Jim said:
Chas Hurst wrote:
[....]
Why didn't you ask of the species before giving bad advice?
My hydrangeas die off to the ground in winter. What buds are you talking
about?
yes, species abound for the many different variations and hybrid hydrangeas
available in today's world where science has indeed advanced man's understanding
for the enjoyable art of horticulture. I could have asked for the specific
variety being tended by the OP. however I made the choice not to proceed down
that particular avenue.
plants for the most part are much the same as humans. feed 'em, love 'em,
protect them from harsh unsustaining environments and they do well.
for a better understanding let us take a look at what happens when human
extremities become subject to severe frost bit. the human tissue of the
immediate effected area dies and begins to spread death and infection up
the effected extremity, be it a hand or a foot. in order to stop this
spread the dead tissue must be removed and the necessary amputation requires
that some of the adjacent unaffected tissue be removed as well so as to
provide an appropriate means for proper healing.
We won't grow a new hand/foot/etc the next year, tho. =)
when flowers reach the end of their life cycle during the flowering season
for any particular flowering plant, they begin to die and as a result of their
death they have an adverse action on the plant they are still attached to.
for reasons I'll not go into here, the plant actually expends some of its useful
energy attempting to rescue the naturally dying flower. removing this dying
flower with the proper cut at the proper angle at the proper time averts the
wasted energy expended by the plant and allows the plant to focus its energy
on producing new life in new blooms. knowing and understanding this practice
of pruning actually enhances the overall health and appearance of the flowering
plant.
"Appearance" can be subjective. Many species of plant provide "winter
interest" in their dead blooms. =)
as for why I mentioned the variety at:
http://endlesssummerblooms.com/consu...ts/theoriginal
they are my favorite, my clients love them and they do well here in my zone.
I figured as much. They're one of the most common varieties. And, you may
be correct. As I said, though, with the vague description given (and
nothing of the locale), it could be another of the macrophyllas.
My favorites are the paniculatas. =)
the OP now has the option of choosing to investigate so as to determine if
the Endless SummerŪ variety is suitable for their zone. oh, and you do too.
have a nice day.
Ignore him, Jim. He's been in my k/f for a long time now. I couldn't
understand why there was a skip in my scored replies. I expected a reply
from you, almost identical to the one you made heh, but couldn't understand
why my scoring was showing it as a reply to a reply (that I never saw).
Viewing the entire thread provided the answer.
Hope your summer's going well. It's been the coolest August I can remember,
here. It /should/ be mid to upper 90's (and 100's) here, with lows in the
70's and 80's. We've had highs in the low 80's, and lows in the 50's and
60's. Some of my tropicals are complaining mildly, but everything else is
jammin'. =) You won't get any complaints from me, either. lol
Cheers,
--
Eggs
The cost of living hasn't affected its popularity.