Okay, I've been reading these and they are all very interesting but I've not found one that pertains to my particular problem. I used to work in a Florist shop, I managed the greenhouse. Well, we would get these beautiful "hot House" Hydrangeas and sometimes they wouldn't sell. So.....I took a couple of these home (5 yrs ago) and planted them. They are the most beautiful plants in my garden but nary a bloom on them. Never have bloomed since they were in the greenhouse. Is this because they were "Hot House" grown? Does anyone know about this?????? Thanks in advance!
I noticed no one has attempted to answer this for you, I'm not an expert on hydrangeas so here goes. I would think that if they are getting what they need it wouldn't matter where they were grown. Are they recieving enough sun, to much shade can cause hydrangeas not to bloom, over watering? I have hydrangeas an acutally I don't do anything to them. I usually forget they are around until they start blooming. Have they been over pruned, meaning could you be pruning the blooms off before they have a chance to bloom unknowingly.
Thanks Trudy for the reply. Actually they get acidic fertilizer in the spring. They get plenty of sun/shade mix. I don't prune them because of fear of snipping off any blooms. They just don't bloom. Plenty of moisture, not too much. I think I actually take pretty good care of them. Just no blooms. Wierd. Thanks for trying!!!!
Hi woodlandfey, I am no expert regarding Hydrangea either, and it surely seems to me that you are "doing things right" to have success. So, since it's nothing you're doing wrong, this is my best guess - I suspect that you may well be right about the hothouse issue, that is to say, the varieties which you have planted may not be well suited to bloom in your zone because they may be disposed to set blooms too early in the season, noticing that you are in IL. If these varieties of Hydrangea are already beginning to form bud tissue and are then subjected to a late season freeze, the buds will be damaged and will fail, and tho' the plant may recover and grow to be beautiful and bushy, the bud tissue will not. I believe that "everblooming" or later season varieties are suggested for areas prone to late frosts. One "bad" sign is if most all of the new growth on your Hydrangeas is coming, not from the existing (previous season's) wood, but, instead growing from the ground at the base.
If these varieties of Hydrangea are already beginning to form bud tissue and are then subjected to a late season freeze, the buds will be damaged and will fail, and tho' the plant may recover and grow to be beautiful and bushy, the bud tissue will not. I believe that "everblooming" or later season varieties are suggested for areas prone to late frosts. One "bad" sign is if most all of the new growth on your Hydrangeas is coming, not from the existing (previous season's) wood, but, instead growing from the ground at the base. zuzu, I think you nailed it! This could be exactly what is wrong and what I have "suspected" for years now. This is truely a real shame because they were just beautiful! I may just dig them up and send them to someone further south. That may be alright. My sister lives further south and would probably love them. Thanks for your insight!!!!!
My dad has a wisteria that went for years without blooming. I know it takes like seven years or something to bloom, but this one was ten years old. My aunt said she had one that didn't bloom, but then one year her neighbor hit it with his truck. She thought it was a goner but it bloomed that year. She said she heard they sometimes needed to be "shocked." That winter I took a shovel and beat the fool out of dad's wisteria. Come spring it bloomed. One day I told him what I did and he laughed and said he had beat on it with a pipe once a week all winter long. It might be worth a shot with your problem, just whoop on one for a while.
