Growing Wise : hydrangeas

Hydrangea Aftercare

Elisabeth — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 21:39:00 GMT

Everyone always wants to know when to prune their hydrangeas. It doesn't matter if the hydrangeas are oak leaf varieties, old fashioned "mophead" type or the newer-fangled 'Endless Summer' (which are really just new and improved mopheads). It also doesn't matter whether the specimens in question are in the ground or in large pots. The question remains, "When can I prune the hydrangeas?"

The answer to all of those questions is "now". The summer blooming hydrangeas have long since passed their glory. The flowerheads have dried to a blue-green, pink-green or pinkish brown shade. Most are on their way to becoming completely brown and desiccated. Tidy up the plants now by clipping off the browned flowerheads (You can, of course, keep them for winter interest. Personally I don't think they are all that interesting.) This is also the time to trim back wayward branches or reduce the overall size of sprawling specimens.

While you are pruning, keep a sharp eye out for babies. Hydrangeas root wherever their stems touch the ground, so a healthy bush may have several offspring in a season. You can transplant those babies right now if they have produced their own leaves. Sever the branch connecting the baby to the mother plant and dig up the youngster, being careful to include a reasonably large root ball. Replant immediately in a new space and remember to provide regular water while it is getting settled in its new home.

That's it. There's really no mystery to pruning hydrangeas. If your bushes are already shapely and fit their spaces nicely, all you have to do is trim off the spent flowerheads. Remember that life is hard, but hydrangeas are really very easy.

Pee Gee Hydrangea

Elisabeth — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 19:30:00 GMT

Nothing is flashier in late August and early September than Hydrangea paniculata grandiflora, known for obvious reasons as the "pee gee" hydrangea. These shrubs, which can be grown as small trees or standards, bloom later than most garden hydrangeas, but they are worth the wait.

Like their relatives, the earlier blooming oak leaf hydrangeas, pee gees have conical flower panicles. However, pee gee panicles are fatter and a bit more rounded and can be enormous. A mature plant can sport scores of these beautiful flowerheads, which are very suitable for flower arrangements and even more suitable for drying.

Most hydrangeas like dappled shade, rather than deep shade, and should be well mulched. If you are planting one in a mixed border or an array of shrubs, be sure to leave enough room for growth. Your pee gee may start out slowly, but after a few years it will put on an impressive show.

If you are going to dry the flower panicles, be sure to pick them after they turn pink and the petals start to dry. Hang bundles of them upside down in a cool, airy place, and in a few weeks they should be ready for arrangements, wreaths or other decorations.

Drying Hydrangeas

Elisabeth — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 15:58:00 GMT

As I mowed the lawn today, I passed close by my three big 'Nikko Blue' hydrangea bushes. The large flowerheads, which were a vivid blue in mid summer and had aged to a lovely purplish-green as they dried on the bushes, were beginning to turn pale brown. I stopped in the middle of the mowing job to clip some of the flowerheads that were still green. Tied in bunches and hanging upside down from an old piece of trellis in a dark corner of my garage, they will maintain their current color. After I run out of fresh garden flowers for the house, I will fill an old washbowl with the dried hydrangeas and put the finished arrangement on my dining room table.

I also use dried hydrangeas to decorate the plain evergreen wreathes that I hang on the front door at holiday time.

Most hydrangea flowerheads can be dried if you cut them at the right time--after they have begun drying on the plant but before they turn brown. I am especially fond of the big fat flowers on the "Annabelle" or mophead type hydrangeas and the plump conical flowerheads of oak leaf and "peegee" (Hydrangea paniculata grandiflora) varieties.