Re: Hydrangeas (Was: Re: test)

Kay,

At present I only grow one Hydrangea cv, H. macrophylla variegata cv.
Maresii (a lacecap). It blooms on new wood that grows from buds set the
previous year.. For the first four years I grew it, not only did it not
bloom, it didn't grow very fast, either.  I finally figured out that here
in our highly variable z 7a springs, the buds were breaking, growing a
little, then getting frozen back. Any subsequent growth was from sprouting
from the roots, no flowers produced on that!

So now I wait til around Christmas, when the plants have gone fully
dormant, then put a large cage around them and fill the cage with leaves.
That keeps the plants cold, and prevent them from breaking bud until later
in the season. Now I get bloom every year!

I've ordered a couple of new ones for this year..'bene gaku' and 'Kiyosumi'
from Heronswood, and will order Lanarth's White and Greyswood from
Bridgewood. Now I just have to figure out where to put them.

Gerry

At 08:38 AM 1/16/00 EST, you wrote:
>Gerry,
>I was interested in your question about hydrangeas.  In my zone 5 the
>challenge is to find the varieties that bloom on new wood.  If they bloom on
>old wood, I get a lovely foliage plant, and that's it.  One that I bought two
>years ago is H. mareisii.  It is gorgeous and blooms on new wood.  The
>snowball-shaped flowers are fuschia and
>turn pink.  The pink color stays on all summer and doesn't fade.  Then in the
>fall, the leaves turn a beautiful maroon/red.  With the pink flowers, it is
>wonderful.  Another dwarf, really nice pink is H. 'Pia.'
>
>In a message dated 1/8/00 5:16:21 AM Central Standard Time, eoneill@IBM.NET
>writes:
>
><<
>  HGTV had a program on a few weeks ago that featured the president of the
> Amer Hydrangea Soc.
> Those of you who grow them (hydrangeas, not presidents), what is your
> favorite and why?  (Marge, I expect to hear from you!)
>
> Gerry
>
>  >>
>
>
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