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| Hydrangeas - Monday, April 10, 2006 at 16:58 |
| 1.) 'All Summer Beauty' Hydrangea should cut back any or all winter damaged stems, but leave any green (or live) stems up that are ok. This plant produces the best flowers that come from any wood that is alive and above ground. Acid soils (lower soil pH lowered with aluminum sulfate or soil sulphur works great), and east location and evenly moist, well drained soils are best. This plant is late to come out of dormancy (late may - June). 2.) 'Annabelle' Hydrangea are best grown by cutting back each stem every year down to just a few inches (yes, every year). This excellent plant blooms best on new wood and not last years wood--hence the reason to cut back each spring. Not fussy about soil pH, and does not need to have the pH changed. Do not fertilize with lawn fertilizer or you may get too much nitrogen on the plants and no flowers will be formed. Will take sun as long as the plants are mulched and additional water added during dry periods -- especially in later summer. (this one is a no-brainer for sure). 3.) Arborescens Hydrangea (Snowhill Hydrangea) is similar to Annabelle, except that the flowers are not as rounded, but more flat topped, and the plants will get taller (more like 4-5'). Again, cut back to just a few inches every spring for best bloom. Not fussy about soil pH. Can be grown in full sun if mulched well, and additional water is added as needed. Another no-brainer. 4.) 'Endless Summer' Hydrangea should be trimmed back each spring only to remove any dead stems or partial stems (much like All Summer Beauty). The earliest blooms will be produced on any shoots that originate from last years stems that did not die back. The beauty of this one though, is that new flowers are ALSO borne from shoots that arise from the ground. Its to your advantage to possibly treat this plant like overwintering a rose bush in this part of the country (late November, pile a small mound of bark over the plant and remove once growth starts in later spring). Its a 'late to come out of dormancy' plant for sure. It also prefers an organic soil that peat moss was worked into, as well as soil sulphur to lower the pH of the soil. The more acid the soil, the bluer the flower, and the higher the soil pH is more pink in flower. Sometimes you get both blue and pink flowers on the same plant. A great plant that seems to perform best in Southern Wisconsin, and south, but can work in more northern climates, with some winter protection. Where the growing seasons are longer, the plants will get larger. 5.) PeeGee Type Hydrangeas (and 6, 7, and 8) These are all PeeGee Type Hydrangeas,and the care is the same for all. PeeGee--shrub and tree form, Pink Diamond, Tardiva (will have these in tree form later on) and Unique. These plants are all grown as woody shrubs. All left untrimmed, will get to be 6-8' and even wider. If you want to maintain these plants smaller than that, you can easily trim them NOW. Trimming these before the new growth begins ,that is the key. Cut back each stem back to the desired size & shape,and possibly thin out a few branches. On older plants, you may want to remove the oldest wood out to the ground, then shorten up the stems you leave to the desired height. For Tree form, I think its a great idea to give the tops a nice uniform trim now, again before new growth start. Tree form plants can be cut to about a 3' head each year, unless you want to maintain them as larger plants. Once that new growth starts, do not touch them with a pruning shears. The flowers are formed in late summer from the new growth that is produced this season. This PeeGee group prefers full sun, not shade. The most flowers will be produced in full sun. Mulching is a great idea to hold the moisture and keep the soil temps. cooler. An excellent, not fussy, easy to grow, not soil pH particular, group of Hydrangeas...an excellent addition to any shrub border or addition to the garden. Huge pyramidal shaped flowers are showy late summer and the turn brown and remain on the plant until spring. Tim Flood |