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Archive for the hydrangea tag

Why won’t my hydrangeas bloom?

March 26, 2020   •   Leave a Comment

I planted 2 Endless Summer hydrangeas and they bloomed beautifully. Over the next 2 years, I planted 4 more in a row next to the 2 originals, and they bloomed well. Last summer, however, the first two (which are 3 times the size of the last two) had beautiful, healthy foliage but absolutely no blooms. There were a couple of buds just forming in late August. Any suggestions to get the originals to bloom again this summer?

Endless Summer hydrangea (H. macrophylla) is a remontant (everblooming) variety. There is the initial late spring flush followed by sporadic blooming through the growing season. It blooms on both old and new wood growth. Wonderful attributes, if managed properly. In the North, these hydrangeas like full morning sun and afternoon shade from heat. Make sure the plants are getting about 5 to 6 hours of sun. Check that a tree or outbuilding isn’t shading them more than necessary.

Lack of bloom and robust foliage can indicate too much water and too much nitrogen-rich fertilizer. Check your watering practices. Water thoroughly but less frequently. They like rich, moist soil, but not saturated soil. A quality, slow-release granular fertilizer applied once in spring or early summer should suffice for these acid-lovers.

Be careful when and how much you prune. Don’t cut them back to the ground like the old-fashioned ‘Annabelle.’ Endless Summer does bloom on new wood, but if you severely prune them, you lose the benefit of old wood flower buds. The few buds you saw forming in August is how long it took the new wood to catch up. Review and adjust your maintenance practices, and you should have a better bloom season on the originals as well as the newer plantings.

Other posts about hydrangeas:

Why have my Hydrangeas changed bloom colors?

Filed Under: Ask MG Tagged With: bloom, Endless Summer, hydrangea, macrophylla

Why have my Hydrangeas changed bloom colors?

July 26, 2009   •   

I have a hydrangea that used to have big, blue flowers. While the flowers are still healthy, they are now a dusty pink. Is the plant sick? What happened? Can I get the blue blooms back?

No, your plant is not sick. Your hydrangeas simply need a pH and nutrient adjustment. While the flower color of white-flowering hydrangeas is unaffected by soil pH, that certainly is not true with pink and blue-flowering varieties. In the case of the latter, the flower color is largely determined by the soil pH. In general, hydrangeas planted in more alkaline soils will be pink. The more acidic the soil, the bluer the flowers become. In between, they tend to take on a somewhat “muddy” appearance.

The clearest blues require the minor nutrient aluminum to develop fully. Since phosphorous tends to tie up available aluminum in the soil, one should avoid high phosphorous fertilizers if the bluer flower color is desired. The addition of aluminum sulfate is perhaps the single best way to promote bluer flowers. Use one pound (2 cups) per three feet of height around each shrub in the spring and water thoroughly.

Filed Under: Ask MG Tagged With: Fertilizer, hydrangea, hydrangeas, soil ph

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