Hydrangea Not Blooming

[lpalta]

Oh my, such a beautiful rounded bush, but hasn't flowered? Does anyone hear from Muskie or Samborski anymore? How about DeathByHosta was it? Shows you how long I have been missing.... Lucy

[deano38]

what kind of hydrangea is it?

[lpalta]

I haven't a clue. My neighbor gave it to me and knew nothing about it. I always annotate the full names of plants I purchase, but most I start from someone's seeds or have given to me. I will post a picture when I get a new memory card for my camera.

[matkin]

If the bush is planted in your yard, and you spread lawn fertilizer on your yard, that might be the problem. Some bushes and vines will not bloom very well, or at all, if they get the high nitrogen lawn fertilizer in the roots. Also, I was wondering if anyone knows, does hydrangea need an acid soil?? I was thinking that my mother put Miracid on hers.

[Dog Mom]

I think the acid plant food is for the color -- I believe you need it to get blue flowers, and that with alkaline soil, you get pink flowers. Around here I see a lot of white hydrangas. I don't know about the different varieties.

[Pburgh]

Did you just plant the bush late last year or this year? Most hydrangeas bloom on old wood. (except the Endless Summer) If the bush was pruned at the end of last summer possibly that is the reason for no bloom.

[greenasagourd]

Since it's such a "beautiful rounded bush", you must be giving it mostly what it needs. Of course, they like plenty of water, hence the name hydrangea. Is it getting enough sun? They will grow well in shade, but need sun for blooms. Matkin had a good point about fertilizer -- too much produces great foliage at the expense of blooms on many plants. Dog Mom is right on about ph & flower color with hydrangeas. However, I believe Pburgh came up with the probable answer to the problem -- pruning. Take it easy on the pruning & see what happens next year.

[Bird Lover]

Lucy, I agree with Pburgh & gaag. Pruning will keep it from blooming. I made that mistake when my hydrangeas were fairly new. I know how tempting is is to cut away all those dead-looking canes, but just let them be, and see what next year will bring.
By the way, we haven't heard from DeathbyHosta in a long time. Samborski too, now that I think of it. Since TSmith lives out in MI, she keeps us posted with any news from Muskie. Some of our long-time members used to visit during work hours, but they can't access these boards now that we have a new home.