Limelight Hydrangea Mystery

4 years ago

Several years ago we planted about 14 limelight hydrangea bushes on our south side fence to attempt to create a privacy screen. After several summers, we have noticed a divergence in how well the bushes are doing depending on where they were planted (see pictures below.)

For the bushes closer to our house, they have done well but as the bushes go farther away down the fence line near a large maple tree, their growth has been significantly stunted. Last summer, we started to majorly notice the difference between the plants and cut away some branches of the maple to see if they were getting less light and that clearing the coverage could possibly help.

Any input on other factors that may be impacting the growth between two sets of bushes would be appreciated. Is there anything we can do to try to help the slow growers get caught up (like fertilizer)? Should we be testing the soil between the two to see if there is an issue with the soil specifically in that area? We are in a 4b heartiness zone.

Thanks in advance for your input!

Featured Answer

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

4 years ago

Maple roots can be very widespread and aggressive. Chances are they are stealing the lion's share of soil moisture and nutrients from the hydrangeas in their proximity. That could certainly account for the less vigorous growth.

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Comments (8)

laceyvail 6A, WV
4 years ago
You'll eliminate a lot of ongoing work if you simply mulch the entire bed and eliminate the grass. entirely.
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cearbhaill (zone 6b Eastern Kentucky)
4 years ago
It's lack of water- trees suck it all up.

Remove the grass underneath them and mulch heavily- it will help retain what moisture there is.

But those farthest from the house simply need more supplemental watering so get out that long hose and get busy.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
4 years ago
that maple is twice as big underground.. as you see above ground.. its a super competitor for water ...

i will load a pic below for you to see such ...

if you fert the plants.. the tree will steal it all .. and grow even more roots .... so dont waste money on that ...

just increase water to the plants... mulch as noted above ... and get over it... nobody beats a maple.. unless you hire someone to remove it ...

ken

bet a lot of you would like sand like that to garden in.. lol ...
endlesswinter
Original Author
4 years ago
Thanks all for the quick input here. Seems to be a consensus that more water is needed. Does anyone have any recommendations for how to eliminate that much grass efficiently?

Should I rent a sod cutter and try to remove the grass? I would be somewhat concerned though on possibly damaging the roots

Thanks!
diggerdee zone 6 CT
4 years ago
I might just build a bed around the hydrangeas using cardboard with mulch on top. It will eventually smother the grass. Might take some time but I think that would be least labor-intensive. You could take a pick-axe and with the flat blade skim the grass off the top. You would have to be careful close to the shrubs to prevent going too deeply and damagint the roots. Even if you remove the grass I would still put down cardboard (or a thick layer of newspapers - but who reads newspapers anymore, sadly?) and put the mulch on top of that.

:)

Dee

P.S. Looking at your pictures again I might bring that mulched area onto the other side of the fence. I'm not sure just bringing it to the fence would do as much good as extending it a bit further.
endlesswinter
Original Author
4 years ago
Ok - this will be the plan. Thanks Dee!
Mike
4 years ago
As others have said, maples suck up a lot of water. You have to accept that plantings near mature maples will be very slow going, and could take years longer to get going. The only solution would be to water those shrubs more aggressively. Also, some shrubs and perennials do better in harsh environments, like that of a maple root system, than others. I'm dealing with the same thing, with some different shrubs planted around 50 year old maples. Patience is really all you can do.
endlesswinter thanked Mike