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Vanilla Fraise Hydrangea - Needing support?
Hello all,
I am totally new to gardening but have become a little obsessed over the last month or two and am trying to do as much as I can.
I have a beautiful Vanilla Fraise Hydrangea that I bought last year. It has grown really well this year but the stems seem to be dropping on a lot of the plant and they are getting knocked about by my unruly children.
Does this type of Hydrangea need support once the flower heads begin to form? The photos that I have seen of it all look beautifully bunched together and upright so I am wondering if I am going wrong somewhere.
Many thanks for any advice,
Louise
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young plants seem to need support, but as they mature they need less.
If it's being knocked about by your kids either it's in the wrong place - too near their play area - or they need to learn to keep on the grass and off the beds. If it's in the wrong place, wait till autumn to move it when it is dormant so it doesn't get a shock and its roots have time to recover and develop over winter.
That said, young plants can need extra support till they mature and, in addition, this is a plant that is pruned back every spring to encourage new growth and bushiness as it flowers on new stems. Verdun posted on another thread that it helps to cut the old stems half back and not all the way back so the plant doesn't droop under the weight of the flowers.