Hydrangea help for newbie

15 years ago

Hi, I'm new to hydrangeas and have a sort of experiment going on here and am hoping to see what this hydrangea is going to do this year.

I got a small potted hydrangea from a woman who no longer wanted it. I kept it in a pot in the window for about a year. We moved and I brought it with me. Last summer around June I potted it outside on the ne corner of the house. It did soso. In the afternoon when the sun hit it I had major leaf wilt so I kept it watered and it perked back up by morning.

Well it overwintered in our zone 5 climate in NW Missouri and now has leaves.

Now I'm keeping my fingers crossed it's going to do ok this year. I've never had one and I hear the ones that come in a pot don't do so well anyway so I'd love to hear any tips. I don't recall the variety only that it is called a blue something or other.

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Comments (4)

jean001a
15 years ago
The ones that come in a pot do just fine. They're the same as found at garden centers.
rehabbingisgreen
Original Author
15 years ago
Oh thank you, I sure hope so. I've always admired them but never had one till this poor thing came to me.
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
15 years ago
They're the same as found at garden centers.

Yes and no :-) Many potted hydrangeas are greenhouse grown and forced into bloom at an early age and under rather controlled conditions. While these ARE the same types of hydrangeas found in garden centers, the specialized growing conditions they experience sometimes makes them difficult to transition into a landscape setting and it often takes them a couple of seasons to adjust to this type of setting.

The primary issue is that if this is a type of macrophylla (and the word 'blue' in the remembered name would indicate so), then the correct overwintering processes need to be observed to enjoy any flowering in your zone. Typically, unless one of the newer, increased hardiness and remonant types of macs, these kind of hydrangeas bloom on old growth and in zones 6 or lower, require winter protection to ensure no cold damage to the dormant flower buds. Cold damage to dormant buds can result in lack of any flowering, although leaf growth may be lush :-)
rehabbingisgreen
Original Author
15 years ago
Ok so I'll keep an eye on how she does this season and if I get no blooms, I will get some protection in place before winter again. I only have the one so I don't mind taking some extra care if it will live here. I'll see if I can read up some more on the best method.