Growing Limelight Hydrangeas | Late Summer
I’ve been growing limelight hydrangeas for a few years now…this is my third growing season. I planted in the late spring of 2014 and even though they were tiny, my three plants produced lovely blooms. Last summer (you can see how they looked HERE) the bushes doubled in size and so did the blooms. I left them dry on the bushes and then cut all the blooms to make a dried hydrangea wreath. I would call that a hard pruning because not much was left after I harvested all the dried blooms!
I planted the bushes in front of my porch to give my house a casual, farmhouse feel. They are, without a doubt, my favorite plant ever. There’s not much to growing limelight hydrangeas. A little sun, water and good soil are all they need to thrive.Â
The one thing that puzzles me this year are the super long stems. The stems that produced blooms are so tall, and the blooms are so heavy, that some are falling over. I did some research because I wondered if the hard pruning may have caused this.Â
I discovered that after a hard pruning, the new branches may not be strong enough to support the weight of the massive blooms. Clearly this is what happened to my bushes. I should have left some of the old wood last fall to support the new blooms that appeared this summer. (At least I think that’s what I should have done. The honest truth is that I’m not sure.)Â
So…back to the drawing board! No hard pruning this year. I will cut the bushes back in a few months but not as severely as I did last year. Even though the blooms are weighing down the stems, I still think they look beautiful. I couldn’t resist the urge to cut a few blooms and bring them inside.Â
I want to take just one more minute of your time to thank everyone who read and/or commented on my post What To Do When It All Falls Apart. It was not an easy post to write but I’m so glad I did. Many of you gave encouraging advice (which I am taking to heart for sure) or offered suggestions. I read every single comment and made pages of notes. I told you I was working on something to grow my email list and it’s almost finished. If you subscribe to my blog by email, you will be the first to see. If you don’t, and would like to subscribe, just click HERE. It’s totally free and I never, ever send spam. There are check boxes so you can customize what information lands in your inbox. I post two or three times per week so don’t worry about getting an email every day. I am fairly certain that will never happen!
More on growing limelight hydrangeas:
- Growing Limelight Hydrangeas
- Drying Limelight Hydrangeas
- Dried Hydrangea Wreath Tutorial
- Growing Limelight Hydrangeas | An Update
Thanks for stopping by…see you soon!
