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April Gardening Tips
The temperatures are rising, the birds are singing and the sun is shining- Spring is here! The weather, rather than the calendar, dictate when to start working in your garden.
April 1, 2024
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Caring for Your Hydrangeas
Hydrangeas are excellent for a range of garden sites from group plantings to shrub borders to containers. With immense flower heads, hydrangeas flaunt a beauty that is hard to beat. Colors vary, with clear blue, vibrant pinks, frosty whites, lavender and rose – and sometimes these colors all bloom on the same plant! Hydrangeas are easy to cultivate, tolerate almost any soil and produce flowers in mid-summer through fall.
Planting Plant hydrangeas in the spring, summer or fall. Be sure to keep in mind full mature size of the plants, ensuring that they will barely touch at full size. This will make your garden look full, while allowing air to still circulate through the garden.
- Dig your hole two to three times wider than the pot size.
- Place any fertilizer or nutrients needed to improve soil mix in the hole before putting your hydrangeas in place. Use a starter fertilizer, such as Espoma Bio-tone Starter Plus and English Gardens Soil Conditioner.
- Make sure that the crown of the plant (where the base of the stems meets the soil – is even with the ground level. If the hydrangea is placed too high, it can easily dry out.
- Make sure to space multiple hydrangeas about three to ten feet apart, depending on the size of variety and desired result.
Soil While they can be grown in a wide range of soils, hydrangeas prefer rich, moist soil that drains easily. Amending the soil with soil conditioner prior to planting is helpful.
- Sandy soils can be considered an asset after a long or hard rain, because they drain quickly. The drawback is that they won’t hold a lot of moisture and nutrients for plants. It’s best to add some peat and top soil to the soil when planting.
- If you have clay soil, it is best to amend the soil with English Gardens Soil Conditioner that will help “break up” the clay as it breaks down and becomes organic matter in the soil.
- If you prefer pink blooms, your hydrangea should be deprived of aluminum by growing it in an alkaline soil. You can apply a high-phosphorus fertilizer to further discourage the uptake of aluminum.
Sun Exposure Most can be grown in full sun or partial shade. Keep in mind, though, that many hydrangeas do not like extremely hot conditions. Try to locate your hydrangea so that they receive full sun in the morning, with some afternoon shade. Keep in mind, many will grow and bloom in partial shade. This is especially true for bigleaf hydrangeas.
After You’ve Planted
- For the first year or two after planting and during any drought, be sure hydrangeas get plenty of water. Leaves will wilt if the soil is too dry.
- If your soil is rich, you may not need to fertilize hydrangeas. If your soil is light or sandy, it’s best to feed the plants once a year n late winter or spring. Too much fertilizer encourages leafy growth at the expense of blooms.
- In the fall, cover plants to a depth of at least 18 inches with bark mulch, leaves, pine needles, or straw. If at all possible, cover the entire plant, tip included, by making cages out of snow fencing or chicken wire, and loosely filling the cages with leaves. (Do not use maple leaves.)
Pruning You prize your hydrangeas for their beautiful flowers, so it’s important to make sure you prune them at the right time to encourage stunning blooms every season. The first step is to determine the variety of your hydrangea, and depending on the variety, follow these tips:
- Bigleaf Hydrangeas If you have Hydrangea macrophylla, also known as Bigleaf Hydrangea, there isn’t all too much pruning to do. This plant requires little more than a trimming and only immediately after flowering. You should never prune it in winter or early spring, because it sets flower buds the year before and if you shear it back, then you will cut off all of summer’s flowers.
- Smooth Hydrangeas Hydrangea arborescens, also known as Smooth Hydrangea, are beloved for their adaptable nature and reliable blooms. You should prune it back in fall or late winter. These hydrangeas bloom on “new wood”—the current season’s growth. Pruning them back at that time encourages new growth, which produces flowers. Pruning will also result in a fuller, stronger plant that’s less likely to flop under the weight of its abundant summer flowers. Cutting the stems back to one or two feet will leave a good framework to support the blooms.
- Hardy Hydrangeas Hydrangea paniculata, sometimes called Hardy Hydrangea, also blooms on new wood. Prune it back in fall or late winter. You can cut it back one to two feet, or if you want slightly taller plant, cut it back three to four feet. This is a great job for one of those early fall days when the air crisp and cool, but not too cold to enjoy being outside. Make this part of your fall clean up and you will be rewarded with beautiful, full plants in the spring!
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