# Hydrangeas



## NJ-lawn (Jun 25, 2018)

Anyone have then in their garden? I'm thinking of adding some as an accent along side of a fence. Any tips or recommendations would be appreciated


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## Teej (Feb 27, 2019)

Subbed for some feedback as I was thinking of adding Hydrangeas to my landscape this year as well.


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## gm560 (Feb 22, 2018)

Yes. They are my wife's favorite so I have planted probably 2 dozen over the years, so I know at least a little. What would you like to know? Do you know what types you are interested in? If not I can make suggestions and point you in the right direction.


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## NJ-lawn (Jun 25, 2018)

Yes......well the spot is full sun, also one that is small to medium size. Maybe 6-8' max


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## gm560 (Feb 22, 2018)

Full sun will be tough on most hydrangeas. Most like morning sun and filtered shade in the afternoon. Too much sun, especially blazing afternoon sun will stress them out and you wont get blooms. With that said, the most sun tolerant variety by far are the panicles, but even they will suffer if they get blasted all day. The most popular in this category are probably the "Limelights". However if you want 6-8' foot max, I would avoid that one... the tag says 6-8 ft mature height, but I have seen them get much larger than that.... like 10-12ft. I would go for the little brother of the Limelight, the "Little Lime". Will mature easily 5-6 ft tall. I have 6 around my yard and they are some of my favorites. Blooms start out a greenish white and fade to a pale pink in the fall. Then can be cut then and dried and make really nice indoor arrangements for fall. There are other pinicles that have pink flowers, too if the white isnt your thing. Quick Fire and pinky winky are popular, but I have no experience with them.

In that sunny area I would avoid probably any other variety, especially mopheads like endless summer. So if you were looking for the classic Matha's Vineyard, blue hydrangea look, you might be out of luck in that spot.


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## gm560 (Feb 22, 2018)

Here is a great resource if you decide to do some lime lights or little limes (and frankly for anything gardening, she has a AWESOME channel.)

Planting limelights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu3Z2F1xyGc

1 year in:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XV_AtypHVzE


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## gm560 (Feb 22, 2018)

Oh and being in NJ I assume deer are a problem for you as they are me. They are pretty much deer candy, so you need to prepare accordingly.


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## coreystooks (Aug 6, 2019)

I have the same issue with my front bed since the house faces west. I'm planning on going with Sunday Fraise. It's a mini panicle that blooms creamy white and turns bright pink. Not sure if there are any panicles that have a blue bloom or not.


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## NJ-lawn (Jun 25, 2018)

Great info thanks! It get full sun but mostly morning. It faces SE ..... I'm thinking about giving it a go.

Do you have any places you use online to purchase? I live in central Jersey 10 min south Princeton.

Also when a good time to plant?


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## gm560 (Feb 22, 2018)

NJ-lawn said:


> Great info thanks! It get full sun but mostly morning. It faces SE ..... I'm thinking about giving it a go.
> 
> Do you have any places you use online to purchase? I live in central Jersey 10 min south Princeton.
> 
> Also when a good time to plant?


I would not purchase online, especially hydrangeas, unless they were something really rare that I couldnt find at a garden center. Reason being 1. Online is usually more $$. 2. They usually whack them back really hard to minimize shipment size. They will recover just fine, but you probably wont get anything the first year. If you find something at a garden center you can save money, get the pick of the litter, and have a nice plant to look at right away. Princeton is a nice area with many well maintained properties so I would be shocked if you didnt have a good garden center around you. I would call around. I do business in the Pennington area and there is a good one called Rutgers Nursery up there that has taken a ton of my money over the years. Its a little pricey and a bit of a drive for you, but it's huge. So you could check it there if you can't find anything closer.

As for planting time. Fall is best but nursery stock is a bit of a crap shoot, so I usually plant in Spring. Just make sure you watch them carefully the first summer and give them some extra water when its super hot and dry.


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## NJ-lawn (Jun 25, 2018)

Cool thanks


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## hsvtoolfool (Jul 23, 2018)

I love Hydrangeas but...

Most Hydrangeas varieties get huge. Much bigger than you expect. So plant them 10 to 15 feet away from everything.

That 6' to 8' max you requested? Fuggetaboutit! See that 1 year photo above? That's 1/3 the three-year size. Within 2 years, those plants will be taller than the woman, growing up against the house, smothering those purple flowers in the foreground, and branches will overhang the sidewalk. Even when you prune Hydrangeas to the ground in Winter, they grow back full size by Summer.

So I'm digging up my three "LimeLight" Hydrangeas next month. I'm planning to replace them all with a "Wee White" variety that is supposed to stay smaller than 3 feet both in height and spread...

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Proven-Winners-Invincibelle-Wee-White-Smooth-Hydrangea-Live-Shrub-White-Flowers-1-Gal-HYDPRC1176101/303042424

https://www.provenwinners.com/plants/hydrangea/invincibelle-wee-white-smooth-hydrangea-hydrangea-arborescens


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## gm560 (Feb 22, 2018)

hsvtoolfool said:


> I love Hydrangeas but...
> 
> Most Hydrangeas varieties get huge. Much bigger than you expect. So plant them 10 to 15 feet away from everything.
> 
> ...


For sure, limelights get HUGE. Little limes are much more suited for spots usually reserved for shrubs. I have noticed that most of the modern varieties bred to be more compact are much easier to manage, however. In general the modern hybrids that are bred for specific reasons, while more expensive, are absolutely worth it. Another example is I planted an "Annabelle" Smooth Hydrangea when I first moved into my house. I was so excited to see the first set of massive blooms emerge, only to be devastated when the first rain of the season came. The stems on that old variety were so weak that the extra weight of the wet leaves had all the blooms sitting in mud and the plant didn't recover the rest of the season. I replaced it with an "Incrediball", the improved version and now the blooms stand tall all the way to thanksgiving (or until a deer eats them).


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## chadh (Aug 8, 2019)

Our hydrangeas are on their last trial year. The past few years they look great in may but then quickly start looking awful with purple spots on the leaves. Going to try drip irrigation this year to see if that helps them, if not, we'll rip them out and put something else in.


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## gm560 (Feb 22, 2018)

chadh said:


> Our hydrangeas are on their last trial year. The past few years they look great in may but then quickly start looking awful with purple spots on the leaves. Going to try drip irrigation this year to see if that helps them, if not, we'll rip them out and put something else in.


Have you tried a fungicide? Daconil or liquid copper should clear that right up.


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## chadh (Aug 8, 2019)

gm560 said:


> chadh said:
> 
> 
> > Our hydrangeas are on their last trial year. The past few years they look great in may but then quickly start looking awful with purple spots on the leaves. Going to try drip irrigation this year to see if that helps them, if not, we'll rip them out and put something else in.
> ...


I tried immunox last year and it didn't do much. When is the best time to apply?


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## gm560 (Feb 22, 2018)

I mix up a spray every other week starting in the spring. I rotate fungicides between brands, AI and MOA based on the super scientific method of what ever I can find cheapest at the time. I tank mix it with my deer and critter deterrent and spray pretty much anything that flowers that I won't be eating.


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## McDiddles (Feb 24, 2020)

If you're looking for something smaller. I purchased "Mini Peny" and "TIny Tuff Stuff" last fall from https://gardengoodsdirect.com/. I was surprised with the packaging and shipment. Arrived in much better shape then I would have thought. I wasn't finding many dwarf varieties at the local nurseries. We'll see how they fair come summer.


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## zeus201 (Aug 30, 2017)

We have two now.

I forget name of the bush type (partial sun) and a Limelight Hydrangea Tree (full sun). Going into its' 5th growing season and nearing a height of 8', but when in full bloom, the canopy is massive....borderline annoying as it starts to shade the turf and gets in my way in when mowing.

But blooms are massive and have a subtle fragrance to them even though the bush one really doesn't imo. Biggest thing I battle with the limelight are Japanese beetles embedding themselves into blooms and destroying them. Basically have to spray the tree with insecticides 2 to 3 times a week to keep these mofo's at bay. Bush does get some purple leaf spots towards late summer and honestly I spray it with some leftover turf fungicide which seems to do the trick.

I honestly do not fertilizer the bush all that much and the tree gets a couple tree spikes in the spring. We water as needed and dead-head blooms and they seem to do well.


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## Jconnelly6b (Mar 4, 2018)

I get a lot of my hard to find cultivars from Nature Hills Nursery online and have been happy with everything I've purchased. They usually ship them bare root so are easy to plant. Takes them a year to get going, but landscaping is good at teaching us patience.

https://www.naturehills.com/hydrangea-nantucket-blue


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## alter_nate (Nov 14, 2019)

Recommendations? It's best to buy locally grown plants for the best success. From what I know the needs of these plants may change in different climates. We ordered some several years ago and, unfortunately, lost them because of that. 
What else? Hydrangeas should be in shade, and they also like moist soil - all Hydrangeas are water needy and do best if they get consistent watering. But once they've had a few years of good care they are usually better at staying alive in dry times from my experience. As gm560 said, keep an eye on them especially the first summer. 
We had some problems in the past with blooming, so make sure you prune them properly:




+ they need very little fertilization (you can skip it some years and not notice a thing). I use Miracle-Gro (NPK 30-10-10) _only for intense growing period_. But stop applying any form fertilizers in July so the plant is ready for winter when Fall arrives.

Good luck!


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