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cjik
Welcome 2010!
Member since 2/06 8879 total posts
Name:
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Hydrangeas?
Can anyone tell me what you do with hydrangeas after they bloom? It seems most people leave the blooms in place, but do you cut them off at any point? Fertilize for the Fall?
TIA!
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Posted 8/21/08 3:19 PM  |
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JldDolphin
Member since 1/07 6929 total posts
Name:
Jen
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Re: Hydrangeas?
Hydrangea Pruning
HTH! 
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| Posted 8/21/08 3:26 PM |
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cjik
Welcome 2010!
Member since 2/06 8879 total posts
Name:
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Re: Hydrangeas?
Thanks Jen! This explains why my pruning worked last year--though I pruned in August, which was on the late side. I actually didn't know this was a hydrangea since there were no blooms at all last year, it just looked like a big, overgrown shrub. This year I had lots of beautiful blue-purple blooms.
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| Posted 8/21/08 3:54 PM |
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JldDolphin
Member since 1/07 6929 total posts
Name:
Jen
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Re: Hydrangeas?
I cut mine down last year and it came out beautiful this year. Pink!
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| Posted 8/21/08 4:54 PM |
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Re: Hydrangeas?
Posted by JldDolphin
I cut mine down last year and it came out beautiful this year. Pink!
IMAGE
Those are gorgeous. I thought the blue was my fave but now I don't know! 
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| Posted 8/21/08 7:32 PM |
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greenfreak
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Member since 9/06 11483 total posts
Name:
greenfreak
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Re: Hydrangeas?
I just finished my last hydrangea two days ago. The amount of dead wood and cuttings I took from the last one was three feet high. 
Since nothing grows close to the crown either, I laid down newspaper and covered it with mulch. It looks SO much better. And now my husband can mow right up to the mulch without worrying about getting poked with the old wood branches. 
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| Posted 8/22/08 7:29 AM |
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rkoenke
my little piggys
Member since 3/08 4315 total posts
Name:
rachel
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Re: Hydrangeas?
Posted by greenfreak
I just finished my last hydrangea two days ago. The amount of dead wood and cuttings I took from the last one was three feet high.
Since nothing grows close to the crown either, I laid down newspaper and covered it with mulch. It looks SO much better. And now my husband can mow right up to the mulch without worrying about getting poked with the old wood branches.
Question... please tell me about newspaper. why newspaper? b/c it breaks down and still is weed preventer??
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| Posted 8/22/08 7:38 AM |
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greenfreak
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Member since 9/06 11483 total posts
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greenfreak
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Re: Hydrangeas?
Posted by rkoenke
Question... please tell me about newspaper. why newspaper? b/c it breaks down and still is weed preventer??
Precisely. And it's cheap. Or free if you use the non-glossy circulars you get at the house.
I did hand-pull all the weeds I could and did it carefully to remove as much roots as possible. So the hard work is still there. But by covering it with newspaper and then wetting it down with a spray bottle, it conforms to the shape of the ground underneath it and if you overlay them, it's a solid barrier. By the time it breaks down, the roots of the weeds I pulled will have been deprived of sunlight enough time for them to die the horrible death they deserve.
Then with a 3 inch layer of mulch on top, I've got a healthier root system for the plant and some winter cold tolerance too.
So far, I've kept a completely organic yard since we moved in and I'm planning on keeping it that way.
Message edited 8/22/2008 7:44:40 AM.
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| Posted 8/22/08 7:44 AM |
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JldDolphin
Member since 1/07 6929 total posts
Name:
Jen
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Re: Hydrangeas?
Thanks for the great info Tricia!
ETA: Here is a close up of my pink one.
And this is my blue one (Endless Summer)
These pics were taken about a month, month and a 1/2 ago. They were beautiful this year. The Endless Summer one is new to the garden this year, so we will see how it does next year. I have to prune my pink one this weekend. We already pruned the blue one. The pink one has that pink and green color going one right now. I'll have to take pics if they aren't dead looking already.
Message edited 8/22/2008 9:22:20 AM.
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| Posted 8/22/08 9:18 AM |
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Tine73
Member since 3/06 22093 total posts
Name:
*********
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Re: Hydrangeas?
I really want to grow hydrangea in my back yard. I have a black thumb and are pretty clueless. How do I go about doing this? Are there seeds I can plant in the spring, or do I just buy a plant and plant it? 
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| Posted 8/22/08 9:23 AM |
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JldDolphin
Member since 1/07 6929 total posts
Name:
Jen
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Re: Hydrangeas?
When they come out next Spring, buy a plant and plant it. I believe don't buy them too early in the season because we could still have colder nights in the early spring. I might be wrong, but I'm pretty sure. Mine didn't bloom until the beginning of June I believe this year.
ETA: They love water, so don't forget to water them pretty much every day or every other day. Otherwise they start to fall over. And part shade seems to be best for them.
Message edited 8/22/2008 9:26:53 AM.
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| Posted 8/22/08 9:25 AM |
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Tine73
Member since 3/06 22093 total posts
Name:
*********
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Re: Hydrangeas?
THANkS!!
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| Posted 8/22/08 9:45 AM |
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JldDolphin
Member since 1/07 6929 total posts
Name:
Jen
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Re: Hydrangeas?
Posted by Tine73
THANkS!!
No problem!
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| Posted 8/22/08 10:19 AM |
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carlowlou
loving my babies!
Member since 4/08 4594 total posts
Name:
Jen
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Re: Hydrangeas?
thanks for all this info ladies! The house we just bought has three small hydrangea bushes and I want to have them really in shape to flourish next year...I'm going to take all this advice tomorrow although it might be a tad late this year.
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| Posted 8/22/08 10:43 AM |
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JldDolphin
Member since 1/07 6929 total posts
Name:
Jen
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Re: Hydrangeas?
Posted by carlowlou
thanks for all this info ladies! The house we just bought has three small hydrangea bushes and I want to have them really in shape to flourish next year...I'm going to take all this advice tomorrow although it might be a tad late this year.
I don't think it's too late. I moved my pink one last year around this time of year (we just moved into the house and were still cleaning up the yard) and then pruned it late in the season and it still looks beautiful. I think it might have bloomed a little later then others but it looked great this year. And we cut them down low last year about 1/2 way, not that you need to though. We figured if we had to buy a new one we would. We didn't think it was going to survive, but it did. The last owners didn't take care of anything on the property. 
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| Posted 8/22/08 10:50 AM |
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