Finally, now is our chance to shine' hehe.  LM

[fthunt]

I saw your posting earlier but was so confused - I didn't reply.  I see another comment so I'm puzzled about....if you've been cutting it back each year, how did it get to be 5 feet tall?   

This year I had two hydrangeas planted in my garden and from Google I learned you should not cut the plant back!   Some plants rebloom on old wood - just mulch it in for the winter.

[jlkz]

@fthunt

These hydrangeas grew from ground zero in the spring to almost 5 feet high and 4 feet wide.  I didn't feed them...they just grew !  If I remember when I get home on Monday, I will take a photo and post it.

At the mountain place, we have a weeping pine that drops all its needles every three years.  The first time we saw this,   we thought it was dead.  Then it sprouted new needles:  I call it the Lazarus Tree !!!!

[Libbylady]

I have a 3 year old hydrangea that produced 6 blooms this summer.  It also shot up quite tall and leggy.  I didn't cut it down last fall and then I had to cut out many dead stalks last spring.

I don't know what to do this fall... if I cut it back does that ruin the flowers for next summer, or does it keep the bush in shape?  I would prefer a short bushy shape, but full of flowers.

Help!!!

[Lilysmom]

@Libbylady, do you know what kind of hydrangea you have?  Some bloom on old wood, some on new and some on both.  LM

[Allegheny]

I love hydrangea, but they hate me so I just give up.  If I give them too much sun they don't bloom; if I give them too much shade they don't bloom.  The follage is beautiful so I let them remain.

I do have a hydrangea tree and hydrangea anomala that are my real troopers and bloom faithfully each year no matter how much I trim them back.  

I remember as a child my grandmother had the most beautiful hydrangea, it seemed everyone had them and they were a no brainer shrub.  Now I think back and realize why my mother (who was a great gardener) may have never planted them.  I guess I am my mother's daughter for sure.

[JustJazzmom]

@Allegheny, proper siting of bloom on old wood hydrangeas is important -- try a northern or eastern exposure for them. They generally prefer morning sun and afternoon shade. It the leaves look wilty in the afternoon, the area they are in is too hot. Western sun is a lot stronger than Eastern sun because of the angle of the sun and the amount of time the plant is in that sunny area. 

The two hydrangeas you do mention are very sun tolerant so those are sited properly.

[mousiegirl]

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@Libbylady wrote:

I have a 3 year old hydrangea that produced 6 blooms this summer.  It also shot up quite tall and leggy.  I didn't cut it down last fall and then I had to cut out many dead stalks last spring.

I don't know what to do this fall... if I cut it back does that ruin the flowers for next summer, or does it keep the bush in shape?  I would prefer a short bushy shape, but full of flowers.

Help!!!

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@Libbylady  You probably know this, but now there are short varieities of Hydrangeas so they stay compact and loaded with blooms, usually.

[Libbylady]

JustJazzmom...

I wish I hadn't tossed the tag from my plant, but it is the snowball type that can be made blue or pink.  This year I got 6 beautiful puff-ball flowers.  I hung them upside down until dry, and they look beautiful on my fireplace mantal. 

The plant is fairly happy with it's morning sun location, but I think it doesn't get enough.