Vanisle_BC
Greener Thumb
Posts: 1354
Joined: Mon Apr 13, 2015 9:02 pm
Location: Port Alberni, B.C. Canada, Zone 7 (+?)

Can Hydrangea be trained to be less sprawly?

I have a blue (cyan:)) hydrangea in the garden, that I like very much but it spreads & splays more widely then I'd like. Is there a way I can train its stems to become more robust and upright?

luis_pr
Greener Thumb
Posts: 824
Joined: Sun Jul 05, 2009 8:31 am
Location: Hurst, TX USA Zone 7b/8a

Hello, Vanisle_BC. Could you post a picture to see how much it is flopping and how tall/wide/old you plant is?

Vanisle_BC
Greener Thumb
Posts: 1354
Joined: Mon Apr 13, 2015 9:02 pm
Location: Port Alberni, B.C. Canada, Zone 7 (+?)

Thanks Lui.

The hydrangea is many years old; 10+ ? - but has been largely neglected, competing with nearby roses & weeds. It has not grown much & is in a spot that gets very little direct sunlight. It flowers consistently & is about 3 feet tall. I've recently cleared some space around it and tied its stems more closely together as the pictures should show. They were quite splayed and are not sturdy. I've started a few cuttings and hope to plant one in a place that has sun from mid morning till dusk. Our temperatures vary from moderate frost up to low 40s Centigrade, (say 100F) with cool wet winters & (usually) hot dry summers.

Two photos:
Hydrangea2.jpg
Hydrangea1.jpg

luis_pr
Greener Thumb
Posts: 824
Joined: Sun Jul 05, 2009 8:31 am
Location: Hurst, TX USA Zone 7b/8a

I would wait until the plant goes dormant, the leaves and the blooms fall (deadhead the blooms in the Fall 2021). This will allow you to see the skeleton that the plant forms without leaves getting in the way. Evaluate the shape and consider if you can do a few small cuts or need to start again (so to speak).

To start again, use a 3-year long rejuvenation pruning process. In the Fall 2021, cut the 1/3 longest or outermost stems all the way to the ground; in the Fall 2022, cut the next 1/3 longest or outermost stems; and in the Fall 2023, cut the rest of the stems. You may want to color mark the bottom of the stems for identification purposes or do whatever helps you classify them as being cut in 2021, 2022 or 2023.

Maintain the soil as evenly moist as best as you can (avoid periods of dry soil and periods of soggy soil). Maintain the soil mulched with 7 to 10 cm of organic mulch (no rocks) all year around. Consider adding a metal barrier so the grass roots do not commingle with the hydrangea roots. The hydrangea roots are shallow too, tiny and fibrous, growing to a depth of 10 cm only so be careful not to disturb them too much when digging around the base of the hydrangea or when putting the metal barrier.

New hydrangea stems will look green at first and be pliable. They may tend to bend or flop when this young but as they get older, they turn more woody and change color to a shade of brown, sand or gray color. You can temporarily use stakes if new stems are too floppy; that usually happens once the stems grow blooms that get wet (so, some people cut off blooms to help with flopping on the first few years too).

Vanisle_BC
Greener Thumb
Posts: 1354
Joined: Mon Apr 13, 2015 9:02 pm
Location: Port Alberni, B.C. Canada, Zone 7 (+?)

Luis, thanks for the very full reply. I'll try to follow your advice - but I'll be trying to make sure I still have some blossom in 2022.

luis_pr
Greener Thumb
Posts: 824
Joined: Sun Jul 05, 2009 8:31 am
Location: Hurst, TX USA Zone 7b/8a

That type of hydrangea produces flower buds sometime after it blooms. The exact time varies every year and occurs later in the growing season when one is further north. For me in Texas, it happens around mid July so in BC, it may occur in August-September. The flower buds are inside the stems so you cannot visually tell by looking at the stems.



Return to “Hydrangea Forum”