Re: [SG] Hydrangeas

Pam,
My "Eureka!" came when I realized that Mariesii bloomed on offshoots from
last years wood. Here in East TN we frequently get spells of warm,
spring-like weather beginning in February and March, although our last
frost date is in early to mid-April. So for the last few years, Mariesii
would be lured into breaking bud, growing a little, and then getting zapped
by a late (but normal) freeze. All of that years growth would be from the
base and would not flower.

I figured if I could just keep it from coming out early, I might get some
bloom. So last winter, after we had several hard freezes and all the leaves
had fallen, I encircled the plants with 4-5 ft diameter cages of fence
wire. I filled the cages with dry, whole oak leaves. I didn't remove the
cages until late March. Sure enough, buds had barely broken. I left the
cages in place for a while, without the leaves inside, so I could toss some
Reemay over them if frost threatened..As a result, shoots produced on last
years wood grew beautifully and are now blooming!

I'm going to try it again this year and see if it continues to work. Like
you, I love the light that the variegated leaves bring into my garden. But
would also like to see the blue flowers that originally caught my eye!

Gerry

At 07:36 AM 6/17/99 EDT, you wrote:
>Gerry,
>My H. macrophylla 'Mariesii Variegata' has lovely, rather lavender colored
>flowers this year.  When I bought mine at a local nursery last year, the
>blooms were rather pink, but since growing in my acidic soil, this year the
>blooms were lavender, but not blue.  I like this plant in my garden, as it
>grows well in my shady spots here in TX and I love the effect of the
>white/green leaves "glowing" in the shade.  Have been surprised to hear that
>some gardeners have trouble with this variety, especially getting it to
>bloom.  My poor plants caught the eye of my large labrador (now deceased),
>and he pulled them up, ate them, and treated them terribly last year.  I must
>have replanted them three times before I finally changed his mind with hot
>pepper!  They are small this year (as a result of being eaten!), but bloomed
>anyway.  Would be interested in hearing about your method of getting these to
>bloom, to see if I am doing something "right" by "accident".
>
>Pam Adkins
>Houston/Navasota
>Z9/8b
>
>
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