Handling Hydrangeas
It is one of the floral glories of high summer, though its blooms – or lack thereof – can be a source of high anxiety for gardening enthusiasts. This year, local residents have found their hydrangeas have no blossoms at a moment when they should be showcasing ombré pastels. What gives? Val Morano Sagliocco – who helms Morano Group in Mamaroneck, Weaver Gardens in Larchmont and Ridgeway Garden Center in White Plains – has some answers.
‘This is often the result of excessive cold in winter or a late-season frost,” he says. “One scenario would be a late February and early March warm-up with 60 degrees. The plants begin to have movement in their system, then a get a frost and snow in late March that destroys their flower buds.”
A harsh winter can wreak havoc in another way, causing the old wood off which most species of hydrangeas bloom to die back into the ground. The new growth that is then produced will give you big, glossy leaves that summer but alas, no babies. You’ll have to wait and hope for the following year.
Sometimes man, however, can be as big a culprit as Mother Nature. Eager gardeners are often overeager pruners as few sights are more depressing than the brittle stalks of the hydrangeas’ winter. But patience, Sagliocco says, is a virtue.
“If hydrangeas are pruned in fall and early spring,” he says, “chances are the blooms are cut off.”
Instead, some experts advise waiting until summer when your hydrangeas are in full season to see what hasn’t bloomed before carefully removing the dead wood.
Still having trouble getting your hydrangeas to blossom? Consult your landscaper to see which kind of hydrangeas you have. They may need more sun or more phosphorus in the soil to produce blooms.
You might also want to consider sheltering the plants in winter.
“Theoretically, you could go out and cover them in blankets,” Sagliocco says, “but I don’t think that’s something most homeowners are going to do.”
As long as the plants are healthy, patience – and hiding those pruning shears – should reward you with stunning blooms, next year.
July 2020
By Georgette Gouveia