Hydrangea plants are a popular choice for gardeners because of their beautiful, large blooms. The flowers come in a variety of colors, including blue, pink and white, but the most common color is blue. To grow hydrangeas with richly colored blooms you need to know how to tell if hydrangea blooms on old wood.
How To Tell If Hydrangea Blooms On Old Wood
Here is the complete process explained in detail on how to tell if hydrangea blooms on old wood:
1. Inspect the hydrangea for signs of dead or diseased wood.
Dead wood is brown and dry, while diseased wood is discolored or has spots.
Step 2:
If you notice dead or diseased wood, cut it out using pruning shears. Make the cuts just above a bud or node, where there is new growth.
Step 3:
3. Cut back any branches that are growing too far out from the center of the bush to maintain a healthy shape.
Step 4:
4. Remove all suckers that sprout from the base of the plant with pruning shears. These are shoots that grow out from the rootstock and should be removed as soon as they appear so they don’t take energy away from the rest of the plant.
Step 5:
5. Thin out canes so they are spaced 6 to 12 inches apart to give your rose bush room to grow and help prevent disease problems in future years by allowing air circulation around all parts of the plant. This will also help you see where new growth is developing so you’ll know where to cut back in step 8 below..
Tips for How To Tell If Hydrangea Blooms On Old Wood
Here are 5 things to take care of with respect to how to tell if hydrangea blooms on old wood:
1. The first thing to do is to look at the color of the new growth. If it’s green, then you know that it is new wood. You can also tell if it is new wood by looking at the buds on the plant. New wood will have a bud that looks like a little ball and old wood will have a bud that looks like a little bump with no sign of green.
2. The next thing to do is to look at the top of your hydrangea stem for any signs of browning or dying leaves. If there are signs, then you know that it is old wood and should be pruned off as soon as possible.
3. The third thing to do is check out your hydrangeas in the winter time when they are dormant and not growing much at all. Look at their stems and see if they have any browning or dying leaves on them. If they do, then you should prune them off right away because they are going to die anyway!
4. The fourth thing you want to do is make sure that your hydrangea plant has plenty of room around it so that it doesn’t get crowded out by other plants or trees nearby which can shade it out causing it not to grow well or even worse, die!
5. Finally, you want to make sure that your hydrangea gets enough water throughout the year so that its roots don’t dry out too much causing them not to grow well or even worse, die!
FAQs
Interesting Facts About Hydrangea
Here are 5 things you should know about hydrangea:
1. Hydrangea is a genus of flowering plants that includes over 170 species. The genus name, Hydrangea, comes from the Greek word for “water vessel” and is believed to reference the fact that hydrangeas have water-storing cells in their roots. The flowers are also known as hortensia, which is a Latinized version of the German word for this flower (Hortensien). The common name of hydrangea comes from the fact that its flowers change color when they are exposed to heat or cold.
2. There are many different varieties of hydrangea. The most common types include: mophead, lacecap, oakleaf, paniculata and macrophylla. Mophead hydrangeas have large ball-shaped flowers with petals that curl up at their edges; lacecap flowers have smaller ball-shaped blossoms with ruffled edges; oakleaf hydrangeas have oak-like leaves with clusters of white blooms in summer; paniculata has small white flowers with blue centers; and macrophylla has large white blooms on tall stems. Other varieties include highbush, lowbush, Japanese and cranberry bush (Hydrangea arborescens). Some popular cultivars include ‘Endless Summer’, ‘Annabelle’ and ‘Limelight’.
3. Hydrangeas can be grown from seed or from cuttings taken from mature stems. They prefer well-drained soil and full sun but will tolerate partial shade as well as drought conditions once established. Pruning should be done in early spring before new growth emerges or after flowering if you want to encourage larger blooms next year (the plant will bloom on new growth).
Remove any dead or diseased branches during this time as well as ones that cross other branches or rub against each other to avoid disease transfer between plants and to promote air circulation through the canopy (this will discourage fungal diseases).
Cut back by one third all stems that are growing upright while removing any suckers growing around their base (these could take over your garden if left unchecked). Trim off any damaged leaves at this time too since they may harbor fungi or pests such as aphids or spider mites until they fall off later in the season. You can also prune back stems after flowering if you don’t want them returning next year
Hydrangeas are deciduous shrubs and will bloom on old wood. You can prune your hydrangea to control its size or shape, but the blooms will be produced on the new growth that grows after you prune it. The blooms will not appear on the branches you cut off.
What is a hydrangea’s life span?
Hydrangeas are long-lived shrubs, with some varieties living more than 100 years. Hydrangeas can grow as tall as 10 feet, but most grow between 3 and 5 feet tall. They have multiple stems and large leaves that give them a lush look. The flowers appear in late spring to early summer and come in various colors including white, pink, blue, purple and red. Most hydrangeas thrive in moist soil with plenty of sun exposure.
The answer is a qualified yes. Hydrangea flowers are produced on the current season’s growth. They do not bloom on last year’s wood. However, it is common for the flower buds to be present at the same time as new growth begins in early spring. It is this combination of old and new that gives rise to the confusion about flowering on old wood.
Flower buds will form in late summer and fall on last year’s stems if those stems are healthy and not too short. Flower buds can also form from dormant stem tissue near the soil line or underground if conditions are right. These flowers may open but they will be small and insignificant compared to normal spring-blooming hydrangeas.
When you want to deadhead hydrangeas, you need to know what kind of hydrangea you have. Some hydrangeas are hardy and will survive a winter in the ground. Others need to be dug up and stored indoors over the winter. If your hydrangeas are not hardy, it’s best to dig them up for storage.
To determine whether or not your hydrangea is hardy, look at its leaves. If they are thick and leathery, it’s likely that the plant is hardy enough to survive a mild winter in the ground. If they are thin and papery (like oak leaves), then it’s probably better if you dig up the plant and store it indoors over the winter.
If you want to keep your hydrangea alive through the winter, make sure that it has plenty of water before digging it up (you can also wrap a plastic bag around its roots). Then dig down about two feet from where the main stem comes out of the soil (this should be right above where its root system begins). Carefully remove all dirt from around its roots without damaging them. Then gently lift up on its root ball while supporting it with your hands under its base so that it won’t break off any branches when you move it.
The easiest way to tell what kind of hydrangea you have is to look for the flower color. If you have pink flowers, you almost certainly have a hydrangea macrophylla. If you have white or blue flowers, your plant is probably a hydrangea paniculata. There are some exceptions to this rule – it’s possible that your hydrangea macrophylla has white flowers, or that your paniculata has pink ones. But it’s a good place to start!
If you want to be sure beyond the flower color, there are two things to look for: leaf shape and twig structure.
Leaf Shape:
Hydrangeas have three main leaf shapes – orbicular, ovate and obovate. The orbicular (or round) leaves are characteristic of the macrophylla; the ovate (or oval) leaves are characteristic of the paniculata; and the obovate (or egg-shaped) leaves can be either type.
Twig Structure:
The twigs on hydrangeas are also diagnostic in identifying which species you have. They should be smooth with no spines or prickles present on them at any time of year. If they do have spines or prickles present at any time of year, then you probably don’t have a hydrangea at all – but rather an oakleaf hydrangea