Hydrangea Spacing?

4 years ago

As a live-in landscape gardener with no formal training, I try to follow advice to plant in threes or fives and to properly space things to allow for growth, but I either didn’t read carefully enough or the guidance on spacing Endless Summer Hydrangeas has changed. Six years ago, I planted three 3 feet apart on one side of the foundation of my house (Zone 7) and they did so well I put in three more with the same spacing on the other side a year later. They’ve flourished on both sides, but I recently read that 3 feet is the proper spacing in garden beds but 6 feet is the recommendation for foundations. (In fact, another one that I later put in by the foundation after two other shrubs had failed in the location is now 7 feet wide.) So nursery pros and master gardeners, should I be content with shrubs that are happy or dig some out and move them to garden beds this fall?
First two photos show the oldest trio (unfortunately trimmed a bit to protect them from a recent house washing), the third shows the youngest single hydrangea that is already 7 feet wide and last photo shows original trio the year (clearance plants $5 each) they went in.

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Comments (4)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
4 years ago
are you saying.. you want to dig them up.. just because someone else has an opinion that there are new spacing rules .. nonsense .. leave them alone .. they look great ...

and find better websites ..

might you do it different if you were starting over again.. sure.. why not.. but dont go destroying them now ...

given proper care.. they could grow planted directly next to each other.. and if you watered properly.. thrive..

or you could put them 10 feet apart they would thrive ...

so i dont really think a foot this way or that way is relevant to much of anything.. except personal opinion ..

sooo .. if you can come up with some reason... YOU WANT THEM MOVED... then knock yourself out..

but what you did is not wrong l.. so why change it on someone elses whim ..

ken
luis_pr
4 years ago
Looks fine to me. Current advertised width of ES at maturity in the ES website is anywhere from 3-5 feet anyway. More distance may avoid or reduce the chance of getting diseases from hydrangeas planted beside. But going 7' may look weird when they do not happen to get that wide in your location.

https://endlesssummerblooms.com/product/the-original-bigleaf-hydrangea/.
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jck910
4 years ago
They look great
cearbhaill (zone 6b Eastern Kentucky)
4 years ago
Following your own instincts has worked pretty well so far- don't second guess those lovely plants.