Sterile flowers partially missing

13 years ago

My lace caps did not fully form this year. The ring of sterile flowers around the center was missing a few of the individual flowers. Last year the were more fully formed under drought conditions with a full ring of flowers around the center. This year we had some high temperatures early but then got lots of rain and temperatures in the low 89's instead of 90's. But the flowers never seemed to fully mature. I thought it would be a bumper year for my hydrangeas with more mild weather. I did prune the hydrangea but mostly REALLY old wood and there was plenty of old wood left. Would pruning affect how the number of sterile flowers on each bloom? The picture which I found on the web, is very similar to the variety I have but my blooms had maybe only half the number of sterile flowers. What could be the cause?

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Comments (5)

bibbus 7b
Original Author
13 years ago
I forgot to mention that this hydrangea is in full sun and is about 10 years old.
luis_pr
13 years ago
Pruning could affect it and so could pests like rabbits, squirrels and deer. They like to nibble on the flower buds. If this shrub only producces blooms once, prune after it has bloomed but before the start of July to make sure that bloomage will not be affected.

You may also need to rejuvenate the plant by pruning all stems in thirds for 3 years. And it would not be a bad idea to do a soil test to check for mineral deficiencies. There is a cheap soil kit that can check NPK and maybe your nurseries carry it.
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bibbus 7b
Original Author
13 years ago
Thank you. I did prune again this year before July because there was so much old wood. Testing the soil is a good idea. This is a huge plant and the blooms are up high so despite that i have lots of critters I don't think they could have done the damage.
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
13 years ago
IME, formation of the flowers on lacecap hydrangeas can be extremely variable. I would not necessarily consider the flowers to be not fully formed with fewer than normal sterile florettes - just different this season from previous. It is still a beautiful and attractive flower.

It's good to remember that in nature things are seldom 'perfect' :-)
bibbus 7b
Original Author
13 years ago
The only thing is that this has not happened before. This plant hasn't always been a very prolific bloomer but the flowers have been fully formed. This is something I haven't seen in the 8 years it has bloomed. I have another lacecap of another variety and it has been blooming poorly for most years so I expect that. But this hydrangea has a pattern of full blooms.