Re: hydrangea Propagation

On 5 Apr 00, at 6:29, Duncan McAlpine wrote:

> One thing I've been trying to find in many websites
> and havven't, is info on pruning the common pom-pom
> hydrangea and propagation- I found one site, yet it
> was not writen in lei man's terms- could 
> you please help?  Thank you- Lin
> jyakstas@earthlink.net 
> 

Traditionally in Ireland, Hydrangeas were pruned hard, almost to 
soil level, in early spring. But I think that this was just a method to 
control their spread because unpruned bushes will grow well and 
flower even more than pruned bushes. There are two points to 
make about pruning however.
 In shade the bush will tend to sprawl towards the light. This can 
leave an unsightly mess if you look at the bush from the more 
shaded side.
 Un-pruned bushes will almost always have smaller flower-heads. 
	In my experience with Hydrangeas, pruning is purely an 
aesthetic decision.

Propagation is very easy.
	Softwood cuttings from May onwards (earlier ones root faster)
	About 6" long
	Give them some protection to reduce water loss from the 		
		leaves (shade is good, or cut the leaves in half if you want)
	No hormones are necessary
	Any decent compost will work
	They will root in as little as 2 weeks
	(Just like any cuttings, ensure they don't lose water faster than 
	they can take it up from below but at the same time don't 		
	drown them.)
Last year I took cuttings from a beautiful blue in August which had 
been hard pruned at the beginning of the season. The bush was so 
covered in flowers that there were only 2 shoot tips available. They 
both rooted readily. I always use tip cuttings so I do not know if the 
flowering stems would have rooted with the flowerhead cut off, but I 
suspect there would be no problem. If the cuttings are taken early 
the buds will not yet have developed and the cutting material is 
abundant.

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