Comparing my hydrangeas

13 years ago

Walking through my yard yesterday I was struck by how different the few hydrangeas are that I own. Limelight is in full glory, clearly worthy of the praise and hype it received and keeps receiving. Just a joy to see this time of summer, clean, crisp, fresh looking and not a worry about disease or bugs.

Last year I bought a Little Lime and despite the hot summer and drought we have it established well and is blooming it's little head off, about two feet tall and wide and at least ten blooms, not bad.

White Diamonds was an unknown for me, I bought it three years ago on a whim (and it was half price). It took a year to get established but started blooming last year and continues to do better this year. WD is not as, dare I say, in your face as Limelight, a more open bloom structure, a nice rounded shrub, a little more subdued, but definitely very charming. It sees to be the kind of shrub that might benefit from having groups of three planted. I definitely like it. It's about 3ft tall and about 2-3 ft wide at the moment. We'll see how much girth and size it will eventually put on.

Bombshell... planted it last summer, two gallon sized plant, nice looking shrub, very healthy, very attractive looking plant, not a single flower. I read a lot about Bombshell's reluctance to bloom in it's first year, or after having been pruned, so I will definitely not touch it at all this fall. Hopefully this will yield better results next year. If not, well, Bombshell meet my shovel. It's interesting to note that two of my nearby Lowe's stores offer it in large quantities this year. They haven't sold that well, and of the lot only about one in four blooms, the rest is just green shrubs, which of course doesn't help sales.

With the cool summer and plenty of rain we had this year it is a good year to evaluate the different varieties under good growing conditions. Nothing beats having them in your own yard and seeing how thee do with your own eyes.

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Comments (4)

luis_pr
13 years ago
I like your comments! Very descriptive. Try not pruning Bombshell -as you said- this Fall but also not in the Winter, Spring or Summer of 2014 either. Just in case it is being triggered to bloom early during a temporary lull in cold weather conditions. The wholesaler answered my question saying that it should not be pruned. Then added 'period' when I asked him to elaborate.

I am going to say that it may still bloom (it is still possible for some panics to bloom this late) but gosh, this one was advertised as early flowering. It is quite rare for the wholesaler to say that and be wrong. I am knocking on wood for you!
gumneck 7A Virginia
13 years ago
My hydrangeas are the garden stars this year. My limelights -- I have at least 8 between the front and back yards--all look fantastic. Pink diamond, quickfire, incrediball and annabelle all look good with lots of blooms. My endless summers are in the first year in the ground and have healthy foliage and a few blooms. One in shade has no blooms, so I need to move it. Another I think is getting too much sun and needs to be moved to a shadier spot. Even the hydrangeas I rooted from cuttings last year and that made it through the winter are doing good. One potted up and in a holding bed even has a bloom. They will go in the ground this fall. My bombshell is bloom-less but I will give it another year. I am looking around for what else to add. One I don't have is the classic Nikko blue, and I want to get a pistachio.

I also have a bunch of cuttings taken from hydrangea stems from a recent wedding. Does anyone know if they will root? They don't have any foliage but some of the stems seem to have buds on the stems.

From a cutting:
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dirtygirl64
13 years ago
hey guys I am inb Florida and divided my hydranfeas this year
the ones I put in the shade R doing great but not big
I have 2 in the sun who R Huge and lots of blooms but leaves R spotted n brown
is this too much sun or somthing else?
echinaceamaniac
13 years ago
My favorite Hydrangeas this year are:

1.) Forever & Ever Together - This plant is so awesome. It stays compact and the blooms this year were the most beautiful purple with a tinge of blue in them. Now they are turning green and some new blooms are forming as well. It blooms on new wood and old wood; therefore, it blooms more than once each year. The blooms are double and look like tiny waterlilies. I think this is one of the best Hydrangeas available.

2.) Hydrangea 'Vanilla Strawberry' - The blooms are HUGE on this one. They start out white and gradually turn pink and red where the sun hits the blooms. It can be seen for a very long distance due to the huge blooms. I actually think the more sun exposure this one gets the better the bloom color is.

These are my favorites this year. I am seriously thinking about making a hedge of 'Vanilla Strawberry.' It's that beautiful!