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Hydraenga Advice
James Nixon
Posts: 5
in Plants
I have this summer put in a hydrangea and its been beautiful. A few of the flower heads are now dieing and turning brown. This makes the general appearance of the plant look unhealthy. When can I cut/remove the dead flower heads and if so where do I cut back to? Thank you in anticipation.
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You could do it straight away but I believe (someone who knows will be along in a bit) it's conventional to leave the heads on till the spring so you can admire their shape over the winter...
Whenevre you do it it's a good idea to go back to the node (stem joint) below the flower.
It also helps protect the new buds if you leave the heads on over winter from frost etc.
If you have cold dry winters the flowers make a sort of "wool hat" on top of the plant that gives some protection from frost (and they can be beautiful, if they dry properly). But if you have wet winters they will most likely turn to mush and look dreadful, as well as inviting rot. Also they can get heavy with slushy snow and a whole bush can splay open miserably. So, depending on the conditions, you can cut them or leave them, each has potential pros and cons.
Perhaps it's a plant that's been 'forced', been undercover, and flowered earlier Verd. Think someone else had a similar issue recently.
We're in the latter category here Katherine. All these tv shows that say 'keep the seed/flower heads on plants overwinter for a lovely display'....no chance of that. I tidy mine or they look like sludge by Christmas.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
That I be Verd ...perhaps I'm Cornish.....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I know FG, it is the same here. I either cut them and dry them for decoration or just use them as mulch (the blue flowers return some f thos precious minerals to the soil, too). But if the plant is hard against a sheltered wall (which is usually a dry-ish place), then they can sometimes remain beautiful a bit longer, as I noticed in a friend's garden last year. Funny how a garden can contain so many different microclimates.
KW - Just my personal taste but I don't like hydrangeas - apart from the white ones. Don't like that 'birthday cake' pink or the shade of blue. They grow very well here because of the climate but they look dire once they finish.
I now live a few hundred yards away from a previous garden - it was sheltered and full of things I couldn't have here at the moment just because it's more exposed. As you rightly say - micro climates in our gardens. We have to plant accordingly
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
It's a love or hate thing, I think. I love some of the less common ones ver much, (the quercifolia, paniculata, aspera, some of the serrata), and some varieties also. The birthday cake pink I don't like either (except for Ayesha). I am in love with some of the less obvious macrophylla though, like "Hanabi". But my all time favourite are quercifolia "Snowflake", serrata "Shinonome", and paniculata "Pinky Winky" (they are all essentially white!).
I used to have a large collection of them in Germany, but then we moved away, and the collection was all dispersed. Now I have a few again, but to be honest it's too dry here for them, and they look pitiful, at least they do this year. I hope they do better in the future.