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Frost got my hydrangeas

JacquimcmahonJacquimcmahon Posts: 1,039
in Problem solving
Hi all, with the overly warm weather in March my hydrangeas all have a lot of new foliage (even some flower heads beginning to show) and of course the last two nights we have had frost... I covered them as best I could but a couple are showing limp and slightly blackened foliage this morning. Is all lost for this year or do you think I could prune back a bit (to some of the protected inner branches perhaps), and still get some kind of show this year?  

All are mophead and grown in large pots, only the top leaves seem affected for now.

thanks as always for your advice.
Marne la vallée, basically just outside Paris 🇫🇷, but definitely Scottish at heart.

Posts

  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    That’s frost damage and why I don’t cut the old flowers off or prune down at all until mid to end of April. Only once I did them in March, frost got the buds and I had to do them again.
    I would leave yours until this frosty spell is over,  see what it’s like by the end of next week, then just snip of the top blackened shoots. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • JacquimcmahonJacquimcmahon Posts: 1,039
    Thanks Lyn that’s what I was thinking. Normally I leave the heads on but most snapped off during heavy snow in January so when the hot weather arrived a few weeks ago the new growth went crazy! Never seen so much new leaf on them this early, even here in Paris where we are generally a few weeks ahead of the UK.
    Marne la vallée, basically just outside Paris 🇫🇷, but definitely Scottish at heart.
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