Hydrangea Question

[junkyardcat]

I have several Nikko Blue Hydrangea plants. We had a hard freeze about a
month and a half ago, and all of my plants turned brown and crispy (in other
words, they look dead). Are they dead, or is that the way they look in the
Winter? If I cut them to the ground now, will they come back up in the
Spring?

Thanks for your help:)
Angie

[Stephen Henning]

"junkyardcat" > wrote:

> I have several Nikko Blue Hydrangea plants. We had a hard freeze about a
> month and a half ago, and all of my plants turned brown and crispy (in other
> words, they look dead). Are they dead, or is that the way they look in the
> Winter? If I cut them to the ground now, will they come back up in the
> Spring?

That is normal. Nikko Blue Hydrangea is a type of Hydrangea
macrophylla. Macrophylla and quercifolia (oakleaf) bloom on last years
wood. Don't cut them back until after they bloom. They bloom on old
wood. They should be pruned immediately after flowering or not at all!
When pruning just cut out the old stalks that just finished blooming.

--
Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to
Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA
http://home.earthlink.net/~rhodyman

[vincent p. norris]

> Macrophylla and quercifolia (oakleaf) bloom on last years
>wood. Don't cut them back until after they bloom. They bloom on old
>wood.

Can you tell me why my hydrangea, which I think is that type, blooms
only once every five or six or seven years? I don't prune it, but I
break off the dried sticks each spring when the rest of the plant has
leafed out and it's obvious those dry sticks will not.

When it does bloom, it's gorgeous.

Thanks. vince norris

[John Wheeler]

I agree with the advice on Hydrangea macrophylla, but not H. quercifolia.
My opinion is if you have to prune H. quercifolia, you planted it in the
wrong place (they can get very big, but are beautiful). Of course, for
both, prune any dead wood.
_________________
John Henry Wheeler
Washington, DC
USDA Zone 7
"Stephen Henning" > wrote in message
...
> "junkyardcat" > wrote:
>
>> I have several Nikko Blue Hydrangea plants. We had a hard freeze about a
>> month and a half ago, and all of my plants turned brown and crispy (in
>> other
>> words, they look dead). Are they dead, or is that the way they look in
>> the
>> Winter? If I cut them to the ground now, will they come back up in the
>> Spring?
>
> That is normal. Nikko Blue Hydrangea is a type of Hydrangea
> macrophylla. Macrophylla and quercifolia (oakleaf) bloom on last years
> wood. Don't cut them back until after they bloom. They bloom on old
> wood. They should be pruned immediately after flowering or not at all!
> When pruning just cut out the old stalks that just finished blooming.
>
> --
> Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to
> Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA
> http://home.earthlink.net/~rhodyman