Phisherman wrote:
On 22 Jul 2003 10:15:26 -0700, (Mary) wrote:
(Beecrofter) wrote in message . com...
(Mary) wrote in message om...
For a few years I've had countless lovely large blooms on my 2
hydrangeas, and this year nothing! Just lush leaves. (No pruning was
done.) Did the unusually wet and snowy year in the Northeast affect
these plants? I had looked forward to drying them again 
Thanks,
Mary
In CT the less hardy varieties had bud damage from the severe winter.
Some suffered botrytis during the wet spring and the buds turned brown and fell off.
Maybe that's what happened, but I never saw any buds forming. I
usually have full blooms by now (mid-July). Very sad indeed! I did
see others blooming while driving around, but now I'll have to look
for just leafy plants to see if I'm not alone.
thanks,
Mary
Mine did not bloom this year either. It doubled in size from last
year and it is now over 4-feet across and 3 feet high. I plan to
protect the plant by piling leaves on top of it before the winter cold
arrives. The blooming mechanism is on last year growth, so if that
freezes or is pruned there will be no flowering. It is a beautiful
lush green plant, even without flowers.
Can someone who is a hydrangea expert clarify this for me? I have the
same problem with mine. I know that winter kill is the problem, but I
think the "buds" that get winter-killed are not the flower buds (as they
would be with a lilac e.g.) They are buds which will form new branches
the next year, and these branches will then form flower buds during the
summer. Either way I'd have to prevent freezing, but it does make a
difference in the pruning method.
So, when pruning a mop-head hydrangea macrophylla, do I:
(1) cut off the faded flowers but leave all the new buds intact, since
those are all my next year's flowers, assuming they don't freeze... or
(2) cut all the old stems right back to 18-24", or to the point where I
want the new growth to start next year; don't worry about cutting off
some buds, because the flower buds haven't formed yet ????
I've tried researching this in gardening books and they all say
different things.
- Alex