A mild winter like the one we just had meant a great spring for Hydrangeas. Normally when we have a rough winter, the stems would typically die back. What we’re seeing now is that some of the stems from last year are alive all the way down to the tips, as well as some of last year’s buds, which means new growth has a head start. We’re already seeing plants fully leafed out in the landscape here.

If you’re considering one for your own space, it’s important to know how to care for them to keep your plant looking great throughout the growing season.

One of the most popular varieties we get questions about is the hydrangea macrophylla, especially regarding pruning. The most important pruning tip to remember is to resist the temptation to prune all the way to the ground because most varieties of hydrangea bloom on old wood, so if you remove the old-growth, it will affect the flowering for the season.

You should also make sure to water, especially if your plants get a lot of sun. A 2-3” layer of mulch around the base will help keep the moisture in as well but remember, no “volcano” mulching (where you pile the mulch higher up next stem). Mulching around your hydrangea will encourage deep roots to develop, adding to winter hardiness.

Right now, your hydrangeas should be leafed out. The size and height of the plant will vary depending on how old your plant is. More mature hydrangeas are taller right now than newly planted ones. It’s okay for some branches to still look dormant. Any twigs poking out beyond the outside edge of green leaves may be tipped back only so far that they can’t be seen. Many plants you see in the landscape are starting to form flower buds. This is a great sign. Color is on its way!

Now is also the time to feed your hydrangea. We recommend Holly-Tone, which is a slow-release fertilizer for acid-loving plants. Once your plants start blooming you can also apply soil acidifier or garden lime to ensure they’re the perfect color for your garden all season long.

For additional tips for success, be sure to reference our Hydrangeas Demystified Guide.

You can also view our Hydrangea Talk Video Playlist on Youtube for everything hydrangea-related.

As always, if you have additional questions about how to care for your hydrangeas, don’t hesitate to reach out. We’re here for you!

There’s no doubt that hydrangeas can hold their own in the garden. With big colorful blooms and beautiful green foliage, summer’s favorite flower makes a bold statement in any garden.

But, why not pair them with delicate foliage, bold flowers, or subtle ornamental grasses for more variety? If you’re looking for ways to make your hydrangeas pop, even more, try these companion planting tips.

When planting hydrangeas, be sure to use Espoma’s Organic Soil Acidifier for best results.

Foliage

It’s hard to go wrong when choosing a color for companion plants. Try pairing hydrangeas with foliage in different hues of the same color. This adds subtle dimension and almost creates a 3-D effect in the garden.

If your hydrangeas are pink, pair them with Rose Glow Barberry shrubs. The deep pink and purple foliage emphasizes the pastel pink flowers and contrasts perfectly with the green leaves. Try planting Blue Star Juniper alongside blue hydrangeas for a beautiful display. This low-maintenance shrub provides beautiful bluish-green foliage that complements any blue flowering plants.

Flowers

When planting flowers with flowers, timing is everything. Be sure to choose a summer-blooming flower that will blossom around the same time as your hydrangea. You can choose to plant similar hues or bright contrasting colors. If you’re looking to create a dramatic contrast in the garden, choose a flower that comes in a variety of colors.

Begonias and geraniums are beautiful flowers that come in many different shades, making them a perfect companion for hydrangeas. Create a colorful rainbow garden by pairing blue hydrangeas with pink geraniums or white hydrangeas with scarlet begonias.

Grasses

If you want the focus of your garden to be mainly on hydrangeas, opt for more subtle ornamental grasses that simply enhance their beauty. Most ornamental grasses are low-maintenance and easy to grow, giving you more time to spend perfecting your hydrangeas.

Fountain grass is one of our favorites because it provides pretty feathered plumes that dance in the wind. Green and yellow Japanese forest grass also complement hydrangeas very nicely.

Winter is coming- not just for Game of Thrones, but for your garden too. And like many people at the first sign of cold, you’re off and ready to prepare for the worst of it- raking, mulching, composting, and of course, pruning, right? Well, hold on just a second.

While cutting back your perennials after the first frost and cleaning up your vegetable garden are certainly recommended right now, try to fight the urge to fire up hedge trimmers and oil up your pruners in anticipation of a good fall trim. Most summer flowering plants, like roses, panicled hydrangeas, rose of Sharon, and others, much prefer to be left alone for the coming winter and cleaned up in the early spring. Even your ornamental grasses would much rather be left alone for the winter and pruned in the spring. By leaving these plants alone, you allow any winter damage to occur at the tops of the plants, where you would be pruning it out anyway, instead of much deeper in the plant, where it will take longer to recover.

But when exactly should you prune? Spring flowering shrubs like azaleas, lilac, and rhododendron should be pruned after flower and before the fourth of July, whereas summer flowering shrubs, roses, and grasses should be left alone until late winter or early, early spring. Any evergreens can be pruned in mid-spring after the plants have begun to flush lush new growth.

Winter is coming- make yourself a drink and stay warm. Your plants will thank you in the spring.

Will O’Hara

Perennial Manager

It’s always a good day for the team when we can take a minute to talk about some of our favorite plants. Fall is a fantastic time to plant, and an event better time to admire the landscape. We put pen to paper and came up with a baker’s dozen of our favorite Autumn Flowers and Fruits. If you don’t see yours let us know, we love to know what you are planting!

Beauty Berry

Winter Berry

Sweet Autumn Clematis

Sedum

Perennial Plumbago

Dogwood

Snow Berry

Lespidiza

Butterfly Weed

Crab Apple

Hydrangea

Knock Out and Drift Roses

Fall Anenome

We love the contrasts and textures of fall foliage. From grasses to trees we have compiled a baker’s dozen of our favorites to see in the autumn landscape. If you don’t see your favorite let us know, we are always interested in what you are planting!

Hydrangea ‘Little Quick Fire’

Blueberries

Witch Hazel

Itea

‘Standing Ovation’ Grass

Stewartia

Oakleaf Hydrangea

Fothergilla

Perennial Plumbago

Dogwoods

Clethera

‘Little Miss’ Miscanthus

‘North Wind’ Panicum

IF ONLY TREES & SHRUBS COULD TALK TO US,

WE COULD LEARN SO MUCH MORE!

If only trees & shrubs could talk to us. Oh, the things they would tell us! They could let us know when they need some water when they have had too much to drink, if an insect or disease is bothering them, and especially if they are hungry. We could be much better caregivers to our natural friends if only they could speak to us. Ah, but they do. They let us know when they are happy by becoming big, full, lush, and colorful. They also communicate their aches and pains to us through stunted growth, yellowing leaves, oozing sap, and so many other ways. If we pay close attention, we actually might be able to hear what they are saying. But, sometimes we just can’t! A lot of gardening is just trial and error. It’s often about just going for it, experimenting, and seeing what works.

If you know me, then by now, you know I am a huge fan of fertilizing trees and shrubs. Some might even say I am a fertilizer pusher! It is only because I want what is best for your plants. If trees & shrubs could speak or even yell at us, they might shout…”Gimme some food!” Everyone in the plant world knows that early spring and spring are excellent times to give your trees & shrubs a healthy dose of fertilizer but do we all realize how truly important it is to fertilize them in the fall? I KNEW IT WAS IMPORTANT BUT NOT NEARLY AS MUCH AS I THOUGHT! I learn new things every day.

I always knew that it was important to give our trees & shrubs a half dose of fertilizer in the fall to help them recover from the heat and drought stress of summer. I also knew that the reason we suggested feeding them at ½ the amount we do in the spring is to promote recovery but not encourage too much new growth before winter. We always thought that fertilizing our trees & shrubs late in the fall would make it so they could not harden off and get damaged from winter weather. WELL GUESS WHAT GUYS? THIS IS NOT EXACTLY TRUE ANYMORE!

The new truth is that we can fertilize trees & shrubs late into the fall. We can fertilize them a full month after the first killing frost. We can fertilize them after all the leaves have fallen off the trees. Yes, guys, this is the new thing I learned and wanted to pass onto you. Logically, this makes so much sense. I have been encouraging customers to put down Fall Lawn Food after their last mow of the season for years, why not trees & shrubs too! The rationale is…trees & shrubs significantly slow growth in late fall. After they lose their leaves, they have practically stopped growing up top for the year, but they do not stop growing down below. It is not only okay but it is great to give trees and shrubs the right fertilizer late in the fall. The food you give them at this time will just promote wonderful, deep root growth and store itself inside the root system so it is immediately available to the plant right away in the spring. How cool is that you guys!

So, here I go again, pushing fertilizer on you. We learn new things every day. Fall fertilizer for trees & shrubs is more important than we ever imagined. So go for it! Your plants are talking to you. Listen.

Come see us at Van Wilgen’s. We would love to help!

SHOPPING LIST:

*Espoma Tree-Tone

*Espoma Holly-Tone

*Espoma Plant –Tone

*Van Wilgen’s Control Release

Large, beautiful hydrangeas are a great addition to any landscape. Their bold colors make them perfect for freshly cut or dried flowers. Getting off to the right start in the right location is the difference between a hydrangea bush that blooms for years and one that never does.

Get the beautiful blooms you desire with these hydrangea planting tips.

Where should I plant my hydrangea? Choose a spot with moist, well-drained soil. Hydrangeas can grow from 4’ to 12’ in height depending on the variety, so plan accordingly. Most hydrangeas benefit from some shade, especially in hot climates. Too much shade means your hydrangea may not grow flowers.

Check the plant tag to find out how many hours of sun your hydrangea should be getting per day. Panicle hydrangeas tolerate more sun than do other species. And if you live in a region where it gets seriously hot, your hydrangea will need more shade than those grown in colder zones. Hydrangeas in southern climates especially need frequent watering to tolerate that stress.

If you’ve noticed your hydrangea has stopped blooming in recent years, it may be time to evaluate the location. Make sure hydrangeas are still receiving enough daily light and check the growth of nearby trees. Consider moving the hydrangea to a sunnier spot.

Get Ready to Plant. Once you’ve found the perfect spot, dig a hole twice as large as the hydrangea’s container. Mix in an organic starter plant food, such as Bio-tone Starter Plus, to keep roots strong. Add 1” of compost or Espoma Organic All-purpose Garden Soil to help with nutrients and drainage. Place the hydrangea in the hole at about the same height it was in the container, spreading its roots wide. Backfill the hole with soil and top with 2-3” of mulch.

Water Well. After you plant, water the hydrangea until a puddle forms. Water twice a week for a month. Then water deeply once a week until fall.

The Finishing Touch. Feed blue hydrangeas with Holly-tone to keep the soil acidic. Otherwise, opt for Flower-tone. For the best hydrangea care, feed 2-3 times throughout the growing season, which is spring until fall.

Things seem to be looking up for Hydrangeas

2016 proved to be such a disappointing year for Hydrangeas but I think things are looking up. Fingers crossed! I suppose I should not lump all hydrangeas together and give some credit where credit is due. Some Hydrangea varieties actually performed quite well last year. Most of the smooth-leaf(Annabelle) and paniculata(Limelight) Hydrangeas actually put on a nice show in spite of Mother Nature’s lack of cooperation. The Hydrangeas that struggled the most last year were the big leaf varieties/macrophylla. But we love this kind of Hydrangea! No need to stop loving them. The Endless Summer, big leaf varieties of Hydrangea are so beautiful with their pom-pom-like pinkish to bluish blooms. Macrophylla Hydrangeas got hit hard with last year’s late April frost. Shame on Mother Nature. Hydrangeas were duped by the unusually warm March weather in 2016 and thought it was their signal to grow. Then April came along and fooled everyone with her unexpected, harsh frost. Poor Big Leaf Hydrangeas, they didn’t know what hit them! Here is the good news…2017 seems to be going better for our favorite Big Leaf Hydrangeas. What can we do to make it an even better year?

Let’s begin with flower color. Macrophylla varieties of Hydrangeas are interesting because in some people’s yards, they have these showy, pink cotton candy-like flower balls. In other yards, the flowers are of the deepest blue. How is this possible, that the same type of hydrangea can be pink on one property and blue in another person’s garden? It is not because Hydrangeas have a choice, it all has to do with the pH of your soil. The sweeter the soil, the pinker the Hydrangea flower. The more sour the soil, the bluer your Hydrangea flower. It is as simple as science. If you prefer pink cotton candy over blue, add lime to your soil. Lime makes the pH more alkaline/basic, thus, in turn, making the flowers pinker. If you have a preference for blue, add sulfur to your soil. Sulfur makes the soil more acidic. It is important that you start your applications of Lime or Color Me Pink a.s.a.p. Soil Acidifier and Color Me Blue also should be applied first thing in the spring. It takes a little while to change the pH of your soil, so get going now to see the color you prefer when they bloom.

pH is not the only important part when it comes to Macrophylla Hydrangea care. They also need to eat guys! Don’t deny them the fertilizer they need to give you those showy blooms. If pink is your color, use Plant-Tone on those hydrangeas. It contains no sulfur, so the soil will not become more acidic. If you are true blue, use Holly-Tone. It has a touch of sulfur, so your soil pH will drop even lower, making flowers even bluer. Fickle flowers aren’t they?! Actually, they are pretty low maintenance. Did you know that you do not even need to prune a Hydrangea except for some simple dead-heading of the spent flower? Yes, it is true, they would rather be left alone. Be patient folks. Macrophylla Hydrangeas can be slow to show green growth on the old stems. Don’t be hasty and cut them right off in the spring. Give them some fertilizer and give them a chance to do their thing.

I love all of our Endless Summer varieties of Macrophylla Hydrangeas, from Twist n’ Shout to Bloomstruck, they are all so pretty and just make me think of New England. You might even want to have some fun this year and see if you can change some Macrophylla varieties pink and the others blue in your yard. Why not?! Go for it. While you are at it…throw some Lime around some other sweet soil-loving plants. Lilacs, Peonies, Clematis, and Tomatoes all love a little Lime. If you are in the process of changing your Hydrangeas blue, share some of the soil acidifiers with your Blueberry bushes and Potatoes. They like a little sour treat.

The bottom line is, do not stop loving and caring for the Big Leaf/Macrophylla Hydrangeas. As long as Mother Nature cooperates, they will shower you in pinks or blues. It is all up to you!

Come see us at Van Wilgen’s. We would love to help!

SHOPPING LIST:

*Color Me Pink

*Lime

*Color Me Blue

*Soil Acidifier

*Plant-Tone

*Holly-Tone