Thinking about hydrangea spring pruning? I know we all get itchy fingers right about now, but take a deep breath and refresh your pruning chops. If the spirit moves you, you can consider pruning only your new wood blooming hydrangeas now. Exactly which plants are they? The ones that are foolproof and will produce flowers on… The post HYDRANGEA SPRING PRUNING appeared first on Lorraine Ballato ..read more

COME SEE ME AT THE WESTERN NEW ENGLAND HOME SHOW ON MARCH 17   Come see me at the Western New England Home Show in Danbury CT on March 17. I’ll be there from 11 a.m. to answer your hydrangea questions. Stop by so we can talk about it. I will also be selling signed… The post COME SEE ME AT THE WESTERN NEW ENGLAND HOME SHOW appeared first on Lorraine Ballato ..read more

I am patiently (??) waiting for the snow to melt and have begun to consider where I can put some of the new hydrangea introductions that will be showing up in a few short months. As you might expect, there are dozens of them. Big Leaf Hydrangeas Two new Hydrangea macrophylla (big leaf) varieties could… The post NEW HYDRANGEA 2024 INTRODUCTIONS appeared first on Lorraine Ballato ..read more

We are in the middle of a frigid cold spell (a little redundant?) with a promise of milder temps at the end of the week. Even with the upcoming mild weather I know it’s too soon to do any serious gardening. But the pull to be outside is irresistible. So, I took a brief walk… The post GARDENING IN WINTER appeared first on Lorraine Ballato ..read more

  We have had rain of biblical proportions the last few weeks, making my soil nice and soft: perfect for preparing hydrangeas for winter. Specifically, it’s time to think about insulating susceptible bigleaf (macrophylla) and mountain (serrata) hydrangeas. Those that aren’t planted in protected locations as I described in my other blog posts, HERE and… The post PREPARING HYDRANGEAS FOR WINTER appeared first on Lorraine Ballato ..read more

Now that we are on the cusp of September, I am organizing my plans for transplanting several hydrangeas. Plus I need to put in several new plants so I can trial them for a few years and report back to you on their progress. Autumn is the best time for planting and transplanting your hydrangeas… The post TRANSPLANTING HYDRANGEAS appeared first on Lorraine Ballato ..read more

Right about now, you are probably cutting hydrangea flowers for bouquets. Except that your beautiful flowers droop in the vase within a few hours of being cut. ARGHH@!! So what’s a hydrangea-lover to do? Let me share what I learned a while back about hydrangeas as cut flowers. WHY DO HYDRANGEAS AS CUT FLOWERS DROOP?… The post HYDRANGEAS AS CUT FLOWERS appeared first on Lorraine Ballato ..read more

Pruning and fertilizing hydrangeas mid-season is something you should consider. In my part of the U.S. this is my final seasonal opportunity to give my hydrangeas their last cuts and food for this year. Maybe for you too. PRUNING YOUR HYDRANGEA TO IMPROVE YOUR PLANTS’ LOOK If you were lucky enough to get flowers on… The post PRUNING AND FERTILIZING HYDRANGEAS MID-SEASON appeared first on Lorraine Ballato ..read more

Have you found any Japanese Beetles on your hydrangeas yet? I have and I am not surprised. If you follow the Growing Degree Day (GDD) science, you know that these pests appear anywhere from 950-2150 GDDs. For those of you who aren’t familiar with GDDs, here’s a good site/link for you from University of Maryland… The post HYDRANGEAS AND JAPANESE BEETLES appeared first on Lorraine Ballato ..read more

Just a quick note to remind you about tomorrow’s LIVE HYDRANGEA TALK at White Flower Farm.   We have decided to move the discussion indoors in view of the weather forecast. ENJOY THE DISPLAY GARDENS   In addition to attending the talk, you can freely tour the extensive display gardens. If you haven’t been to… The post HYDRANGEA TALK TOMORROW, JUNE 24 appeared first on Lorraine Ballato ..read more