NEW BLOG FORMAT
We are now utilizing a Blog Format for the Timely Tips and the Featured Plant. As a result, all future entries will be available whenever you need them. The Featured Plant section currently has search capabilities that work well. We will continue to work to improve the search capabilities for both. Eventually, you will be able to Google something like….Betten Timely Tips Putting plants to bed for the winter…., and the correct link will appear. For now, you will simply scroll down the Timely Tips page to see Dec, 2021 – Feb, 2022. All of this should make the site more user friendly. If you run into a problem, please let me know so that we can address it.
SPRING IS AROUND THE CORNER
My garden is still fast asleep. I’ll take this as a good sign. I love watching the buds fill out and spring bulbs push up from the earth with the promise of renewal in the months ahead. We have hardly seen any snow this winter. Snow is very beneficial to plants over the winter, providing some insulating protection from winter winds, and slow moisture release into the soil. Hopefully, our plants will emerge in good health over the coming months. The deer have been voracious, and I’ve resigned myself to finally giving up and replacing many of my Rhododendron with plants they should leave alone. The never-ending battle for survival of the fittest.
Are the buds of your Hydrangea macrophylla nice and plump and starting to push out new growth? If so, those buds are likely to be ruined if we get some freezing days. In years past, I’ve recommended covering these Hydrangeas with a sheet to try to protect the buds. DON’T BOTHER. We experimented with some covered and some uncovered, and there was no difference in the results. The other Hydrangeas should make it through unscathed. If you’ve had it with the H. macrophylla, try Hydrangea aborescens or Hydrangea paniculata. These have yet to be bothered by the fickle conditions of February and March.
Don’t forget to harvest some of the FIDDLE HEADS from your patch of Ostrich Fern. Saute and serve with your next meal. They are a real treat.
WARNING…The warm weather, if we are lucky enough to see some of that, also encourages us to spend time in our gardens. If you are sensitive to Poison Ivy, treat each outing as though the vines and roots you encounter are actually Poison Ivy in its dormant state. Wear long sleeves, wash with Dawn, and immediately put garden clothing in the wash. Use clean dirt to ‘wash’ gloves and boots.
PRUNING HYDRANGEAS
If you are like me, it’s hard to resist adding Hydrangeas to your landscape. Very few plants have such an outstanding show of blooms that persist for months. Even in their dried state, I find them an asset to the garden. In Maryland, we are fortunate to have so many options. But, when and how to prune? For this entry, I combined my experience with that of some expert landscape managers – Ron Ammon in Anne Arundel County and John Stevener in Baltimore County. I even consulted Dr. Francis Gouin’s book, Enough Said! This won’t be all of the Hydrangeas that are out there, but these are the most popular.
Hydrangea anomola var. petiolaris / Climbing Hydrangea – bloom in spring
It’s best to prune shortly after flowering in the spring, but this is such a tough plant that it can be pruned almost anytime. It can even handle significant hard pruning of several feet, and if done in the spring, you’ll find that the new growth will hide all of your cuts in no time.
Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’ / Annabelle Hydrangea – bloom in spring
Cut back to 12-18” in height in early-March. Also, remove any old, dead canes. Some folks remove small stems smaller than a pencil, but I’m lazy, and never worry about this. Cutting back in this manner encourages the production of the large flower heads we crave.
Hydrangea macrophylla / Bigleaf Hydrangea – bloom in summer
This group includes the Hortensia varieties (snowball), and Lacecap varieties that bloom on 2nd year wood. It also includes all of the ‘Endless Summer’ cultivars bred to bloom on 1st and 2nd year wood. As it turns out, the pruning is the same for all. Unfortunately, we have had several years lately when just about all of our flowering buds (apical buds) have been killed by a late freeze. When this is severe, the plant could die back to the ground and need to start all over again. Those blooming only on 2nd year wood are likely to be without flowers for the entire season, while those blooming on 1st and 2nd year wood may have nice flowers in late summer.
The best we can do is to cut back after the last freeze when we can see which buds are still healthy and plump. Prune back to the height of healthy buds. Remember that this plant will generally grow 2-3 ft in a season. All old, dead canes should be removed. Dr. Gouin also recommends, “that last year’s flowering canes should be removed as well as canes thinner than a pencil in diameter. To obtain maximum flower size with stems that are strong enough to support the flowers, thin the remaining stems so the space between them is 3” to 4” apart. This will allow strong stems to develop and space for strong new stems to emerge.”
Hydrangea paniculata / Panicle Hydrangea – bloom summer/fall
Popular cultivars include ‘Grandiflora’ (PeeGee Hydrangea), ‘Limelight’, ‘Little Lime’(a dwarf form), ‘Vanilla Strawberry’, ‘Tardiva’ just to name a few. They seem to come out with new cultivars every year.
Hard prune in the spring. March or April will be fine. If you are concerned that a heavy snow might break a drooping branch in a bad location, then by all means, cut this back a bit prior to the first snow. It is possible to hard prune these plants in the fall, but then you lose the graceful architecture for the winter months.
Hydrangea quercifolia / Oakleaf Hydrangea – bloom late spring
The best time to prune is right after flowering, probably mid-late June. Unfortunately, by doing so, you will cut off many of the flowers you normally enjoy as they age from white to pink to mauve to tissue paper brown. Since this plant blooms on the previous years growth, pruning right after flowering is really the best option. If you prune in March prior to bloom time, the plant will do well, but you won’t have many flowers.
Cut the spent blooms back to a large healthy pair of buds. To reduce size, cut back no more than a third of the plant at a time. Do not cut back all branches by a third. Blooms appear at the tips of branches so an overall trim will just repeat the pruning errors of the previous year. Cut out no more than a third of the entire branches, if you want some blooms next year. If lightly pruned in winter or early spring, you will decrease the bloom count but may get larger blooms.
Hydrangea serrata / Mountain Hydrangea – bloom late spring ZONE 6-9
This variety is usually smaller in habit than the H. macrophylla, but is still lush and full-blooming. This family of hydrangeas comes from Japan and has very serrated leaves that show lots of red and burgundy in the sun as they age. This group is a great choice for locations subject to late spring frosts as they are late to leaf out, and typically avoid risk of damage.
Prune the same as the Hydrangea macrophylla.
IF YOU NEED HELP, it’s not too late to contact a landscape contractor to help with the spring cleanup. A thorough cleanup, new spade cut bed edges and a fresh layer of mulch greatly improve the ease of garden maintenance throughout the growing months. Be careful not to smother newly emerging bulbs and perennials. If you have a lot of perennials in your garden, postpone mulching until after the foliage has emerged.
IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION about a particular shrub or perennial in your garden, please feel free to send me an e-mail. I will respond promptly. If you don’t remember the name of the plant, send me some photos.
