Hydrangea Bushes

[mrsltg]

Hi All-

I love these bushes! I would like to plant some but am a complete gardening amatuer. My current gardening extends to bulbs, petunias, cherry tomatoes, and weeding.... Anyway, I live in Northern Virginia and would like to plant some of the bushes on the north side of my home. We have a neighbors home about 30 feet away that will provide shade in the hottest part of the afternoon. Will this work? Am I better off with another type of flowering bush?

Thanks!

 

[MazdaUK]

We grow them a lot here in the south of England. The thing to watch for is not to prune them when they finish flowering - leave the flower heads (which dry and look quite attraxtice through the winter) until the last risk of frost has passed, then cut off the dry stems just above the first emerging leaf buds. We lost some bushes when we got a late frost one year.

 

[LBAK]

They should bloom beautifully where you are. In a few weeks after they start to bud we will remove the dead wood and old flower heads off of ours and they will be good to go. Ours is in a norethwest location and they bloom pretty good. Try not to let them wilt during the heat of the summer. They wilt pretty quick.

 

[mrsltg]

Thank you, both!

 

[Pixieshouse]

We have these as well, I am in Washington state. Watch the Ph balance of the soil. If it is high I think you will get blue flowers and I think if it is low they will go to pink. To make the blue intensify more I have heard that you can put a nail in the ground near the plant. The rust will help make the plant bluer. I haven't tried it so not 100% on that one. You can also buy a plant food for hydrangas and make the colors more intense.

 

[Brise Nannie]

We have a white flower Hydrangea and I've tried to change the color but it just doesn't change. I've been told it's due to the variety (white). I don't get many blooms for the size of the bush. What do I need to do to get more blossoms?

 

[UrsulasShadow]

We have these as well, I am in Washington state. Watch the Ph balance of the soil. If it is high I think you will get blue flowers and I think if it is low they will go to pink. To make the blue intensify more I have heard that you can put a nail in the ground near the plant. The rust will help make the plant bluer. I haven't tried it so not 100% on that one. You can also buy a plant food for hydrangas and make the colors more intense.

Other way around...sweet soil (high pH, alkaline) you get pink (add lime for pink flowers). Sour soil (low pH, acid) you get blue (which is why New England has such a preponderance of blue hydrangeas on the coast...nice low pH). Aluminum sulfate works wonders for lowering the pH for those of you that live in alkaline situations but crave the blue. However, aluminum can be toxic, so you might be better off with iron sulfate.
White don't change with pH. And some varieties resist change.

Check this site for great info...http://www.usna.usda.gov/Gardens/faqs/hydrangeafaq2.html

 

[rockyroad]

I'm in zone 7 here and the old fashioned blue ones seem to thrive on the north sides of old houses here.

I can't get them to do much myself.

 

[MommyMinnie]

Remember that the first part of the name is "Hydra" and that means water! Dont forget to give your hydrangeas plenty to drink!