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Cultivation Requirements for Growing Hydrangeas in the Garden

February 24, 1999
We moved into our home 7 years ago and inherited a large hydrangea plant. Each year it grows taller and bushier and looks very healthy. (It is now about 5 ft.) The problem is it has never bloomed (well it did get one flower - a bluish one that turned white - about 2 years ago) It is located in a bed by our deck - it gets afternoon sun - sometimes very hot sun and this makes it wilt but it bounces back after a good drink. The soil is acid. We live in Canada in the Kootenays, warm summers, lots of snow in winter. I really want this plant to bloom the blue flowers I can imagine, but it just grows leaves. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. THANKS.

Hydrangea macrophylla is hardy to zone 8, however temperatures below 25 degrees F. will kill the new buds. (see the hardiness zone map...) Hydrangeas need an abundance of water (hydrangea means water tub in Greek), partial to full sun,and very rich soil. The spent flowers of Hydrangeas should be removed as soon as possible to allow the plant to direct it's strength to growing and producing new buds rather than seeds. If you didn't add compost to your hole when planting the Hydrangeas, you might consider replanting, because they thrive in rich soil. Fertilize liberally in the spring using a good all purpose plant food.

Pruning and blooming

Hydrangeas only flower on on the tips of new growth, so you can remove any stems which have already bloomed. The French Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla) flowers from buds formed on new growth produced the previous year, so pruning of this variety should be done immediately after blooming in early summer. Other varieties of Hydrangea should be pruned in late fall or early spring.The entire plant may be cut back to the ground if it becomes to large, because it will quickly regrow to it's prior size, and begin blooming again.

Hydrangea tips and trivia

(Natures little pH tester)... In acid soil the blooms will be blue, pink flowers in alkaline soil, and white in neutral. The flower colors may be controlled by adding aluminum sulfate to the soil prior to budding to produce or keep blue flowers; or by liming or adding quantities of superphosphate to the soil to produce the pink ones.
Hydrangeas that freeze back to the ground may never bloom, so you might have to cut them back to the ground and provide a heavy mulch to the roots prior to any hard freezes if you want to stand a chance of flowers at all. (This is not an option with H. macrophylla).
Hydrangeas are propagated by softwood cuttings taken in June. Strip the lower half of the leaves from a 6-8 inch healthy cutting. (Using a sharp clean knife!) Dip about 3/4 inch of the cut end into a rooting hormone such as Roottone® or Hormonex®, and insert the cutting about one inch deep into sterile moist sand, vermiculite or sphagnum moss. Create a mini-greenhouse over the container with poly film over a wire frame and place it in a bright spot (NOT full sun) until the roots form. After rooting the cutting, it should be planted in a mix of loam and peat moss. Hydrangea cuttings may also root when placed in a glass of water.
Clusters of larger flowers will be produced if the plant is thinned down to half of the original number of stems. Alternatively, pinching out the tips of the new growth (prior to budding), will produce many more flowers but the clusters will be smaller.
Pee Gee Hydrangeas may grow to 25 feet tall, while the more common varieties will usually only attain 6 feet.

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