On 30 May, 19:31, Bob H wrote:
Sam wrote:
Bob H wrote:
About 2 years ago I bought and planted 2 hydrangea plants in biggish
pots on a North facing wall. The first year there were leaves on
both, more on one than the other, and the 2nd year there were flowers
on one but not the other. This year so far there is nothing, no leaves
or sign of growth.
Are they dead, or will they eventually grow?

Thanks

Hi Bob,
You do know that hydrangeas are calcifuges don't you?
That means they they are lime haters and require an acidic compost
to grow in, and also and ericaceous feed from time to time.
If they are in large ports and it would be a big job to repot them
I suggest you get some Sequestrene and give them a good dose of
that, followed by regular applications of ericaceous feeds.
If they are smaller, then repot in an ericaceous compost,still
keeping to the regular ericaceous feed as recommended on the bottle.
The north facing wall is no great worry. My hydrangea was in the shade
most of the day and was still good.
Sam

Hi Sam,
err, no I didn't know that! But I was told that they need
ericaceous compost which they are in. The pots are about 16 inches in
diameter by about 12 inches high.
Thanks for the information and I will get some Sequestrene plus
ericaceous feed for them.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I don't think Hydrangeas are calcifuges, strictly speaking. Excessive
alkalinity might cause the leaves to go yellowish from iron
deficiency, in which case a dose of sequestered iron or an ericaceous
feed would be a good idea. They probably grow best in soil that is
neutral to acid, but I grow them in my slightly alkaline soil and seem
happy. As long as the soil contains plenty of organic matter and
they're not subjected to drought, they'll grow. The only problem is
that I can't grow the blue-flowering varieties (they'd turn pink).
I've also grown Hydrangeas in pots of non-ericaceous compost, watered
with hard tap-water, and they've shown no ill effects.

I'd be concerned that there's no sign of growth by now. Try scraping
the bark off a piece of stem to see if it's green underneath, i.e.
still alive.