Pruning for Vigor

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

On my new Hydra's, I've been sorta treating them like a new limelight - where the blooms will outweigh the stems so I sacrifice a bloom and let a stem grow. The interiors are supported by opposing stems, etc, so not much floppage. The exterior canes I've cut some heavy blooms as I want the cane to remain vertical during the growing season. In my experience, if I leave it alone, it develops this nasty U shaped cane that never really becomes straight.

Fast forward to yesterday. Got some pretty viscious rain and now all my new Hydra's are sorta lying flat dead center....due to blooms, wet weather...young stems..

Shall I leave them alone.

Or if the mindset is to increase vertical vigor, should I thin out some of the blossom heads (knowing full well the shrub won't look as nice as it is right now), but just letting stems be blossom-less to let the canes stay upright. And that's if and only if these canes also survive winter too.

Ah, decisions, decisions.

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Comments (6)

luis_pr
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
How tall are they? Are they mopheads, Annabelle-types and/or paniculatas? "Younguns" will sometimes require assistance, if you will, from a short fence. Stems sometimes fix themselves but not quickly; varies based on how much they bent, weight of blooms, etc.
a1an
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
All Mopheads. About 20 inches or so. Now that you mentioned assistance, I suppose I could buy some indoor plant stakes and then ~assist~ them versus Edward Scissorhand bloom destroyer.
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luis_pr
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Hee, hee, hee. Good one. I used a short fence from Lowes on Annabelle. Haven't had this happen with mopheads yet though. Stakes may be more useful (than fences) with smaller shrubs.
a1an
Original Author
8 years ago
Going to rain again tonight. Going to let it dry out and see if these stems perk back up on their own. I doubt it....blooms are chunky. One actually has recovered vertical sofar. Some are are bit more vert, but many are just dead center flopped/splayed

It was never on my radar to stake unless you mentioned it. I stake all the time for all things veggies, and yes, I have staked a couple of large 4-5 ft'ish peonies with similar bloom. But anything else flower wise, it was never even on my scope to stake them.
luis_pr
8 years ago
Wait to check in the morning. It is one of those things where people use the phrase 'watching paint dry'. Hee hee hee. ;o))

Same thing on staking here. Have not had to stake anything except Annabelle. Storms however, like to find 'weak spots' in the garden!
a1an
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I don't know why I even waited this long ...to do it.

In my mind, it was the approach of it's a ~outdoor shrub~ and there should be no need to baby it. What is strong will thrive...

Anyhow, picked up 60 plant props and went to town today, staking up all of the new mac's with big floppy blossom stems. Ah, it's back to round instead of splayed flat round. Eh, in theory , the efforts will pay off as the stems will grow upright. I do have some stragglers here and there on the outer perimeter that I could string support as well, but I'm too tired for that.

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I should have supported these pre-rain. I'm sorta regretting thinning out and cutting out some blooms so the stems would grow straight Unbenowst that the rain would just splay them out regardless.