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I got quite the shock when I checked on my Nikko Blue tonight - I planted it in mid-March and as of 2 weeks ago, I started to get some new green leafy growth at the base of the wood. Well...my husband was doing some pruning on our bushes and forgot that I had planted my beloved hydrangea and he pulled out the green leaves and part of the wood before realizing that it was my plant - not a WEED!

Will they grow? We will have rain for the next couple of days and I just added some MiracleGro in a panic. I planted these in memory of my grandmother and even carried hydrangea as bouquet at my wedding (5 years ago this month - although after tonight, I wasn't sure if we were gonna make it!) and I'm beyond upset over it. The roots are there. Most of the wood is still there. Green is gone. Heeeelllllpppp!

THANKS in advance for any input!

Yes, I think it will produce some new top growth. Be sure to give it a little dappled shade in the event of strong directs sun, keep the soil moist and perhaps a mulch around it with well rotted garden compost or leaf mould - be sure the soil is wet first before applying a mulch. I would not apply any nutrients until growth is well under way. Over feeding is a risk while the plant has little top growth.

THANKS - I really needed to hear that.

I figured that the plant itself was okay, since the root system is still intact underground, but I also thought that maybe the green was all I was gonna see for a while!

I'll keep at it, keeping it moist and in partial shade as best I can. I'm also going to try to put black mulch around (the kind with mostly organic matter) and see what happens.

Lisa, there seems to be a lot of this going around...there was a post a month or so ago from another woman whose DH ("dear" or maybe something else ) dumped boatloads of dirt onto her just-planted garden.

pd's advice is always very good but, maybe, if DH goes out and BUYS another Nikko Blue hydrangea (so that you have two of them), he'll have a better memory of what it looks like.

I would also recommend putting a little fence around it for protection until it's, oh, 4 feet tall and 4 feet wide...with a tag saying "Nikko Blue Hydrangea--I will tend this plant personally" or whatever you think will work.

Just after we moved to this house, FIL and MIL came for Christmas Day. (Oh, joy.) They wanted to "help" in the yard, so I asked DH if he would point out the specific weed species we needed removed and help them with tools, buckets, etc. The ground was wet from rain, and the weeds were coming out easily.

I had to go inside and prepare dinner.

When I went back outside, *scorched earth* greeted me. All the flat Italian parsley, all the wild onions, but only *some* of the weeds were gone. And, of course, the parsley & onions were really gone, because of the wet ground. DH said he had been working "somewhere else." Our yard is so small that there wasn't anywhere else...

That was 11 years ago. The parsley has never come back, despite all my encouragement. I planted some flat-leaf parsley in several locations, but it has never flourished like those original plants did.

But your hydrangea's roots seem to be unimpaired, so you'll probably get good, new growth if you protect the plant as pd recommends.

And don't forget the fence...

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

Yeah, it's probably best if I put up a fence or something obvious, although I did put rocks around it to keep some of the weeds out and dress up the wood a bit. Guess I need something more obvious, huh?

I'll check in once I see some growth. In the meanwhile, I'll keep babying it and see what happens.

THANKS SO MUCH

I had the same problem, DH and Dear Son, did not now a weed frome a pile of dirt. I came home from work and EVERYTHING was cut down ( got a new weed wacker) I had a fit. now I do all the yard work. I also put fencing around any new plants I out in the yard.

I have a beautiful butterfly bush, that was getting to big, neighbor could not see over it, to get out of their driveway, I said I was going to cut it down SOME, well DH decided to HELP lol. I came home and had about 6" of stump left, did not talk to him all day after I yelled at him. That was 3 yrs ago it now needs to be trimed again. I will do it as soon as it is cool enough. He wont touch it, lol

lilthings wrote:............... I had a fit. now I do all the yard work. I also put fencing around any new plants I out in the yard.

Now I have a plan!!!!!!!! cut cut cut!!!hack, hack, hack!!! (sorry..this was too good to pass up!)

Sadly, no top growth has emerged. I did explain what happened to the company I ordered from and they are sending me a replacement at shipping cost. Not bad! I just hope that next year we'll see some green!

In the meanwhile, I'll await my new plant and purposefully point out any blooming hydrangeas we see with a wistful puppy-dog eye look at my husband to make sure he feels really guilty! lol

Thanks, all, for your tips and suggestions. Next year should be better!

My husband and son totally mowed down my 6 new peonies one year. And they had to work to get it done, too! Moved all the the protective bricks I had laid around the area to mow there.

phred wrote:

lilthings wrote:............... I had a fit. now I do all the yard work. I also put fencing around any new plants I out in the yard.

Now I have a plan!!!!!!!! cut cut cut!!!hack, hack, hack!!! (sorry..this was too good to pass up!)

Thanks I needed a laugh this morning,

God is taking care of all plant today, and I am misarble, It is going to rain all day. I would rather see the sun and water myself.