In this episode of Down the Garden Path, Joanne Shaw discusses some of the issues you may be experiencing with your hydrangeas this month and what you can do about them.

Topics covered in this week's episode:

Hydrangeas not blooming

• Know what variety is especially important with this issue.
• In Joanne's experience, if you have a nice large green bush but no or few flowers then you have a Macrophylla variety
  • They bloom on old wood that is unfortunately susceptible to late spring frost damage.
  • The buds form on the old wood in early spring and then a late frost comes and kills the bud.
  • The plant still grows nice and lush, and you don’t know anything is wrong until it doesn’t flower.
  • Extra water and fertilizer provide a nice full-leaved plant but no blooms
  • I have tried all the techniques to try and prevent this and protect the plant, but I gave up and replaced it with a hardier variety.
• If you are in an area where you often get a late frost after a nice warm-up, then consider swapping to another variety
• Hydrangeas discussed:
  • Macrophylla
  • Paniculata
  • Quercifolia
  • Serrata
  • Arborescence
• Which hydrangeas grow on old or new wood

Hydrangeas getting too large/floppy

• The preferred pruning practices to mitigate that
• Smaller variety recommendations of each type to have a hydrangea that stays smaller:
  • Munchkin Oakleaf Hydrangea
  • Invincibelle Wee White Hydrangea
  • Invincibelle Limetta
  • Little Lime or Bobo Hydrangeas
  • All are a great way to have more hydrangeas in a smaller space

Related Episodes/Resources Mentioned in the Show:

Tips To Extend The Blooming Season Of Your Endless Summer Hydrangea

Hydrangeas

Hydrangeas Part One

Hydrangeas Part Two

BLOG POST -- Hydrangeas: When They Don’t Work And What You Can Do About It

Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden

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Down the Garden Path Podcast

On Down The Garden Path, professional landscape designer Joanne Shaw discusses down-to-earth tips and advice for your plants, gardens and landscapes. As the owner of Down2Earth Landscape Design, Joanne Shaw has been designing beautiful gardens for homeowners east of Toronto for over a decade. She does her best to bring you interesting, relevant and useful topics to help you keep your garden as low maintenance as possible. 

In Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden, Joanne and fellow landscape designer Matthew Dressing distill their horticultural and design expertise and their combined experiences in helping others create and maintain thriving gardens into one easy-to-read monthly reference guide. Get your copy today on Amazon.

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