Re: Various hydrangea questions

Marge:
Thanks for all the info! It almost sounds easier to leave the hydrangeas
outside, wrapped up, than inside where they might break dormancy earlier. Or
is that too risky in a pot?
Nancy

>Nancy,
>
>I'll always bite on a hydrangea question:-)
>
>Re: overwintering.  Yes, you can do this.  I regularly overwinter 2
>in pots in my greenhouse that used to be a plastic leanto over my
>garage door.  The hydrangeas were always crammed in the back under
>other stuff because they were dormant - literally...sometimes has
>pots two and three deep in that garage / lean-to..
>
>Problem isn't really temps of freezing or just below, but really cold
>temps and fluctuating temps that entice them to start growth and then
>bite.  I am sure the various species / cvs have various temperatures
>below which flower buds are damaged, but can't quote them...most
>plants have a 'not to exceed' min. temp. they can tolerate.  Flower
>buds are least hardy, then leaf buds.   Of course, in pots they don't
>want to go below freezing, not because of the buds, but because of
>the roots, which, typically, have the least cold resistance of any
>part of a plant.
>
>Leave them outside until temperatures are just at the freezing mark
>pretty consistently.  They should have either dropped most of their
>leaves or the leaves will have yellowed off.
>
>Do NOT fertilize prior to trying to get a plant to go dormant.  Also,
>keeping them a tad on the dry side will encourage dormancy.  You want
>them to go dormant.  When they are dormant, they really don't need
>much light at all, but they do need temps to stay no more than 40F or
>they will break dormancy.  Anything from like 33F to 40F is fine.
>
>Water only enough to keep the soil in the pots from becoming really
>dry.  You do not want soggy soil on dormant plants in pots.
>
>They will break dormancy before you are able to put them outside in
>the spring - for me, they all start coming to life in mid Feb.
>
>At that point, they will need as much light as you can muster - maybe
>set up a lamp or something and keep it on 24 hours.  They do not want
>warmer temperatures - the cooler you can keep them - above freezing -
>the better.
>
>You will need to harden them off, just like any other indoor plant,
>before you can put them out in the garden next year.
>
>Once you are about ready to put them outside, then you can start
>feeding.  Once they leaf out, you will need to water more or they
>will droop.
>
>Re: colors - can't help you here as I rather enjoy the mixtures I get
>and have never tried for a specific color.  Have a strong feeling
>that more than simply soil acidity or alkalinity is at play here,
>from posts I've read about flower colors in other plants on other
>lists.  Could be many factors, including the source of the clone...as
>in parentage.
>
>Re: cutting for vases.  You have to wait to cut hydrangea flowers
>until they are mature or they will droop on you pretty fast.  This is
>the stage just before they start to go over.  At this point, they
>make great cut flowers and, at this point, they can be dried easily
>by cutting them and placing them in a container with about a half
>inch of water in it and just letting the whole thing go dry
>naturally....in a week or two, you've got dried material.  If you try
>to dry them too soon, they will also droop.
>
>Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
>mtalt@clark.net
>Editor:  Gardening in Shade
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>> From: Nancy Stedman <stedman@INTERPORT.NET>
>> Date: Monday, July 03, 2000 11:52 AM
>>
>> I thought this might be the moment to raise some questions about
>hydrangeas
>> since we're already on this topic:
>> --Has anyone ever successfully overwintered hydrangeas in a
>basement/garage?
>> I have two pots that I'd like to try to keep inside since my other
>> hydrangeas, even those I wrap in burlap, often get a lot of winter
>kill. My
>> garage gets down to about 35-40 degrees and has a small amount of
>light
>> (enough to start an uncovered amaryllis bulb growing when I didn't
>want it
>> to). Would I put the pots inside after the leaves fell off? Water
>once a
>> week? Add organic fertilizer before I bring them indoors?
>> --The color issue really has me stymied. I intended to have a dark
>red and a
>> deep blue shrub but my 'Alpengluhen', which is supposed to be red
>even in
>> acid soil, is hot pink, and my 'Blue Prince' is lavender. I have
>acid soil,
>> probably around 6, and my attempts at adding lime around the
>'Aplengluhen'
>> for the last three years have had absolutely no effect. The 'Blue
>Prince'
>> came with lavender flowers and I have never tried to acidify the
>soil
>> because it's acid enough as it is. This is the plant's second year
>> here--will it get darker as the roots extend into the soil here?
>> --I had always thought that hydrangeas made great cut flowers but
>my
>> 'Annabelle' blooms drooped within a couple of days. Are you
>supposed to dry
>> the flowers first?
>> Thanks in advance,
>> Nancy S. (NYC, zone 6)
>
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