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What's wrong with my hydrangea?

gerritogerrito Posts: 16
in Problem solving
I struggle with hydrangeas.  I try to keep them to morning sun only and I water them well around the roots but I never seem to have much luck with them actually growing.  This macrophylla is just on 12 months old and I haven't pruned it at all this year in an attempt to let it do its thing. 

I straw mulched it over the winter and gave it a nice layer of rotted manure in April.  It did get a hard frost as the growth was starting though so perhaps that might account for some of its patheticness (is that a word?)  It seemed to be doing so well last year.

What do I do with it?  Can it be saved?  I was prepared for it not to have flowers for the first couple of years and I'm happy to be patient if needs be but if any experts out there think its just not worth it, pray, please tell.  Its a healthy straggling eyesore! :D

I'm in NW England btw!




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  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    For a year old plant, it doesn't look that bad to me, but l stand to be corrected. How much water do you give it ?
    I would definitely cut back those old shoots and possibly clear the mulch away from the plant.
    I'll be interested to hear what others have to say.
  • gerritogerrito Posts: 16
    Thanks @AnniD.  I jam the hose under it and go and dead head.  Its coddled!  It gets a full 5 mins at least.
  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    In my (fairly limited) experience of hydrangeas, l find that they do take a while to get going, a good 2 or 3 years at least.  Hopefully someone with more knowledge will come along  :)
  • Balgay.HillBalgay.Hill Posts: 1,089
    edited May 2022
    gerrito said:
    Thanks @AnniD.  I jam the hose under it and go and dead head.  Its coddled!  It gets a full 5 mins at least.
    I've got a couple of young plants a similar size. I think it's better using a watering can, and pouring a couple of gallons twice a week direct to the roots, instead of a 5 minutes hose.
    Sunny Dundee
  • gerritogerrito Posts: 16
    The list of to-do's is growing.  Clear the mulch, chop off the old wood (no blooms anyway!!) and control the water supply.  At least its worth keeping then.  I appreciate your insights!  Thank you.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Can I ask - why are you pruning it when it's such an immature plant?
    You're likely to be cutting off the flowering wood. 
    A plant of that size/age wouldn't be pruned at all for a few years, and only then would you take a small amount off. The paniculatas are the only ones which get hard pruned in late winter/early spring. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • gerritogerrito Posts: 16
    Hi @Fairygirl I didn't/don't prune at all but in an effort to make it tidier, this afternoon I've trimmed off the old woody shoots that were a unbloomin' eyesore.  There were no buds at all on there, just a few leaves at the tips.  My way of pruning would be to dead head it in the Spring time.  It looks more compact now honest!  ;)
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    You're pruning off the wood that carries the flowers eventually - those stems carry the foliage and the flower buds. It'll take a few years to be mature enough to flower really well if it was a young plant put in a year ago. 
    It just needs to be left to grow .  Plenty of water in dry spells and a bit of general food will give it a boost. If you get any flowers this year [unlikely now] then they're best left on until the spring when they can be removed and the stems would just be taken back to a decent bud, depending on the size of the plant   :)
    Morning sun can be very damaging after frost though, especially when there doesn't seem to be anything around to give it some shade while it's young. The frost will knock back soft new growth. It's why the timing of pruning can be difficult.
    I pruned mine last year after the frosts seemed to be done. They weren't. No flowers last year. Late frosts again this year, but I didn't prune. I'm hoping they'll recover enough to form some this year. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    Cutting off those longer bits (technical term) won't have made much difference in the long term.
    As @Fairygirl says, the thing to do now is concentrate on building it up, and leaving any flower heads on over Winter.
    It can be very tempting to remove them as soon as we get a spell of mild weather in Spring,  but leaving it until you are absolutely certain there will be no more frosts. It's easy to get caught out, that's all l'm saying 😁
  • bertrand-mabelbertrand-mabel Posts: 2,697
    Ours have suffered with the frosts in April. All in the ground and only now showing signs of growth.
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