The sentence that catches my eye is very shady. I doubt they would grow there. If they do, I don't think they will flower. They need at least 1/2 day of sun, IMO.

How much sun they need would depend on which hydrangea's you have. Are the ones you intend to propagate in similar shade now?

As to your questions, let me preface by saying I do cuttings indoors and haven't done hydrangeas...yet.

1. I use either all perlite or a mix of perlite and turface for woody cuttings.

2. Depends on your drainage. You don't want a line-up of little bathtubs.

3. If you mean peat pots in the ground, I'd stick with just the filled in holes, provided the drainage is there. Peat pots might prove tough to control moisture outside (too wet by staying soaked or too dry and wicking moisture away).

tj

They root really easy in springtime. They are much easier than rooting roses. Pumice works well, a clear drinking cup (holes punched in bottom) of pumice with the cutting, all inside a large ziplock baggie in bright indirect. If you use a clear cup you can see the roots form without having to disturb the cutting.

zackey, thanks for the heads up.

tj,

There are some that are in deep shade, far less than 1/2 day of sun and they flower well. I was thinking of one that is in a half day of sun to propagate. It is a Great Star. I was thinking this one to brighten up the shade with white, but maybe it won't work. I should do some trials to find which, if any, are suitable. The sun would only be a few hours in the afternoon. The fence makes it very shady, but it is fairly bright.

Based on your and hoovb's (thanks) suggestions I think it will be perlite as I think that I already have some and I know it is easily available.

No problem with drainage. There is never any puddling and it is on a slope. I will not use the peat pots and hoovb I think I'll use plastic cups as my 'greenhouses', but since I don't plan on moving them I don't see any advantage to using cups as pots. How long it takes to root doesn't really matter. If they don't do well in a couple of years then I'll put them where they get more sun or they just won't survive. I will be attempting it in the Spring, I'll have to give it some thought as my all white display may or may not work, although some places say it is suitable for full shade.

I was thinking maybe cobble up some trellises with climbing hydrangea in between to give some height and break up the hedge look. That stuff grows great for me, in less than 1/2 day sun, but a little more than this location.

Thanks all,

Jon

Here is a link that might be useful: Full Shade?

This post was edited by jonnyb023 on Thu, Dec 18, 14 at 21:20

My climbing hydrangea is on the north side of my house and it climbed up 20+ feet and flowers just fine. Light should not be a problem for it there. If there is a good amount of ambient light, just about anything should work. Good luck and keep us updated.

tj

The growth is listed as moderate (???) Once it gets close to the 6 feet it would catch a lot more sun which would help. The climbing will get there in no time. I think it is worth a shot. It may take some time before I get anything to report, but I will.

Thanks,

Jon

In spring, I cut off some of the old hydrangea shoots. I end up cutting them so there are 4 bud ends on each stick. I pot them in garden soil in black plastic pots, and keep them under the apple tree. Out of one hydrangea, in 15 yr., I most likely have 80 or more plants, most of them I give away. Maybe they are easy to root in spring.
darlene

Here is a video that shows how to propagate hydrangeas.

http://www.screencast.com/t/EDYWKm0izY

hope this helps.

Thank you ophoenix, it was very good for an amateur like me. I did have to click ahead as the video stayed on still shots for very long intervals before going on to the next step. It did have all the information I wanted. Thanks again.

Thank you, Jon. Appreciate the comments.

Jon, I don't know where you are. (You can add it to your profile: hover over "Your Houzz" in upper right corner, and then click on edit profile. Scroll down to "about me" and fill in "My zone is: ". ) Where I am the soil in the ground is quite cold until relatively well into the season, so for someone as far north as I am with a shorter growing season, there is a benefit to starting cuttings in pots or cups. Most plants root more quickly in warm soil, so I will be more likely to have good-sized plants if they start rooting in pots or cups which will warm faster than the mass of in-ground soil. Then they get transplanted to their final spot once well rooted.