My Nikkos, Preziosa, Beni Gaku, and 2 unknown lacecaps are my ONLY hydrangeas that bloom reliably every year! I'm so glad I have some I can count on! Nikkos are great to make babies, too. I have two full grown "babies" from my "mother" plant, one is bigger than it's mother now-about 5 feet tall and loaded with clear blue flowers right now you almost can't see any green. I have to go outside and appreciate it several times a day!

Tha's good to hear Janice. I rooted some cuttings from Nikko last summer. They're still small byt thriving. I have no idea where I'll put them. I just rooted them because a branch snapped off when planting, so I made some cuttings out of it. I guess this fall I'll be looking to make a new bed!

Can you snap a pic of your Nikkos in bloom? I'd love to see them!

~MH

mehearty,
Then according to your story....there may still be a glimmer of hope that my 2 Nikkos may bloom just yet?? I've been wanting to ask on the forum about the crazy late freeze here in the midwest and how late is too late to see a Nikko bloom? Does anybody know?
Thanks

Gardenlady48 I hope you still have a shot! I was looking for something else and found THIS interesting tidbit on the University of Connecticut plant database. It surprised me.

'Nikko Blue' - This is the most common blue-flowered mophead form, useful in colder areas since it reportedly will produce some flowers on new growth late in the season. Acid soil will produce the deepest blue color on this 4' tall shrub.

I've never heard or read that before.

Here is a link that might be useful: General Info in Hydrangea Macro UConn Database

I'm in 4b and I just posted that a Nikko I bought last year which was totally unprotected has begun to have flower buds on NEW wood too. This has me perplexed also.

I have 2 Nikkos which are 12 years old and they have never had a flower.

Very encouraging....I'm watching mine like a hawk.....keeping my fingers crossed! :-)

I have 4. The first two years they bloomed nicely. They were put in by a landscaper and were pricey. The beautiful blooms were a lovely blue. Then, after two, mabye three, years the blooms went pink. I did add a little aluminum sulfide to the soil but it didn't do anything. Now for the past two years I haven't had ANY bloom. (I'll take any color!) They are big and green and healthy, right under a white birch tree but no blooms.
Any thoughts on what went wrong there?