Re: hydrangea

In a message dated 1/16/03 10:59:01 AM Eastern Standard Time, 
Cersgarden@aol.com writes:


Claire, I have a hydrangea given to me by an old gardener now deceased.  He 
just dug up a portion of his plant and gave it to me.  It dies back 
completely each winter so blooms on new wood and has a nice full pink bloom.  

I have no idea what the variety is and have never had luck getting it to turn 

blue.  That friend shall always be remembered as I enjoy that plant each 
year.
    So I question why you feel ASB would not have enough time to produce new 
wood.


I have purchased ASB several times.  Both as a rooted cutting to bring on in 
a cold garden (thought it would acclimate) and as a potted small shrub.  The 
plant does not die back entirely.  Some of it leafs out in spring but the 
flower buds are gone.  It would be the middle of September by the time new 
wood is maturing and from there on another frost will get it here.  I have 
never seen a flower on All Summer Beauty though I was not surprised.  Many 
names of plants carry the exaggerated promise of some performance.  If you 
have a big leaf hydrangea that will make new growth and flower in the North, 
that is exactly what the trial was looking for.  In our area we will have 
frosts into May many years, April can very unpleasant.  The first killing 
frosts of fall can come around September 15 and from there it would be any 
time after.  Once in a while there is gradual cooling down and no killing 
frost in fall until late in October. In those years we see blooms not seen 
ordinarily.  

It is not all black however, there are a goodly number of perennial that 
survive fall early frosts and go on to bloom, hydrangeas are not one of them. 
 Some of the newer selections of H. paniculata bloom very late and I have had 
them frozen as well.  Not the leaves, just the flower buds. Most of the 
beautiful lacecaps and pastel colors will live in a zone 4 windy garden but 
just the shrub, no flowers.  Around here it is a common complaint - where are 
my flowers?  One goes to Cap Cod, popular weekend spot, sees banks of huge 
blue hydrangeas and brings one home.  In the mountains away from the warm 
currents of Cape Cod, they are big leafy shrubs.  On the bright side most 
viburnums are hardy here and also the new and showy elderberries.

Marilyn mentioned the clematis montana. I have two of those and in ten years 
it has bloomed once and then, sparsely,  not with the huge outpouring of 
blossom it can do in more favorable places.  This plant also makes a strong 
vine but no flowers.

Claire Peplowski
NYS 4z

---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@hort.net with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE PERENNIALS
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index