Tag: perennials

Expect to Pay A Bundle For Large (Older) Hydrangea Plants

I’ve found that online shipping services will ship small shrubs at a relatively cheap price.   But if you want a big plant, head to the bank because you will pay lots for larger hydrangea plants.

If you’ve never ordered perennials online, you might be very surprised at what arrives on the truck. Because of the stress on the plants during shipping, the plants will be mostly dormant and without flowers – some may be just roots and not potted. In fact they could look pretty dead to you, but don’t worry, if you follow the instructions included, they will perk up once they are in the ground where they should be happy.

I’ve ordered plants other than hydrangeas, so this will be my first try. I ordered an “All Summer Beauty” hydrangea from American Meadows who says that shipping will be the week of September 19th for my area. It’s costing me $9.98 and will come in a 4 inch pot. They say I will get an e-mail telling me when to expect it.

If you are looking for the chance to choose from a huge variety of hydrangeas to purchase, check out Hydrangeas Plus.  You can search by planting zone, size (age), container flowers, biggest blooms and other.  I’ve never bought anything from them, but it looks like a promising site.

They sell hydrangea plants as “1 Year” “2 Year” and “3 Year”. Their one year, All Summer Beauty was out of stock, so I couldn’t check the price, but some of their two year blues were “$18.95. the three year old plants in blue (that were available) were priced around $39.95. In their FAQ section they explain what the age difference means and what to expect from each. (Check out the timeline photos of mine below.)

April 2010 Photo

Here are the photos from 2010 and 2011 of a new little hydrangea that I propagated from a large shrub in the yard at my old rental place.
I don’t have a picture of when it was first planted in 2009, but I cut it from a large plant where it had rooted itself from a branch hanging near the ground.
These pictures show it’s growth in the first Spring (2010) up to this summer (2011) just before I moved out.

small hydrangea plant
Summer 2010 Photo

There were no blooms during it’s first year in the new spot near the steps. Only two long stalks developed and I suspect that the roots were getting established.

hydrangea shrub with blue flowers
July 2011 Photo

Then, this summer, lots of growth appeared and bunches of small, light blue flowers.

Read more about the new “baby” hydrangea that I grew at my old rental house.

Related articles

More Pictures of Blue Hydrangeas

Photography of pretty blue hydrangea flowers growing on the shrub.

I am looking forward to growing my own hydrangeas, now that I have my own home. My only experience has been in the yard at my rental house, where I was less than enthusiastic about gardening.  However, that is where I discovered my love for the hydrangea shrub and the beautiful blue flowers it produces.
blue hydrangea flower
A small, blue hydrangea flower. I like this picture (above) because the edges of the petals are brownish which give the flower a look of being outlined. I don’t know why they are like that, but I thought it was unusual.

Blue hydrangea shrub
Blue Hydrangea shrub in bloom

This photo was taken just before I moved out of my rental. As you can see, the shrub has lots of flowers, but they are fairly small and more of a light blue than a deep blue.

dsc06727
A bud is as pretty as the full bloom

I lived at the rental house in New Hampshire for three years, so I was able to photograph these flowers in various stages of growth and color.  It seemed that each year they did something different!

That is the fun part of watching a hydrangea bush bloom, especially this variety which can give you blooms that are large or small, bright or light in color.  And they will change color as Fall approaches.  In fact, watching what happens to theses plants in Fall is exciting, and has given me some wonderful photos of unique flower colors.
(All photography on this page is mine and is NOT free to use.)

blue flower in the sun
Bright blue hydrangea in full sun

Related articles

My Perennial Choices to Plant This Fall

Convallaria majalis cv. Plena
Image via Wikipedia - Lily of the Valley - for Shade

Besides Spring, the end of summer is a great time to plant and divide perennials. The hot days of summer are not the time to consider adding a garden or moving plants around. In fact, when planting a new perennial shrub or annual, it’s best to do so on a cool, cloudy day. Or plant them in the evening when they have the night to adjust to their new spot.

I was thinking about this when I disregarded my own advice and uprooted a little azalea I found among the overgrown front border at my new home. Considering where the poor thing was, I felt that it had a better chance in a new spot in the sun by the driveway. So I planted it mid-day but gave it lots of water and covered the top with leaf mold.

Digging holes for planting up here in the Granite State (New Hampshire) means dealing with rocks. Lots of rocks. In fact it can take me up to 10 minutes to dig a decent size hole for a quart size root ball because I have to pull all the rocks out of the hole and usually cut some roots that are criss-crossing the opening.

Next I add some good dirt. It can come from a store or from your compost or from another section of your yard. And I add bonemeal to strengthen the roots. Always mix it in well with the dirt in the hole. And then water – really well. Soaking the entire root system is important when first planting something. In fact, if you bought a plant and the pot is dried out, give it lots of water before transplanting.

Since I am starting from scratch at my place, I need to find some shade loving perennials for the front under a line of trees along the road. I also have lots of sun in the back so a few sun-loving perennials will go back there to grow among my vegetable garden.

This is what I will shop for this Fall and next Spring:
Shade plants – Astilbe, Hostas, Lily of the Valley and Bleeding Heart.

Sun plants – Coneflowers, Monarda (red flowers for hummingbirds), Peonies and Hydrangeas.

These may be hard to find at this time of year and most likely they won’t be looking too good if they are dormant and without blooms, but as long as they look healthy they will come back next spring. Depending on the cost, I hope to add all these favorites to my zone 5 landscape before winter. Pictures to come!

Related articles

Too Late To Garden?

A couple of daylilies (Hemerocallis) in spring...
Image via Wikipedia

It’s July already and I just moved out of my rental and into a new home! Yes, I am very excited. All the moving and unpacking has kept me away from the computer and more importantly, it’s kept me out of the yard. And this yard – my new yard – needs a lot of help. Not a flower is to be seen, and all the shrubs – ahh, small trees – are overgrown.

This house sat empty for about a year and apparently the previous owners weren’t very good at outdoor upkeep so I have my hands full.

Although I’d love to get to gardening, there is an issue with grading the land to get rainwater away from the house so I won’t do too much until that is taken care of.

It feels like I’ve spent this entire year buying a house. I started looking in March and then found this place in April, and just moved in July 11th. I’ve missed planting, weeding, picking flowers and all the summer fun of blueberry picking and mountain hiking. All my efforts have been towards home-ownership. It’s well worth it, but I have a feeling of not living among the world.

So, is it too late, when August is right around the corner, to think about gardening? No!!! In fact, I know that many plants need to be planted in Fall. It’s the second best time of year to plant (other than Spring).

Unfortunately, most of the great looking plants have been bought already, but the positive aspect would be finding bargains in the perennial section.  I was at Tenney Farms in Antrim the other day and picked up a couple of yellow (Stella d’oro) day-lilies, a white phlox, and red coneflower.  The hydrangeas have all been bought, of course, but I have other favorites and the Stella d’oro will bloom for such a long time.  I also love daylilies because they are easy to divide and one plant can become several over the years.

So it’s not too late to garden but planting hydrangeas might have to wait until next Spring.

Related articles