hydrangea Archives - Linda Nelson

HYDRANGEA MACROPHYLLA PERFORMANCE

July 10, 2015

Hey there hydrangea lovers of the north east, are your Hydrangea macrophyllas living up to your expectations? If not, and you happen to live in Zone 7 or colder, and where your winters hem and haw before finally moving over for spring, then read on!

©Linda Nelson 2015

Their lack of performance may be because you are pruning, or even deadheading them in the fall. This especially pertains to ones that bloom on the previous season’s stems. I leave mine (and my clients’) alone come the end of the season; I don’t take the pruners to them until mid April. Give it a try, as this might grant you your wish for having an abundant spray of mop heads.

©Linda Nelson 2015

I know it may be tempting to cut the faded blooms at the end of the summer for cosmetic purposes, or for dried arrangements, but doing so can come with a disappointing expense the following summer. Hold off on any pruning or of cutting out old, unproductive stems until mid spring when the shrub’s leaf buds begin to form and all danger of a hard freeze has passed. This technique has served me well in all my gardening years, and I have no intention of changing things up.

©Linda Nelson 2015

Could there be other reasons why they are not performing to your standards? Absolutely. Too nitrogen-rich soil is a common culprit, as is too shady a location for the shrub. Over-fertilizing them is another common mistake.

©Linda Nelson 2015

At the very least, give my suggestion a try; you may be in for a delightful surprise next year!

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HYDRANGEA PANICULATA UPDATE

July 28, 2014

My post from the past, published back in April, was a simple tutorial on spring pruning Hydrangea paniculata. These are the same hydrangeas today, the flower buds soon to become jumbo sized, white floral cones.

©Linda Nelson 2014

In the lower right corner of the photo you will notice that this plant has no flower buds, a result of my accidentally forgetting to spray deer repellant on time at some point during the summer. It’s all good, though. There are enough buds on the plant to compensate for that.

I look forward to sharing a photo of these gorgeous plants in their glory, and that could be very soon!

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HYDRANGEA PANICULATA: IT’S ALL ABOUT GREAT BONE STRUCTURE

April 11, 2014

Do your Hydrangea paniculata shrubs look like this, or will they within the next few weeks? If not, it’s about time that you get your pruners out, or you have a little talk with your so-called ‘landscaper'(shame on them). I’ve seen many hydrangea pruning ‘masterpieces’, and just as many left altogether untouched. It’s too bad, as those shrubs aren’t given the chance to perform to their greatest potential.

Yes, correctly pruning these shrubs takes time, and yes, it must be done by hand; no hedge trimmers allowed. But the reward is a healthy, well shaped shrub with large, beautiful, cone shaped flowers.

Here’s a closer look at where the pruning cuts should happen; notice that each cut stub has no more than three sets of nodes forming below the cut. Creating a good framework requires the removal of crossing and congestion forming branches, and aiming for a balanced and open structure.

A severely disfigured and unhealthy shrub may be better off removed and discarded; you can also cut the entire shrub within one foot of the ground, and just let it regrow again. You won’t have any flowers for that season, and possibly, not even for the next; but, the shrub will redevelop a framework that you can be in control of for future seasons to come. Happy pruning!

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