Green House Hydrangea

[msalcido]

Hi all,
I hope everyone had a great holiday. I received a "greenhouse" shooting star hydrangea for Christmas. It's about 12 inches tall and in full bloom. Should I repot it and put it outside so it can go dormant? Or should I just plant it in the ground?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.


Thanks!

[luis_pr]

Those guys can be very difficult to grow outside now that our temperatures have started their cyclical ups and downs. 60s and 70s today. 40s-20s later on for example. Can you keep them in an area where the temperatures are stable AND it gets "enough" humidity and indirect bright light? They eventually need to be brought outside and you can do that after the last average day of last frost (which is April 8 ) + two more weeks (which is April 22). The extra weeks is "just in case". But you can also view the long term (30 days) forecasts in late March to see how the temp forecasts look like in April. You can then chance it and plant around the 8th or wait until the 22nd. When late March and April come, you can start taking it outside if it is warm enough but leave it there so it does not get direct sun for a few days. Best if you choose an area that is not windy. If it takes that then allow a little sun exposure. When planting it outside, do not go overbooard with fertilizers for the next year or two. Maybe use a weak one like organic liquid seaweed. Then switch to something like cottonseed meal, about 1/4 to 1/2 a cup. Because of the "greenhouse effect", it may do weird things this year and-or maybe next... leaf and bloom wise.

[msalcido]

As always - thanks! You are a wealth of knowledge!!

[luis_pr]

Unrelated topic: if needed, apply some aluminum sulfate or other acidifying product this time of the year. Other alternatives are green sand or liquid acidifying compounds sold at nurseries. The liquid acidifiers tend not to have aluminum but they should work if you are not trying to get blue blooms. Note that some acidifying products (liquid or not) contain fertilizer compounds and nitrogen is one you do not want to apply now (at least not in large quantities or percentages). Green Light Iron and Soil Acidifier (liquid) has no aluminum, has a NPK Ratio of 0-0-0 and will not force dormant plants to "awaken".

Most of the hydrangea leaves in this area should be starting to dry out or, at least, they should be turning purple-ish. This should make it easy to apply the acidifying product since you can actually see the soil under the bushes. Add to that the temps are in the 70s and it is an easy garden chore.

[msalcido]

Thanks Luis.

I use Espoma Organic Traditions Soil Acidifier. The guaranteed analysis is

Sulfur - 30%
divided like this - 18% free sulfur and 12 % combined sulfur.. Derived from Elemental Sulfur and Gypsum.

No where does it mention nitrogen. Would this be safe to apply now?

Thanks again and Happy New Year!

[luis_pr]

Happy New Year!

Yes, it is ok to use that product since it is only made of Sulphur and Gypsum, neither of which contains nitrogen.