RE: hydrangea

Claire,  the montanas can live to be quite elderly too.  Mine had a huge
trunk on it when I moved here 25 yrs ago.  The deck was built around it 15
years ago with the root ball down underneath the deck somewhere.  It would
grow 30 ft easily in a season.  Last summer I had to have another deck built
and it seemed appropriate to finally put this old montana to rest.  It was
sawed down like a tree and I poured Crossbow on the stump because I'm afraid
it will try to grow under the new deck.  I know I will miss that mass of
pink flowers this spring, but will not miss the weekly pruning I had to give
it all summer to keep it from coming into the house with me!  A good example
of the right plant in the wrong place.  The montanas are the perfect
candidate for a large tree, so will start again with a small one.
	I'm wondering when you prune your montana?  I didn't have any flowers the
first 5 years I lived here because I was winter pruning it.

Marilyn Dube'
Natural Designs Nursery
Portland, Oregon


-----Original Message-----
From:	owner-perennials@hort.net [o*@hort.net] On Behalf
Of ECPep@aol.com
Sent:	Thursday, January 16, 2003 8:19 AM
To:	perennials@hort.net
Subject:	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

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