Re: Various hydrangea questions
- To: s*@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU
- Subject: Re: [SG] Various hydrangea questions
- From: M* T*
- Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2000 17:22:27 -0400
Hmmm, Nancy....in your zone 6, it might be a tad risky, depending on
your winter - and considering that you have problems with the ones
you do have in the ground. You could try plunging the pot - dig a
hole and bury it up to the rim and mulch it and you can even erect a
burlap fence around it to cut the wind on the buds...plus put it in a
very sheltered spot that does not get early morning sun - or any sun
would be even better. Sun on plant parts in winter is not a good
thing as it can trick them into reducing their built-in anti-freeze
and then they can't replace it to protect themselves when the sun
sets and it freezes again.
The problem with the mopheads - all Hydrangea macrophylla varieties
(usually) is that they are not very flower bud hardy. They all want
to break dormancy at the first sign of warmish weather and get caught
in cold snaps. Even in my z. 7 climate there are years when I have
no flowers on mine because of either really bitter cold or late cold
snaps.
If you really want flowers from your potted plants, best is to winter
them under cover and deal with the dormancy breaking when it happens.
Luckily, Hydrangeas grow and flower well in fairly deep shade, so
they don't need the kind of light that a lot of plants do. If you
can provide them with a shop light in the garage - or even bring them
into the house and put them in a window in a cool room - would be
safer than leaving them outdoors in your climate, I should think.
Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@clark.net
Editor: Gardening in Shade
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> From: Nancy Stedman <stedman@INTERPORT.NET>
> Date: Saturday, July 08, 2000 11:57 AM
>
> 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
