luis_pr
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Location: Hurst, TX USA Zone 7b/8a

How did your hydrangeas fare this 2014-2015 winter?

Summer actually begins for me in May so I thought I would ask how did winter go to everyone. Things were an improvement from last year'd really bad winter. Most of my shrubs bloom on old wood and the majority were affected last year. But this year, An unnamed mac mophead in the north side of the house right by the entrance looks like it got "hit again" and is showing all growth from the base. A Mme. Emille Mouilliere planted on the north did not have dieback and is in the broccoli stage. Little Lime is doing fine in the north side too. An oakleaf on the north side had its leaves finally dry out by mid January but another oakleaf planted in the south and in a more protected setting did not loose its leaves at all and just finished throwing away its old leaves and putting on a new dress. Both are in the broccoli stage. Other macs in the south side are in the broccoli stage. So overall, not a mild winter but close enough to get almost all shrubs to hopefully bloom.

It does pay to consider getting some hydrangeas that bloom on new wood. H. arborescens and paniculata are good choices. There are panics that stay short for people like me with little shaded real estate. H. macrophyllas that rebloom are also a good choice although I do not often suggest the ole Endless Summer due to too many bloomage complaints from people in Zones 4-6 so, consider the Let's Dance Series or the Forever and Ever Series too. Oakleafs are also a good choice and hardy to US Zone 5.

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pinksand
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Location: Columbia, MD

My mac. is looking better than it did this time last year, but probably about half of the old branches will need to be cut back as they don't show any sign of new leaves. Last year it did die to the ground like a lot of others were reporting. My Alice Oakleaf is looking beautiful, but the deer keep nipping the new growth so I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't get a chance to bloom :( My Annabelle arborescens and vanilla strawberry paniculata are looking fantastic!

I happen to have a question about pruning an arborescens... I forgot to cut off last year's dried blooms on one of my Annabelles. Can I still cut them now that it is leafed out or is it too late?

luis_pr
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Location: Hurst, TX USA Zone 7b/8a

You can deadhead at any time of the year. Deadheading simply means to cut the small "thread" (called a petiole) that connects the bloom to the stem. So, do not prune the stems (the flower buds develop near the end of the stems). Arborescens develop invisible flower buds around this time of the year (May-June), maybe later up in MD. So by cutting the petiole, you make sure that you are not pruning off the arboreswcens's invisible 2015 flower buds.

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applestar
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Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

They seem to like this location under the neighbor's pinetree where they were moved last year. Much better budding than in previous years in front of the house where they were exposed to north winds. The question now will be whether they are getting enough sunlight....
image.jpg
(I pruned them this short when I moved them to balance the severe loss of their root systems though I think this is typically how short they would be after pruning off the winter kill. But that means there was practically no winterkill this year despite the severe winter.)

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skiingjeff
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Location: Western Massachusetts Zone 6a

Still waiting on our endless summer. There is growth at the bottom and a short distance up the old wood but the upper buds are not producing yet.

The pinky winkies haven't done much yet at all but that's not unusual for them. I hope when my husband pruned off the old flowers he didn't prune too far but time will tell.

We're finally getting warm evenings but have also now popped into hotter days so it looks like another short Spring and a move from winter 30's to summer 80's again this year.

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pinksand
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Location: Columbia, MD

Thanks so much Luis_pr! That makes perfect sense. I wanted to leave the dried flowers on for winter interest but I feel like the bush leafed out over night before I had the chance to take care of the dried heads. It's good to know I can deadhead at any time. I'll be sure not to prune the branch.



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