One of the best plants for
your yard or flower garden is the lovable hydrangea. Hydrangeas have flower
clusters which are large and rounded. Here are a few reasons why they are such
good choices:
1. The blooms are some of the
most beautiful around, and they persist over a long season.
2. If you accidentally prune
away the new flower buds, some varieties will set a new crop by fall.
3. If you forget to prune or
refuse to do it, never fear-you really don’t have to worry with it. (However,
if you do prune, you’ll get more and bigger flower heads).
4. If you accidentally plant
them in the wrong place, they don’t mind being moved.
5. Humidity, which harms many
plants, is actually good for hydrangeas, keeping them hydrated and reducing the
impact of sunlight on the leaves.
6. They love water, thriving
along creeks, near the ocean, and in heavy, moist soils.
7. While they need water,
they will survive most droughts.
8. They are fast growers.
9. They live for a long time
(50 years or more).
10. Deer and rabbits leave
them alone (the buds contain a cyanide derivative).
Hydrangeas are woodland
shrubs, thriving in filtered shade in the wild. Make sure, if you are planting
some, that they are protected from the strongest sunlight of the day. {{more}}
Remember that a hydrangea’s
flower color depends on the pH of the soil in which it is planted. Give it an
acidic or low pH soil and the blooms are bright blue. Give it an alkaline or
high pH soil and they are pink.
Hydrangeas are beautiful
specimen plants in many of our gardens here in middle Georgia. Many have
interesting bark and leaves, but most are grown for the beauty of their large,
showy blossoms. Thus it is upsetting when our hydrangeas fail to bloom for a
season. If this has happened to you, it is most likely for one of three
reasons: insufficient light, a cold snap killed the flower buds, or it was
pruned at the wrong time.
First, it is important to
know that most hydrangeas never absolutely have to be pruned unless they are
very old and in need of rejuvenation. Thinning (simply removing dead stems) is
the only pruning procedure that must be done for the health of the plant. This
can be done at any time, along with deadheading (removing spent flowers). So,
if your hydrangea is getting much too old or large and you feel you simply must
prune it back, read on.
Unfortunately, the pruning
issue is not quite that simple. The fact is that different hydrangeas require
pruning at different times. In order to correctly prune your plants, you will
need to know what type hydrangea you have. If you no longer have the label, you
can still figure it out.
- Bigleaf or Mophead hydrangeas (Hydrangea
macrophylla) include those whose flowers are usually pink or blue and the
Lacecaps, whose flowers look like a circle of unopened buds surrounded by
open petals. Bigleaf hydrangeas set their flower buds at the end of the
lateral branches during late summer to early fall on old wood (stems that
have been on the plant since the summer before the current season). New
wood are stems which develop on the plant during the current growing
season. Pruning these types in the spring or even late fall, after the
buds have been set, will remove the flower buds and render you flowerless
for the upcoming blooming season. Prune Bigleaf hydrangeas only in the
summer before August to be safe. One exception to this rule is a small
group of mophead hydrangeas that will bloom no matter when they are
pruned. In this group are the “Endless Summer” varieties and others and
are known as “everblooming” or “remontant” types.
Deadheading Bigleaf hydrangeas can be done any time
of year without harming the crop of blooms for the following year. When you cut
blooms for arrangements in June or July, you can take long stems because the flower
buds have not been set for the following year. But when you cut blooms after
the first of August, it would be best to remove them with very short stems so
as not to disturb any developing flower buds for the following year. As long as
you cut above the first set of large leaves you will be fine.
- Annabelle types (Hydrangea arborescens) bloom on
new wood (new stems). These types can be pruned any time except in the
spring or summer when it is obvious they are flowering. Many people grow
hedges of Annabelle and cut them back severely each fall so, being
deciduous, they won’t be so unattractive during the winter. They will
still bloom nicely in the spring and summer.
- PeeGee and Limelight types (Hydrangea paniculata)
also bloom on new wood and can be pruned in the fall, winter, or spring.
It is not necessary to prune them every year. It is a good idea to remove
crossing branches and any branches which do not contribute to the
attractiveness of the plant whenever necessary.
I hope these pointers will
help you have the finest and most floriferous hydrangeas in the neighborhood.
Tim Lewis is a Georgia Green Industry Association
Certified Plant Professional, gardening writer, former Perry High School
horticulture instructor, and former horticulturalist at Henderson Village and
Houston Springs. He and his wife, Susan, own and operate Lewis Farms Nursery
located on Hwy 26 two miles east of Elko, where he was born and raised. He can
be reached at (478)954-1507 or timlewis1@windstream.net.
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