Re: [SG] Hydrangeas

Marge, Thanks for your response. I think I'm becoming reconciled to
'Mariesii variegata' as a foliage plant, and I'm going to move it where it
can act like a tall (and unwieldy) hosta.
On another hydrangea issue: How do you fertilize them? My instinct with
shrubs is to use a low-powered balanced organic fertilizer but I see that
Dan Hinkley suggests really cranking it up and others also say that
hydrangeas are heavy feeders.
Thanks,
Nancy

 >Dunno if I missed a reply to this that answered all queries, in case
>not...FWIW
>
>If you can get 'Mariesii variegata' to bloom, you deserve a gold medal.
>I've had this for several years and the only bloom I've ever seen was a
>wimpy thing on one in a pot carried over winter in the greenhouse.  Both
>outdoor plants die to the ground each winter, no matter what I do for them.
> Nice foliage plants once they start to regrow from the roots....IMO, your
>dried up looking buds are goners and probably the stem they are sitting
>on....but, I may be wrong and your plant may turn out to be much more
>robust than mine and cover itself in glorious bloom.  If so, I don't want
>to know as I will turn deep green from jealousy:-)
>
>Flower buds are generally fatter, but, what I do is wait for bud break and
>then go in and prune deadwood back to the first pair of live buds - and, of
>course, remove all totally dead wood.  Probably you are seeing flower buds
>in the center of your whorl of leaves...time will tell.  My H. macrophyllas
>generally come through normal winters OK; what does the flowers in are late
>spring frosts once the buds have started to think about life again.  As
>they say, "April is the cruelest month" and that's when those late frosts
>put paid to blooms on early risers and tender things.  If you haven't had
>one, then you are likely to see flowers, esp. if your plants were protected
>as you have done.
>
>Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
>mtalt@clark.net
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>----------
>> From: Nancy Stedman <stedman@INTERPORT.NET>
>> Date: Saturday, April 24, 1999 8:03 PM
>>
>> Hi. I now know that I can grow Hydrangea arborescens with no trouble
>because
>> it blooms on new wood and I don't have to worry about winter damage to
>the
>> flower buds. But before I learned this I planted two macrophylla
>> cultivars--the highly rated 'Alpengluhen' and 'Mariesii variegata'. Last
>> summer they produced few to no flowers. This winter I surrounded them
>with
>> burlap in an attempt to protect the flower buds from wind damage. Now
>that
>> it's warm again (more or less) I'm not sure if I succeeded in helping the
>> plants. What do the new flower buds look like? The 'Alpengluhen' has
>several
>> branches ending in a whorl of leaves with something growing in the
>> center--are these flower buds or just leaves? The 'Mariesii' has a bunch
>of
>> dried up buds at the end of the branches--are these goners or nascent
>> blooms? Thanks for any info.
>> Nancy S. in NYC (zone 6B)
>
>
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