Time To Plant the Hydrangeas Folks!

Finally — it’s hydrangea planting time!  I’ve been waiting for the local nurseries to have their hydrangea shrubs out for sale and it seems that they all get them in and ready to go just before Mother’s Day.  So this week is an excellent time to shop for hydrangeas.

Hydrangea shrub in pot
Endless Summer Hydrangea

This is the first time I have bought the plants myself.  My yard is in desperate need of landscaping and color is a must so I hoped to find a variety of colors to choose from and I was not disappointed!

I bought six hydrangea plants at The House By The Side of The Road in Wilton, New Hampshire and I only stopped there (at six) because my cart was full!

They offered a wide selection with many plants to choose from in each group and most all of them looked very lush and healthy.  I expected to pay a lot since hydrangeas are popular flowers, but the pricing was reasonable I thought and ranged from $29.99 to $36.99 each and they are good size plants.

I have a lot of shade in my yard, but fortunately hydrangeas can take the shade – as long as they do get some sun.

I bought some bone meal and compost soil amendment at Agway and headed home to get planting.

A Beautiful Day Just Before Spring

green clover leaves
May you find a 4-leaf clover today!

Happy St. Paddy’s Day to all and I hope you will be enjoying beautiful weather like we will here in the northeastern U.S..  It’s early yet, but clouds will be giving way to sun and warmth which has me wondering what to do that will get me outdoors.

It’s too early to garden, and I spent one afternoon last week raking up the dirt that the plow guy dug up from my lawn.  I’ve  also rounded up the broken branches that littered the front yard, so I’m wondering what sort of work I can do today.

There is always the chore of cutting back the wild blackberry briars that line the back hill, but I hate the thought of messing with those thorny shoots.

Maybe I will just take a hike.  I’ve been wanting to check out the trails at Miller State Park at Pack Monadnock, as it is just a few miles away.  This town also has an awesome bike / walking trail so I could do that.

I could visit a local garden center, but that will just make me want to buy stuff – and the IRS is taking all my money, so I can’t do that.  Gardening will have to wait – for months – but I think I might get some seedlings started indoors.  I know that all this sunshine will make me want to grow something.

The Nikko Blue Hydrangea

Nikko Blue Hydrangea
Nikko Blue Hydrangea Shrub

I’ve always heard the Nikko blue hydrangea mentioned when speaking of the blue varieties so I thought I’d look into it. First of all, the Nikko blue will only be blue if the soil is very acidic. If you buy a Nikko blue and plant it in dirt that has a lot of lime or high alkalinity your flowers will most likely be pink. Blooms are rounded and of the mophead variety.

As with many other types of hydrangeas, this one can grow in the shade and should actually be given some shade if you live in a hot climate. I think this is the type that was planted in the front yard of my rental. It would droop on hot days as the afternoon sun beat down on the yard and I’d have to water it often in summer.  They bloom in Spring / Summer and have long lasting bloom.  Be careful about pruning as the new blooms grow on old wood.  Don’t trim them up in Spring and remove all the new buds!

Many mail order nurseries carry this one as it’s one of the best known.  I suggest checking locally for a larger size plant, since the mail order ones are small.

Honestly, this type of hydrangea has tons of info.  Just google it and you’ll see.

A Garden to Play In

tulips and forsythia
A Garden to Play In

When we bought our northern home after moving to New Hampshire from Florida, I had the opportunity to learn a lot while tending my new garden. No more jasmine, crepe myrtles and camelias, I now had to learn about what grows in the north. Fortunately my yard was full of beauty. We moved into the house in May and already the forsythia and tulips were mostly gone by, but the following year I saw the full splendor of what we had in the yard. (My photo here.)

During that next summer (unexpectedly, my last one living there) I added to the plants and learned what many of them were.  The tulips and daffodils were planted in the asparagus garden and yes, I enjoyed fresh asparagus throughout the summer.  I added a bird bath and some feeders and enjoyed seeing the same types of northern birds I had grown up with come to eat.

That yard was a healthy combination of plants and wildlife.  Continue reading “A Garden to Play In”

Brown Spots on Hydrangea Leaves

wilted hydrangea leaves
What's Wrong?

I have not grown my own hydrangeas, but I did help care for the shrub in the front yard at my rental home. The landlady did not have a green thumb, and since the plant was not really mine, I generally just made sure it got enough water so I could photograph the blooms in summer and fall.

My last year living there, I noticed that part of the plant was not as green as the rest and some of the leaves were getting brown (see photo).

I no longer live there, but I’d like to know what this is for when I do grown my own hydrangeas.

Certain types of hydrangea shrubs can get diseases and have problems with powdery mildew, and mineral deficiencies. They can be affected by mites, aphids and Japanese beetles.

In fact the yard was full of grubs which turn into Japanese beetles and although I did seem some beetles on this plant, they didn’t seem to be doing much damage.

So why are the leaves turning brown? And only on a portion of the plant? Could it be Cercospora leafspot or some other similar fungus? Continue reading “Brown Spots on Hydrangea Leaves”

All About the Pinky Winky

Hydrangea 'Pinky Winky' The Pinky Winky hydrangea is not one you will easily forget. The flowers are pretty shades of pink and white and the shrub itself can be eight feet tall. Plant this one someplace where it has room to branch out. It is a paniculata and is a sister of sorts to the “Limelight” hydrangea which also has cone shaped flowers, but they turn a light green.

Paniculatas are hardy and the flowers form on new wood – or new stems, and that means the pruning – if needed – should be done in late winter or very early Spring before the new buds set. This shrub will bloom in summer and into Fall, like many hydrangea varieties.

As you can see from the photo I’ve added (not mine), the blooms start off mostly white and fill out along the tall spire, shaped like a Christmas tree.  Later the flowers will change color to pink.  See a good picture of them at the Proven Winners site.

Remember to plant this one in either sun or partial shade, but the ground should be moist and cool.  That is what most hydrangeas seem to like.

I look forward to growing my own this year, and then I’ll add my own photos.

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