Re: Pruning Hydrangeas -Reply

Laura,

Nikko Blue is a Hortensia, aka Hydrangea macrophylla.  They are rated hardy
to USDA zone 6.  In my USDA z. 7 garden, a hard winter or late freeze will
put paid to blooms on my H. macrophyllas.  They bloom on old wood and the
flower buds overwinter and are often winter killed while the roots are not.
 I would hazard a guess that you are in too cold an area for reliable bloom
on this shrub.  

It may be possible to put it in a really protected spot and get blooms, but
if you are in the equivalent of USDA z. 5 or colder, I doubt it.  If it is
not too large, you could pot it up and overwinter it inside in a cold, but
not freezing location.  Does not require light while it is dormant -- just
temps around 40F.  I have several H. macrophyllas in pots that I keep this
way.  Just don't let it dry out.

Re: pruning this type of hydrangea.  Should be done immediately after bloom
so that the flower buds can form for the next year.

Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@clark.net
Editor:  Gardening in Shade
http://www.suite101.com/frontpage/frontpage.cfm?topicID=222
Gardening Topic Index for Suite101:
http://www.suite101.com/userfiles/79/gardening.html


----------
> From: Laura Sorochan <LSorocha@spar.ca>
> Date: Tuesday, March 10, 1998 3:04 PM
> 
> We have a Nikko Blue hydrangea that has never bloomed over the couple
> of years that we've had it.  Late last spring, I trimmed back all of the
dead
> looking wood (it looked very dead) and then found out that my bush was
> probably going to bloom off of that wood (I can't see how, but that's
> what I was told).  It grew a only a little bit (maybe to one and a half
feet
> high, but never showed any signs of blooms) during the season.  It is not
> in deep shade, but receives only mostly dappled sunshine each day
> (maybe one hour of direct sun).  My husband wants to get rid of the
> bush this year and never get another one... please help!   Must it be
> moved, and should I ever need to prune this bush (I will NEVER do it
> again unless I have to), when should it be done?  Thanks for any
> suggestions....
> 
> Laura Sorochan
> Montreal, Quebec
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
> message text UNSUBSCRIBE PERENNIALS
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE PERENNIALS
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index