What kind of hydrangea?

[evtubbergh]

Can anyone help me with the type of hydrangea? I gather this is H. macrophylla so I mean the cultivar. I remember it being something like 'hot pink' but I'm not sure.

Also, does H. macrophylla set buds in autumn or spring?

[rainbowgardener]

Very pretty. I don't know the cultivar, but all the H. macrophyllas set their buds in late summer or early fall.

[evtubbergh]

Ok thanks for that. That would be why we didn't get flowers in the first year; it got hit hard by the frost.

These are the second year's flowers after I thought of covering it up with leaves.

I have done that again but before I did so it was covered with fabric and it was too warm and wet so it got infested with aphids. The biggest aphids I have ever seen! I sprayed with neem and opened it up during some warm weather and covered it up again with the leaves. We're having ridiculously warm weather for July but I am worried we might get frost again anyway so have left it covered.

Would the aphids have killed the new shoots (some little leaves did fall off)? Also it more than doubled in size last summer so would it do the same? We're kind of behind schedule here as I really thought it would be at least knee height by now.

[luis_pr]

It is hard to tell if aphids killed the shoots. Based on your weather-related comments, I would lean more to the weather being the issue. Temperature swings tend to awaken hydrangeas from their slumber or prevent them from going dormant. That triggers growth. Then the frosts come in and kill the new shoots.

If the insects were aphids, you would also notice honeydew, a sugary, sticky, messy, blackish substance that attracts ants (the honeydew becomes black when sooty mold grows on it).

[evtubbergh]

Thanks. This year the winter has been mild to the point of non-existant. We did have some frost while it was covered but there was no frost damage to the larger leaves and these little leaves fell off while the aphids were on and there as been no frost since.

They are definitely aphids. In my experience aphids love new growth and shoots and have killed many new bus in my herb garden. This is the first time they have been an issue in the 'normal' garden though.

I guess I will just have to wait and keep spraying.