Hi guys, I am need of some advice on helping bring back some damaged and neglected hydrangeas. I have 2 that suffered bad hail storms and also neglect involving letting other close bushes grow over them while i was inactive in the yard. I think the lack of sunshine getting through has not been good for them either. I want to help these guys out and back to better health but I'm unsure of what to do. These guys are quite fragile and I know trimming can be tricky because of new bud growth. Are they beyond help? I have already given them some general organic fert granuals which seems to have really done the blooms good as they were more blue compared to past years. I also cut most of the surrounding stuff away from blocking and covering them. My plan is to clean up the ground and also mulch with wood chips. Any advice will be most appreciated. Here's the bigger one Here's one I havnt cleared out yet of weeds and unwanted other plant growth. P.s. is the natural colour of this plant blue or pink? I know you can change acidity to affect this. Mine have always been blue but my sister's are mixed colours.
Nice blue blooms,..yes that's the natural color for those Hydrangeas unless someone has added Hydrangea Colorant. The soil around those bushes looks dry so i would add lots of water,..Hydrangeas love water,..then the part where the plant is producing green healthy leaves will produce blooms,..its possible that the branches with no leaves may be dead but don't prune them until you have watered the plants for a spell just in case there is life there. Give them some liquid fertilizer,..something like MiracleGrow,..its good and a gentle booster,..not too much fertilizer of any kind as that gives you BIG healthy leaf growth and less blooms.
Thanks for the advice Philip. I hope these guys can bounce back from this.......I'm not ready to give up on them. Tomorrow I'm gonna pick up some mulch to help the moisture retain better this summer. Ill liquid feed them and let u know down the road how they are doing. Oh and sorry for posting in the wrong forum. I should have done a search. Now I see all the hydrangea posts!
