Kelly, to have fresh hydrangea blossoms for an early Fall wedding, you would need a climate controlled cool glasshouse to grow them in - a chore better left to a florist supplier.

Sorry, but the weather dictates bloom time, not us as gardeners :)

I was hoping maybe I could cut them back, sort of like you do with mums, to force them to bloom at a later date.

Thanks for responding.

kelly

Kelly - that idea of pruning might work since paniculatas bloom on new growth. The one thing you might find since you just planted them last year, is that they will probably bloom more on their normal schedule this year (ie., not in spring but later in summer). So with some careful pruning, you might be able to extend the season a bit more than usual. I know growing up with a paniculata, my mother used to cut branches with full panicles on them for me to take to school in September.

Nothing stopping you from giving it a shot on some of the branches to see what happens. The panicles may not be as fully formed when ready to bloom later in the year due to sun angles, etc., but there may be a few nice ones left that just start to dry in October.

Thanks Jenny. I hope you're right that they bloom a little later this year. Also I don't recall them turning pink or red in fall like I've read that they do, but again maybe because it was their first year.

They definitely have loads of blooms though, and this year I'm going to take advantage of that and start cutting them to put in a vase.

Mine just blush a bit when the weather gets cold. Nothing like the pictures of RED blooms I've seen. K.

Kelly, I'm a colder zone than you, however I did have Limelight blooming in October. I kept all the blooms cut off as they started to die off, and new ones just kept coming. It's worth a try. Also, have you considered drying some. If you dry them when they are in the green stage, and then spray them with a little blue, they are the most beautiful dried flower imaginable. Good luck! Polly

A funny related story to this subject is that I just found out that my mother has a Limelight in her yard. One of my sisters had taken her plant shopping and she picked out, bought, and planted it - an event I apparently missed. LOL Just this week, mom raved about the number, size, and color of the blooms it had last year and she saved a pile to dry. Some did have a reddish blush on them after being dried, but most definitely maintained their green hue. For years, she had a pee gee but didn't realize it was a hydrangea (probably because it bloomed later than the mopheads) and used to cut and dry the flowers in the fall. Her neighbor's huge tree (FINALLY removed this past week) had gradually shaded it more and more and it languished so much that she finally took it out about 15 years ago. But this week after seeing her Limelight budding out, I got chance to let her know that it and her old pee gee were cousins (being paniculatas).

Jenny, thanks for that heartwarming story about the hydrangea cousins. :-)

Polly, thanks for the suggestion. I'll make sure that I keep the dead flowers removed, but from what I remember, the blooms seem to last forever. :-) I don't think I'll count on them for the wedding, but it's good to know that they might still be blooming at that time and that I might have some to use. They've come through their first winter beautifully (at least it appears that way so far.) They're just now starting to leaf out, but it looks like all branches have lots of green leaves.

I don't think I've ever seen a bush bloom so profusely for so long . . . and that was in their first year!

Thanks everyone!

kelly

Kelly, not counting on them sounds like a reasonable plan to me, and probably much more realistic. The size of these flowers would make them a major component of the wedding table bouquets, I'd hate to see you or the bride frantically trying to find substitutes as you are coming down to the wire :) Much better that you enjoy the wedding plans, you will all have enough to do that month...

I agree morz8. That's taking way too much of a chance to try to count on them for centerpieces or such. Maybe I'll get lucky and have them for centerpieces at the (out-of-towners') brunch the next day . . . and if I don't it's not a big deal.

Karen, thanks for letting me know about the fall color of your limelights. I was wondering about why mine didn't turn color like what I've seen in pictures, but again I think the fact that it was the first year might have affected them a little as well.

Thanks everyone ...

kelly

Kelly-------oh definitely do not plan on them for the wedding. I think it's worth a try, but certainly nothing I would plan on. Just try, and if they succeed add them in somehow.
Most important to enjoy that wedding!
My daughter was married at home in the garden. Weddings are very stressful anyway, but when you are responsible for anything that's stress that's not needed for the Mother of the Bride.
Polly