Hydrangea is a favorite to many gardeners. Over the past few decades, Hydrangeas have become very popular in the south, mostly because they are an easy to grow, hardy and require little maintenance.
Hydrangeas add a unique appearance to any landscape. Many gardeners grow Hydrangeas for their beautiful blooms that are full of individual flowers that form a spherical shape much like a large snowball. Hydrangeas bloom in blues and pinks. The color depends on the soil conditions. Blooms can last 6-8 weeks.
Hydrangeas are very easy to grow and come back every year. The key to growing beautiful Hydrangeas is to ensure that you meet their growing requirements.
A special category of big-leaf hydrangea is called lace cap because the flat 4-8 inch flower clusters are composed of fertile central blossoms surrounded by a “lace” of large, flat sterile blossoms.
The big-leaf hydrangea has a symmetrical, rounded growth pattern and can reach 3-6 feet tall in the garden. They are, however, perfectly happy to live in a container. Their growth will be slower, but you will still need to repot them every couple of years.
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Fortunately, Hydrangeas are one of the garden’s less fussy occupants from a siting perspective. Typically Hydrangeas enjoy partial shade and moist soil, thus allowing the gardener to plant a profuse flowing plant in less than optimal conditions.
Thus considered one should, however, avoid total shade and “boggy” conditions which will stunt flowering. Generally, rich soil is beneficial and as such one may consider adding extra organic material into a bed before planting.
Colour is also an issue for many would-be Hydrangea owners. In some instances such as those plants which exhibit white flowers sitting and soil are irrelevant, at least with regard to color. However many gardeners look forward to either a vivid blue or pink display.
In order to achieve optimum results, one should consider that an acidic soil is required for blue flowering varieties whilst an alkaline soil will benefit pink flowering varieties. In general siting, a plant in the appropriate situation in the first place will give better results than trying to modify the soil in retrospect.
Hydrangeas are generally hardy and will tolerate the average winter, this said extreme cold winds or a severe winter may damage bud production and leaf growth, ultimately leading to a poor flowering year. As such it is recommended that completely exposed sites be avoided.
Hydrangeas will grow vigorously, however, in order to do so plants are both thirsty and hungry. Specimens should be watered regularly during the summer even if planted in the ground.
Regular feeding with a general-purpose shrub feed is also recommended; alternately a slow-release fertilizer may be added to the bed so as to save time. Improving the soil with organic material early during the spring may also be beneficial in retaining nutrients in the soil and generally making for a richer growing medium.
For many the pleasure of the Hydrangea is its deep blue flowers, assuming a blue variety is chosen. In order to grow blue flowers, the plant makes use of aluminum in the soil; in general, the depth of color can be increased by adding materials that acidify the soil. To do this a specialist aluminum compound may be bought from a garden center; an alternative approach is to dig in coffee grounds and spent tea leaves into the soil.
When growing Hydrangeas avoid direct sunlight. They grow best in partial shade or diffused light. Full shade can result in fewer blooms, while full sun can burn a Hydrangea.
Hydrangeas should be kept moist while blooming. Partly dry to moist is the optimal range during non- flowering seasons. Allowing a Hydrangea to dry out completely before watering can cause leaf drop, bud drop, decreased blooms, and damage to sensitive roots.
When growing Hydrangeas, their fertilizer requirements are a little different than most plants. Hydrangeas should not be fertilized while blooming. Withholding fertilizer during blooming time promotes healthier, longer-lasting blooms.
After flowering, fertilize with an acid fertilizer at half recommended strength. Be sure to leach regularly to reduce salt build-up. If not leached, the accumulation of soluble salts can injure their fibrous roots.
In general, Hydrangeas should be pruned back harshly in the spring, after the frosts have passed but before growth begins in earnest again. Pruning will stop the plant from becoming straggly and top-heavy over time, as well as encouraging denser flowing.
Pruning should not take place in the autumn; this is not only for the plant’s benefit but one should consider that the dead “mop heads” of the Hydrangea are aesthetically pleasing during the winter especially in icy or frosty conditions.
Once your hydrangeas have established themselves if you want more, you only have to take material from the original plants to make new ones. There are two methods to do this.
First, you can slip off new shoots, take all green stem, near the top of the canes, apply No. 2 rooting hormone to the bottom of the cuttings and put them in water or soilless planting mixture.
When roots are established, put the cuttings in 4-inch pots and when they are close to pot bound plant them out. If you have a place in your house with strong sunlight or grow lights, planting out should be the following spring.
The second way is even simpler; take a low growing cane, close to the ground and pin it to the soil with a stone. Be judicious, don’t crush it. Then heap soil up over the area on the ground and leave it for a season. The following Spring, it will be rooted in the soil. Then you can separate it from the parent plant with your secateurs, ease up the roots with your spade, and plant it in the new location.
Hydrangeas are a well established if a little old fashioned part of the gardening culture within Northern climates. Plants are relatively hardy, will tolerate a wider range of conditions and provide ample flowing over an extended period making a specimen suitable for most gardens and situations.
Most types of hydrangeas are hardy and beautiful plants, but they are susceptible to a number of diseases that can dramatically reduce the plant’s growth potential.
Many of the diseases that affect garden-grown hydrangeas can be treated, but if left untreated or unidentified, can prove to be fatal to the plant. Identifying and treating diseases quickly is essential to making sure a hydrangea survives a pest or disease.
Hydrangeas are, for the most part, low maintenance. This includes pests. However, scale insects can be an occasional problem. When scales are found on Hydrangeas simply spray with an insecticide that will rid the plant of scale insects.
The only way to prevent root rot from spreading is to uproot and destroy the plant. Avoid root rot by ensuring that soil is well drained and irrigated to prevent standing water from affecting hydrangeas.
Powdery mildew occurs in humid areas with high temperatures and affects hydrangea plants that do not receive enough direct sunlight. Although hydrangeas can be grown in partial shade, plants that receive very little direct sunlight are more susceptible to this type of mildew. Shade and moisture allow mildew to flourish, and the mildew itself will cover the plant in a powdery substance.
This mildew is not especially harmful to the plant, but harmful strains can cause leaves and flowers to become discolored and eventually fall off of the hydrangea. Remove affected leaves and flowers, and treat the plant with a fungicide to treat powdery mildew.
Hydrangeas are also susceptible to disease as a result of too much direct sunlight in combination with high levels of moisture. This can create the potential for fungal leaf spots to grow on the hydrangea plant.
Fungal leaf spots appear when the climbing hydrangea receives too much direct sunlight. The fungal spots appear primarily on the leaves, which turn brown or gray and fall off; the plant itself can become sickly and die. This disease appears in mid to late summer.
Remove affected leaves from the plant and add nitrogen to the soil to help the plant continue growing. Avoid getting the leaves wet, as this can encourage fungal growth.
Just a caution that Hydrangeas forced in greenhouses for seasonal gifts is not the same as stock bought from a plant center or greenhouse. They may have been cloned and forced, with light and hormones, to grow the biggest flowers in the least time possible.
Once they are done, I have never gotten them to flower again. Leaves in abundance but no blooms and I’ve tried in a variety of climate zones. I have two sources of information and plants that I have used and trust for you to try, but there are literally hundreds on the web. Like Lilies, if you can find a greenhouse that grows hydrangeas in your microclimate, it might give you a natural advantage.
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