FERTILIZING HYDRANGEAS

Blooming Bigleaf Hydrangea

Now that it is July, it’s time to fertilize your hydrangeas, especially for next year. You should be having a fabulous hydrangea year. The relatively mild winter and forgiving spring is giving all of us a fantastic show. Just about every big leaf hydrangea (macrophylla) is flowering. But don’t be lulled into thinking you can…

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How to Make Hydrangea Bouquets Last

Hydrangea flowers newly emerging

Now is the time to get ready for hydrangea bouquets. Between the mild winter and gradual spring warming, just about all of my big leaf hydrangeas are beginning to show their flowers. If you live in warmer parts of the country, yours are well ahead of this timing. So now I am looking forward to…

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HYDRANGEA PRUNING: BIG LEAF AND MOUNTAIN PLANTS

Big leaf hydrangea Let's Dance® Rhythmic Blue®

It’s finally time to prune your big leaf and mountain hydrangeas. This is in addition to what I wrote in January about hydrangea pruning. At that time I wrote that it was safe to go out and prune your woodland/smooth hydrangeas and your panicle hydrangeas. If you haven’t already done that, get going unless you live…

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Report on 2020 Winter Impact on Hydrangeas

Hydrangea Macrophylla Blue Wave

It’s time to report on 2020 winter impact on my hydrangeas, a little later than I would have liked. I test both new and old introductions to the big leaf (macrophylla) and mountain (serrata) hydrangea families. Invariably, some plants produce few or no flowers. Then I examine why that happened. You can read previous reports…

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HYDRANGEA CARE in JULY: Make your plants thrive

Landscape Hydrangeas

You should be having a fabulous hydrangea year. The relatively mild winter and forgiving spring is giving gardeners in the Northeast a fantastic show. Just about every big leaf hydrangea (macrophylla) is flowering. If your plants aren’t performing, take a minute to read a post I just did  for the National Garden Bureau. In July it’s…

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Gift Hydrangeas

Big Leaf Hydrangeas for Gifts

  Gift hydrangeas have been floating around for over 6 weeks. Between Easter just past and Mother’s Day in just a few days, it was inevitable that these traditional gift plants (also called florist hydrangeas) would show up. You can’t avoid them in local garden centers, grocery stores, and box stores.   Blooming florist hydrangeas are…

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Preparing Hydrangeas for Winter

DIY shrub cover from discarded pallets

We have had a few nights where the temps have dropped into the high 30s, a sobering reminder that it’s time for preparing hydrangeas for winter. Specifically, time to wrap some of my bigleaf (macrophyllas) and mountain (serratas) hydrangeas. Those that aren’t planted in protected locations as I described in my other blog posts, HERE and…

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Shrub Covers for Hydrangea Winter Protection

DIY shrub cover from discarded pallets

I woke up to 37 degrees F this morning, a stark reminder that I need to prepare some of my bigleaf hydrangeas (macrophyllas) for winter. Those that aren’t planted in protected locations as I described in an earlier blog post, and  https://lorraineb.wpengine.com/reporting-winter…rangeas-part-two/need a little help if I want to give them their best chance of…

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