Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
reyesuela_gw

Hydrangea question!

reyesuela
15 years ago

I have a white hydrangea that is probably 40+ years old. At one point, it must have been astonishing. Its main trunk is thicker than my wrist, and what's left is 4' tall! But I must have suffered damage at some point, because it's been drastically cut back from whatever amazing height it must have once had. I've removed all the dead wood still remaining, and what's left is an attractive but very thinly foliaged ("airy" would be a nice euphemism!) plant. It flowers heavily on the existing branches, but these are quite sparse and not at all the abundant look normally associated with hydrangeas.

What can I do to encourage it to bulk up and strengthen it some more?

I'm new in this region, and I've never had most of these plants--they won't grow other places I've lived!

Comments (14)

  • petzold6596
    15 years ago

    Hydrangeas bloom on second year growth and older. Check out this site: www.hydrangeahydrangea.com, it has all the info you need to grow beautiful hydrangeas.

  • reyesuela
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    I'd already found that (hydrangeashydrangeas.com), but I'm still quite uncomfortable. I have an H. arborscens 'Annabelle', so it blooms on new wood and should be pruned anytime except spring. It is SO thin now, though, and it's clearly been cut SO far back in the past that I'm worried that one more shock will kill it. I said the trunk is as big as my wrist--actually, that's just the trunk that was cut down to 4' in height. The main trunk, which was cut to about 8", is as big as my calf. And from this enormous trunk is coming just these few long but sparse sprays of flowers. Also, the "prune plants sparingly" to 18-24" inches isn't possible. This hydrangea is more than 5' tall. If I pruned it to 18", that would be a MASSIVE pruning, not a sparing one. (I can't imagine how tall it was before its dramatic pruning in the past--certainly over 8'.)

    Some things off the top of my head that could be making it unhappy are 1) lack of hardly any irrigation (though my other one is doing great) plus root competition from nearby trees, 2) lack of fertilization (though the other hasn't been fertilized any more...), and 3) too much afternoon sun (the other is in shade). It could also just be at the end of its lifespan--I have no idea of what the normal lifespan for a hydrangea is. I'd like to make it happier if I prune it, too, to boost the chances of it growing back in such a way that does justice to the massive root system that the trunk means has to be there somewhere.

    It blooms for months and months, though, so I'm not sure how miserable it could be!

  • Iris GW
    15 years ago

    Can you post a picture of it? Annabelle doesn't have sprays of flowers, it has mopheads. Sounds like you might have Hydrangea paniculata.

    If it is Annabelle, it blooms in late spring and can be pruned in early spring. If it is Hydrangea paniculata, it blooms in summer, even late summer and is more tree like in general.

  • petzold6596
    15 years ago

    Well, with this new info about the plant I would say that the problem is physiological. For most plants, the older the stem/trunk/branch the less of the meristem, growth points for branches/leaves/etc., is in an active state, ready to grow. I suggest patience. See if you get new shoots from the stem, if not, begin pruning the existing branch to encourage further branching.

  • Dibbit
    15 years ago

    I would guess that a fair bit of the problem is lack of water. The owner of the nursery I work at part-time says "remember that the first 5 letters of hydrangea are H-Y-D-R-A, so they need lots of water". I have known some well-established ones to do OK with little or no supplemental water, but they have been smaller than ones nearby that are well-watered. If there is root competition from mature trees, even though this plant is also QUITE mature, then there may not have been enough water for all to be fully happy. If you could water next year, you might be pleasantly surprised.

    Nowhere does it say that ALL, similar hydrangeas MUST be pruned the same. If you can/want only to take this one back to a longer length than recommended, depending on the past pruning, then I see no reason not to. I would shorten the long, airy branches back to 3-6 leaf nodes, to encourage branching, but since they seem, from what I envision from your description, to be coming as sprouts from a thick trunk, I wouldn't, perhaps, want TOO much heavy growth that might then cause branches to split off if they get too heavy.

    It is too bad that someone in the past cut the trunks down so far, but it may be that it really was too big for the spot, or someone read a book, and thought that the "recommendations" were commandments that HAD to be followed. Sometimes, rules are for breaking....

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    15 years ago

    I am no expert, but having added hydrangeas to our garden for the first time about 4 years ago, I did do a little research to determine the best position for them, especially since I also have a lot of tree roots to deal with. Silver Maples which are well known for sucking the moisture out of the soil. This year we had abundant rainfall from spring right through our normally dry summer months. What a difference it made to the Hydrangeas. They surprised me how well they did. So I would agree about the water. I read somewhere that any week that they don't get at least 2 inches of rain that you should supplement with at least 2 inches of water.

    The second description of your site that raised a red flag for me, was that you have them positioned to receive afternoon sun. Many references steered me toward morning sun locations. Especially since you are in a warmer zone, I doubt they appreciate the hot afternoon sun and to keep them in that location would probably require more water than usual, I would imagine.

    I could not add any pruning advice, but one suggestion I would have, is to take cuttings of your hydrangea and try rooting them. I understand that they are easy to do. Not sure what time of year is best. At least that way, if you cannot renovate the shrub in a way that you are happy with, you will have a cutting to start in a better location to start growing it, so that if you want to cut it down at some point, you have the replacement.

    Good luck! :-)

  • Dibbit
    15 years ago

    Most references that I have seen say to take cuttings from hydrangeas in May or June, when you have semi-hard new growth.

  • harryshoe zone6 eastern Pennsylvania
    15 years ago

    It sounds like your plant received a massive pruning or, more likely, chopping. It takes time to recover. I have moved both of my hydrangeas into the shade. They did not grow in full sun even here in the east. If you are out in Big Sky country, your hydrangea is getting too much sun. It probably needs to be watered 2 or 3 times per week.

  • reyesuela
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Thanks for all the replies! I apologize for the delay in getting back--I had a BABY this last week! :-)

    Given the state of the other shrubs/trees in the yard, the massive chopping of this hydrangea is probably due to something being wrong. Most likely, a tree or a big branch fell on it and damaged it heavily. The previous owners took meticulous care of their shrubs and were definitely trimming types but, for example, let the yews in back, very gradually over many, many years, grow up to cover 1' of the windows. So they weren't the "hack it back" types. It might have also been storm/wind damage or some kind of dieback.

    I have no idea when it was cut back. I'd guess (wildly...) at least five years ago.

    The flowers are mopheads, not true "sprays". (I'm brand new to hydrangeas--I've lived only in alkaline soils before now!--so my terminology is shakey.) It's DEFINITELY not an oak-leaf. The flowers start out green/white (I THINK green going to white--it's a BIG yard and I haven't paid enough attention) and eventually fade to red. I need to get out and take a pic of it, but it's too late today. It's been blooming since...late spring, I think? Maybe midsummer? For a long time, anyway, and is still blooming now.

    I haven't seen many hydrangeas here (MD) in full-blast afternoon sunlight, but from how big this guy got at some point, I'd think that it would have been okay. I've just added a TON of shrubs nearby to make a big shrub border, so it's now being irrigated regularly. We'll see if that makes a difference next year! Also, once the front border of shrubs grow up, they should shade it a bit in the afternoons.

    >I would shorten the long, airy branches back to 3-6 leaf nodes, to encourage branching, but since they seem, from what I envision from your description, to be coming as sprouts from a thick trunk, I wouldn't, perhaps, want TOO much heavy growth that might then cause branches to split off if they get too heavy.

    Yes, that's exactly it!

  • mycitygarden
    15 years ago

    Did you try posting this question on the hydrangea forum? There are a number of people who LIVE for hydrangeas & might be able to give you even more advice. Of course, photos always help!

  • reyesuela
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    I'll try it!

  • Maggie0114
    9 years ago

    I'd like to move my limelight hydrangeas. I planted them about 4 years ago and they now grow to about 7 feet tall. Are they young enough that moving them won't damage or kill them? Also, can I split them in the process of moving them? What is the age of a young limelight hydrangea....what is their lifespan?

    Thanks for any information you can provide.

  • Maggie0114
    9 years ago

    I'm in Zone 6. Thanks.

  • cecily
    9 years ago

    Hi Maggie, you can move them in early fall or late spring (if your soil is clay, I'd move them in fall). Be sure to have a big work crew lined up, it will be quite a job to get large root balls on four year old plants.

    Don't try to split them like a perennial when you dig them -- hydrangeas are propagated by rooting stem cuttings. Splitting would damage your plants.