PRUNING YOUR HYDRANGEAS
Success With Hydrangeas
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4y ago
If your hydrangeas live in the milder parts of the U.S. and Europe, and the spirit moves you, you can consider pruning your new wood blooming hydrangeas now. It's hard to conceive of that when you live where I do. Last March we had 3 Nor’easters. Not only did they bury everything, but the snow and ice made the footing much too dangerous to be using sharp tools. On the other hand, we have had an extremely mild February and early March looks to be the same. Exactly which plants am I talking about? The ones that are foolproof and will produce flowers on the stems they will grow this year ..read more
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THE LANGUAGE OF HYDRANGEAS
Success With Hydrangeas
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4y ago
Valentine’s Day is the perfect time to learn about the language of hydrangea flowers. We’re talking here about the most popular hydrangea, known as mophead, hortensia, pompom or big leaf. Botanically, it’s Hydrangea macrophylla. Blue mophead hydrangea flowers Although we know this plant originated in Asia, we also know from fossil discoveries that it existed 40-65 million years ago in North America. But it is the Asian cultures which first gave it significance. These meanings date back centuries when big leaf hydrangeas only came in 4 colors: pink, blue, white, and purple.  A Japanese le ..read more
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FEELING HYDRANGEA-STARVED?
Success With Hydrangeas
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4y ago
Feeling hydrangea-starved? That describes me a week or two ago. Then we had two consecutive days of temps in the 60s. That gave me a terminal case of spring fever! But I knew enough not to rush out and start playing with my hydrangeas. Living in zone 5, there’s a lot of winter still ahead of me. February is right around the corner and then there are the cruel 31 days of March. So what’s a hydrangea-lover to do?  Fortunately, there are cut flowers for sale just about everywhere. My local florist, grocery store, box stores like Costco and BJs are just a few options. Cut flowers for sale in r ..read more
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Deer Damage on Hydrangeas in Winter
Success With Hydrangeas
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4y ago
This is the time of year to be alert to deer damage on hydrangeas. The weather pattern of deep cold, snow, and ice storms has made it increasingly difficult for them to get around and find food sources to sustain life. Deer tracks are the obvious tip off so here's what to look for:   DEER TRACKS IN SNOW: NOTE CLOVEN HOOF WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN YOU DON’T SEE TRACKS If you don’t see tracks, be on the lookout for their scat. The tiny pellets will sometimes give them away before you notice their prints.  DEER AND RABBIT SCAT LOOK VERY SIMILAR Deer scat can be mistaken for rabbit pellets which ..read more
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Preparing Hydrangeas for Winter
Success With Hydrangeas
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4y ago
Boy Caught in Snowstorm We have had a few nights where the temps have dropped in to the high 30s, a stark reminder that it’s time to prepare to wrap some of my bigleaf (macrophyllas) and mountain (serratas) hydrangeas for winter. Those that aren't planted in protected locations as I described in my other blog posts, https://bit.ly/2lRGNlm and https://bit.ly/2A8tzZE need a little help if I want to give them their best chance of having their buds make it through the coming winter to see flowers in 2020.  Exactly what does this mean right now? SHRUB COVERS: something to safely protect the p ..read more
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LEAF SPOTS ON HYDRANGEA
Success With Hydrangeas
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4y ago
HYDRANGEA MACROPHYLLA WITH DISEASED FOLIAGE On my recent garden visits, I’ve noted an abundance of leaf spots and unsightly foliage on hydrangeas. They can be bacterial leaf spot from an infection by Xanthomonas campestris, or Cercospora which grows from the pathogen Cercospora hydrangeae. I’m also seeing powdery mildew on many plants. You can thank Erysiphe friesii var. friesii (formerly Microsphaera friesii). If you’ve got blemished foliage, a trip to your local extension office can diagnose which it is so you can apply the proper treatment, if at all. WHERE DO LEAF SPOTS COME ..read more
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WEBWORMS ON PANICLE HYDRANGEAS
Success With Hydrangeas
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4y ago
In July, I wrote about webworms (Hyphantria cunea) on panicle hydrangeas. For the past several weeks, the second generation has been active in my neck of the woods. And boy, are they active! It seems every day they form new webs where none were the previous day. That will continue through October or until the first killing frost. Ugly doesn’t come close to what the plant looks like when these beasties are at work. WEBWORM LIFE CYCLE Webworms are the larvae from moth eggs that were laid on the underside of foliage. The pupae survive the winter in a cocoon beneath ground litter and soil, a ..read more
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PANICLE HYDRANGEAS ON PARADE
Success With Hydrangeas
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4y ago
I have been roaming around these past few weeks, visiting open gardens throughout my local area. The panicle hydrangeas have been just glorious in every garden I have seen with their undeniably spectacular flowers and form. Not to mention the impressive flowers of oak leaf hydrangeas are showing their magnificent colors as well. WHAT TO EXPECT FROM PANICLE HYDRANGEAS Let’s chat a little about what to expect from your panicle hydrangeas as the season continues. If you’re eager for them to shift their color to a pink, raspberry, or red, you’ll need some cool conditions for that to develo ..read more
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HYDRANGEA CARE FOR JULY – PART TWO
Success With Hydrangeas
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4y ago
Hard to believe we are past mid-July – already! NOW is the time to take care of a couple of hydrangea chores, ideally by August 1. PINCH PRUNE YOUR OLD WOOD BLOOMERS The first is to “pinch prune” any of your hydrangeas that flower on old wood. What’s the science behind this? Old wood flowering hydrangeas (big leaf, mountain, climbing, and oak leaf) set their flower buds under two conditions: short day length (after June 21 in the northern hemisphere) and when night temperatures are consistently below 60 degrees. From that science we get our general rule of thumb: not to prune/cut these ..read more
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HYDRANGEA CARE FOR JULY
Success With Hydrangeas
by
4y ago
If your garden is anything like mine, right about now insects and disease start rearing their ugly heads. In most cases, they show up as a result of cultural conditions. Here’s the low down on what I am seeing right now which may match what’s happening in your garden as well. We had a very wet and cool spring and things have finally begun to dry out. But all that rain and lack of ultraviolet light have left their mark. I am starting to see something called interveinal chlorosis on both my bigleaf hydrangeas (macrophylla) and oakleaf hydrangeas (quercifolia). This is what the oakleaf tissu ..read more
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