Hydrangea

I love Hydrangea. I have several versions in my yard, including the oakleaf pictured here. Mine has never looked this good, but I remain optimistic! It took several years to establish itself, but once it did, it started thriving and has looked better and better every year. I am going to plant another one near it, as I have been looking for shrubs in my upper border that will act as a screen from the street, at least for most of the year. Most everything else I have tried has not made it. Other things have done OK but I did not like them in that location. So I decided I would plant another of these. The continuity will be good for that fairly small space, and this species does well in a sunny-shady combo location, which is what I have.


I also have an old fashioned mop-head, "Nikko Blue" (two of them, actually) in the front of my house. It is a very common hydrangea, the one most people think of when visualizing this species. Mine started as two tiny dormant sprouts from the Michigan Bulb Co., 11 years ago. It took one good year in the dirt to establish themselves, and now they are HUGE when in season, I usually have to go in and trim them several times during the summer or they will take over the front of the house, and you can't see out the windows!


Here is what it looks like today. I desperately want to prune it's scraggly appearance, but it's too early. In this region it's best to wait until the first week of March. I read this years ago, and have had remarkable success with that method. We will likely have quite a few false spring days in the near future. The thing will do it's best to grow. And then we will get the requisite hard freeze(s) between now and April 1, which would ruin it's bloom cycle if it were pruned. Last year we had a very late hard freeze, and it did interfere but not completely wipe it out. I just did not have the proliferation of blooms that I usually do. And what blooms they are! They start out in indescribable shade of Winsor blue, and then over the summer change to a chartreuse (it's lovely) and finally fade out to a lavender. Some people hate hydrangeas, and I find that very difficult to understand, but to each their own. I'm love with them!

This is how my oakleaf looks today. I did not prune it last year, and it was fine. It's still not mature, and I have had it in the ground for at least 4 years. I may prune it this year though, I notice that the ones on campus are sheared.

I have tried several other varieties, and will continue to, but I have killed more than I have in my yard, unfortunately. It's so tempting to try the exotic new strains, but what really works best around here are the proven standbys and the native species. Summers here are TOUGH. But that is another subject for a different day.

Signs of Spring!