Pre Emptive Stem Mitigation Breaking on LimeLights

3 years ago

I've done this in former years....and eventually decided to let mother decide it's fate

This year, after the 1st rain....on some of my Lime Lights, it's complete splayed on the weaker new stems.

It's been splayed since the 1st rain - I traced it out. It's anywhere from 3 stems going to previous year wood or a WYE with 5-6 stems going to previous year wood.....all flopping.

Anyhow, while the droop is there, my main concern is the long seasonal droop, and potentially snapping the previous years wood below that. The droop is inducing a slight lean on the older wood as observed.

So here I am deciding...whether to deadhead these floppers to remove the weight....to let wood continue for next year. And or I will wait till come Sept-October depeding on what NorEaster rains decide to be for this year.

So tell me, are you guys doing mitigation stem snapping weight unloading every *now and then* on your heavy head prone hydrangeas.

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Comments (4)

KW PNW Z8
3 years ago
@a1an I’m really interested in the answers to your question too! We haven’t had heavy rain yet to cause flopping on my little lime light - that’s not so little. I pruned hard this year & then did a light prune a month or so later. It worked well as I have many flowers now with some still just forming. But, the heavy flowers at end of single & multiple branched ends are drooping from weight. I just propped those I could up with tall flower stakes hidden inside the shrub. That helped but the stakes aren’t tall enough for some of the branches length to really prop up..
a1an
Original Author
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Like all things LimeLight, the thicker older wood that is like 1 1/2" or thicker, any shoots that come out of those are strong, and remain vert even aftter a rain. It's just the ones that are from newer wood or combo of that and maybe added a WYE with new branching that is the cumulative effect of too much weight . Regardless, as it's alot of weight as right now, I can see how even with the flopper, it is causing thicker wood from below that to (bend) with the totall mass of the weight on the tips.

I've staked in the past - With rope....it solves the problem....but I gave up. Life's too short to be coddyling these days ; -)

I'm leaning on deadheading. I'd rather have some strutural stems with no flowera than snapped stems...
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lovemycorgi z5b SE michigan
3 years ago
I have two ”Firelight” trees and I prune the heaviest, droopiest blooms after it rains. I already lost half of one tree when a fat squirrel jumped onto one of the main branches and broke it off; I can’t afford to lose anymore branches, so snip snip go the waterlogged blooms.
a1an
Original Author
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
I ended up deadheading almost a 1/3 of it. While not as full, still looks pretty nice...

It's my approach to structural pruning for next year in a way

Just provides good -bones- for next year.

If I leave it alone, 2 things will either happen. Either snapped stems (found 1 that was snapped already out of the whole lot of bushes) but being that it's flopped and weighted down, this years wood will take on a downward curve shape that doesn't really go back VERT for next season IM. My biggest issue was the ones with 5+ stems -->attached to a older wood below, which the cumulative weight was putting a slight bend even on the older wood.

You must be really angry at the squirrel. I've never considered fat shaming a squirrel before ;-)