Category: News and Tips

Hydrangea Care Questions and Answers

Post author By cooleen
Post date July 1, 2018

My hydrangea grows beautiful green leaves, but I haven’t seen any blooms yet. How do I get my hydrangea to bloom?

There are a few main reasons that you may not see blooms on your hydrangea bushes: sun exposure, over-watering and over-fertilizing. Endless Summer® hydrangeas prefer morning sun and afternoon dappled shade. If they are planted in full sun, it may be too hot and intense for the blooms to produce. Also, over-watering and over-fertilizing your plants can inhibit bloom production. Hydrangeas prefer moist, but not wet soil, and one application of fertilizer in spring or early summer. For additional planting and care tips, please click here.
I pruned my hydrangeas back after an early frost and now I am not seeing blooms. Why is that?: How to prune hydrangeas is a great question. If you pruned your hydrangeas back to the base, it will take some time for the new growth to develop and produce blooms. Be patient and look for the green growth coming up from the base of the plants. That is where your new blooms will grow from!
I had several small blooms on my hydrangeas last year, so this year I have fertilized every 10 days until I saw blooms starting to develop. What else should I be doing to get big blooms?: The first rule of thumb is to NOT over-fertilize your hydrangea plants. We suggest one application of granular fertilizer in spring or early summer, and then follow package instructions afterwards. If you over-fertilize, it can burn the root system of your hydrangea bushes and actually inhibit bloom production. For more tips on fertilizer and how to achieve big, beautiful blooms, please click here.
My hydrangeas have brown dry spots on the leaves and brown petals on the bloom. What do I need to do to make the hydrangeas healthier?: If the spot is round and brown with a red to purple ring, you likely have Anthracnose. Remove the affected leaves and dispose away from your plants. Treat with a fungicide and repeat as necessary. If the margins of the leaves fade from green to grey and then turn brown, the plants were dry for too long. If the petals of the flowers turn brown at the tip, not enough water was applied. Both the leaves and the flowers will show lack of water very quickly.
I planted my hydrangeas in a location with at least 6 hours of full sun and partial afternoon shade. I read online that hydrangeas prefer that I water them heavily once a week instead of a little water every day. Now my hydrangea bushes are turning brown with no blooms. What am I doing wrong?: Depending on where in the United States you live will determine how much sun your hydrangeas can handle. If you are in a northern state (Zones 4 – 5b), your hydrangeas can handle up to 6 hours of sun in the morning, but as you get further south you should allow for more shade on your plants. In the southern-most regions (Zones 8 – 9), we recommend a maximum of 2 hours of morning sun. Too much sun exposure can cause your hydrangea shrubs to burn on its leaves and blooms. Also, be sure to put your fingers in the soil to see if it needs watering. We do recommend a soak versus light watering each day, but you should be sure that the soil is always moist – not wet – by sticking your fingers in the dirt. If it is dry, give it a good soaking. If it is wet, do not add water. For more information on where to plant and how to water, please click here.
Do these hydrangea plants survive in containers? Our garden gets really hot, so I think a container would be a better option. Do I follow the same care instructions (watering, fertilizing, etc.) as I would in the garden?: Absolutely! Hydrangea shrubs are perfect as potted plants and give you the ability to move the hydrangeas to different locations and create a focal point in your living space. The care instructions are mainly the same, with a few notable differences. For a complete look at container care, click here.
What type of fertilizer do you recommend? I know that hydrangea bushes do best with certain kinds of fertilizer because of their big blooms, but am not sure what to buy!: We recommend a granular, slow-release fertilizer with a NPK ratio of 10-30-10. If you cannot find that specific ratio, ask your local nursery for a fertilizer with a high concentration of phosphorus, as that encourages the bloom growth. For more information, please click here
I bought these plants because I wanted big, beautiful blue hydrangea bush in my garden. I got big blooms, but they are PINK! What did I do wrong?: The pH level of your soil determines hydrangea colors. If you have a pink hydrangea and you want a blue hydrangea, no problem! Pink blooms develop in alkaline soil, so certain amendments need to be made to lower the pH and create an acidic soil situation. We suggest Color Me Blue soil sulfur to encourage blue bloom production. This is safe, organic and all-natural. There are also other natural remedies to changing hydrangea colors. To encourage blue blooms in alkaline soils, add aluminum sulfate, composted oak leaves, pine needles or coffee grounds. There are more tips, including how to change from blue blooms to pink hydrangea, click here.
I planted my Endless Summer hydrangea in an area that is far too sunny and hot, so I’d like to transplant them to a more shaded area. What is the best time of year to do this, and are there any other tips I should know?: If you are transplanting your hydrangea bushes, we recommend doing so while it is dormant.That means transplanting your hydrangea shrubs in late fall, after the first frost, or in early spring before it has woken up for the summer.
I live in an area that gets a lot of snow during the winter. Should I prune Endless Summer Hydrangeas back like I do with my other hydrangea bushes? What else should I do to protect them from the freezing winter months?: The great thing about Endless Summer® hydrangeas is that you don’t need to prune them back to the base like other hydrangeas. Since they bloom on previous years’ growth AND the new season’s growth, you can leave them all winter long to achieve double the blooms next spring. Do NOT prune the hydrangea back in fall. Leaving the fall blooms on your plants over the winter provides winter interest, and ensures you aren’t removing buds that will become flowers in the spring and summer. Leaves, wood mulch and/or straw are good options to insulate your plants. Mound the mulch or leaves around your plants at least 12” high to protect the flower buds that will bloom early next year. For more Overwintering tips, please click here. If your hydrangeas are planted in containers, please click here.

Information courtesy of Endless Summer Hydrangea. Visit website >

Garden Articles Garden Tips News and Tips

2018 Proven Winners National Container Garden Recipes

Post author By cooleen
Post date May 1, 2018

Garden Articles Garden Tips News and Tips

Butterfly Gardens: Bring Winged Beauties to Your Yard

Post author By cooleen
Post date May 1, 2018

Butterfly gardens provide food and sanctuary for many vibrant species of Lepidoptera. This type of garden can be planted in even the busiest urban location. Offering even a small habitat can help support the butterfly population in your area. A container garden consisting of a few carefully selected bushes and flowering plants may be all it takes to attract these winged visitors to your home. If you have more space available, you can plan a butterfly garden complete with a walking path and outdoor seating for maximum enjoyment.

Selecting & Caring For Host Plants

Indigenous plants are often the best choice for butterfly gardens. These shrubs and flowers are simple to grow since they are already compatible with the soil type, texture, and pH in your area. This means you will only have to worry about ensuring adequate sunlight, water, and drainage for your plants. You may also consider adding compost once a year to replace any lost nutrients. Don’t use pesticides.

Visit your neighborhood garden center for advice on nectar producing plants that do well in your zone. Bear in mind that some are perennials in the Southern U.S. but must be replanted each year in colder parts of the continent. Here are some frequently suggested plant/flower species (both native and imported) that grow well in many different zones:

Aster	Bee Balm	Burning Bush	Butterfly Bush	Butterfly Weed
Chrysanthemum	Clover	Columbine	Dandelion	Goldenrod
Honeysuckle	Joe-Pye Weed	Marigold	Purple Coneflower	Shasta Daisy
Shrubby Cinquefoil	Verbena	Wild Violet	Yarrow	Zinnia

Some of these plants, such as clover, double as food plants for caterpillars. You can also deliberately grow hosts for specific butterfly larvae. Use milkweed to supply a breeding ground for monarchs. Dill, parsley, and other members of the carrot family will attract female swallowtails that are ready to lay their eggs. Watching caterpillars grow and change is one of the most interesting experiences provided by a home butterfly garden.

Common Butterfly Species

Expect to see both local and migrating species of butterflies pass through your garden depending on the time of year and your location. The larger and more varied your plant selection is, the greater number and variety of Lepidoptera you will see. However, some plants (like the aptly named butterfly bush) will attract many different types of butterflies at one time. Here are some of the species that frequent North American butterfly gardens:

Alfalfas	Buckeyes	Cabbage Whites	Fritillaries	Goatweeds
Hackberries	Hairstreaks	Monarchs	Morning Cloak	Nymphs
Painted Ladies	Pearl Crescents	Question Marks	Red Admirals	Skippers
Snout Noses	Sulphurs	Swallowtails	Tawny Emperors	Viceroys

Special Considerations

This type of garden will attract much more than just butterflies. Hummingbirds are welcome visitors as well. Bees and wasps will also come to drink from your ready supply of nectar. When this happens, move slowly and remain calm. These insects are foraging far away from their home nests and unlikely to sting humans. They help pollinate flowers and are a natural feature of all butterfly gardens.

Garden Articles Garden Tips News and Tips

Fragrant Gardens Can Make Your Life Heavenly

Post author By cooleen
Post date May 1, 2018

Fragrant gardens are becoming very popular with home owners. Human beings are very sensitive to smells, both pleasant ones and unpleasant ones. We use all kinds of means to dispel the smells from our bathrooms from using spray scents to deodorants to ceiling exhaust fans. At the same time, the number of fragrances available in perfumes is enormous, not just for women anymore, but also for men.

You can also enjoy a fragrant garden all year long, and you can vary the fragrances to your own taste. If you want to bring flowers into your house, you may scent the house with roses one day, lilies the next, and lilacs the next, as you please. Besides, you can grow artemesia or lemon thyme whose pungency and tang provide a counterpoint for the fragrance of the flowers.

We plant vegetables in our gardens to help meet our needs for food; in the same manner, a fragrant garden can be food for the soul. When we smell the first viburnum in the spring, it fills our hearts not only with joy but with hope: summer is on the way. Consider planting a fragrant garden. It will make your life better.

Planning Your Fragrant Garden

You’ll want to place your fragrant garden as close to the house as possible so you can enjoy the fragrance inside the house as well as out. If you can plant near a wall or a patio, the reflected heat will intensify the fragrance of many plants, which will increase your enjoyment. If you put your garden in the open yard, the wind will be likely to blow the scent away from you. An enclosed place will permit the fragrance to collect and intensify.

Bugs, etc.

The more fragrant your fragrant garden, the more insects it will attract. If you have someone in your family who has serious allergies, you’ll need to put the garden in a place where this person can avoid the insects. You need to factor in that there will be more bees and bugs around scented plants.

Seasons

You need to take into account when the flowers will bloom in your fragrant garden. For example, a clematis will be likely to bloom in early spring as will daffodils and tulips. If you’re planting a fragrant garden at a summer house, you may completely miss these. On the other hand, if you plant only summer-blooming flowers around the house you live in year-round, you’ll be missing some fragrant seasons. If you plan carefully, your fragrance season can last from frost to frost.

Planting for Your Own Region

Before planning your fragrant garden, talk to a gardener in a local gardening store. He will be able to help you choose those plants that will grow best in your own area. You might consider flowering trees like magnolia as well as shrubs like mock-orange that bring their own fragrance. Then there are vines like wisteria and perennials like primroses. In addition, look at annuals and bulbs such as hyacinths, Irises, Freesias, and paper whites for spring fragrance. For summer, consider lavender, lilies, nicotiana, to name only a few. A visit to your gardening store will inspire you!