Hydrangea up close

[elleng]

[maspaha]

1. Beautiful!

Thank you for sharing! Hydrangeas and peonies are my favorite flowers. My Grandmommie had a yard full of them. I currently live just outside of Hell, uh I mean Phoenix, where it’s too hot to grow them. It’s fairly easy to find cut hydrangeas but I’ve not found cut peonies anywhere in years.

[elleng]

2. Sorry you're in the 'hot' zone;

don't think I could stand it.

Sad that peonies are gone for the year; glad I'm learnng the sequences. (Magnolia may have finished blooming here, in my yard anyway.)

Happy too see hydrangea doing well, but no rain in the forecast; could sure use more.

[usonian]

3. Your Coolpix has a "macro" setting

that might get you in closer, or otherwise optimize things a bit.
But these are composed nicely.
So no need to get in closer.

Just keep the idea in your mind for "when".

[elleng]

4. Thanks,

these when walking around house before sunset; light good, and walking device helps keep me steady; yard NOT lawn-like, quite 'variable.'

[NJCher]

5. Calendar shots

Like on a monthly calendar. The colors!

Some of my hydrangeas haven't bloomed in years but now that I've had my trees trimmed, the spots where they are get more sunshine, so I have high hopes for this season.

I recently bought 3 root stock packages. I noticed today that 2 of them have developed leaves. I hope the third one does, too.

This is a shot of my other hydrangeas, the terrace hydrangeas. This was the year before the drought, which was two years ago. They no longer look this good and I'll be trimming them back.

[elleng]

6. WOW! HUGE!

Mine's been here since before I moved in 10 years ago; prior resident said she bought it as a small plant, and since then has done well. Obviously needs attention; haven't pruned it at all this year.

[NJCher]

7. I think there's a trick to pruning hydrangeas

I have to read up on it. Has something to do with hard wood ??

At any rate, it is going to be tough to prune them because this terrace is 9' high, and then the hydrangea itself is 5' tall or more. I will need a "coach" because I won't be able to "see the forest for the trees."

One thing I did that is kind of cool is that I planted purple clematis at the base of each of these. At a certain point in the summer, the purple clematis, which has covered many of the branches with vine, blooms and that looks pretty spectacular.

[elleng]

8. Sounds GREAT!

THESE 'directions' for pruning seem much more doable for my 'little' one than for your HUGE and FABULOUS hydrangea!

Hydrangeas that bloom on old wood
These include bigleaf, oakleaf, and climbing hydrangeas. They produce flower buds in late summer, so you should prune them right after the flowers fade to encourage new growth and next year's blooms. Pruning in fall, winter, or spring can remove the buds before they bloom.

Other hydrangeas
You can prune these in fall, late winter, or spring by cutting stems back to just above a large, healthy bud or leaf node. This is called a heading cut. You can also remove dead or broken branches. When pruning, avoid removing more than 30% of the plant, as this can remove too much of the framework that supports the plant and reduces its ability to produce food for the roots. You can also try cutting stems that cross over each other to improve airflow and encourage new growth

[NJCher]

9. Now that

Is very helpful. On one, about a third is dead wood due to the drought, so that is going to be quite a job.

It’s nice knowing what I’m in for and also that I can do this now.