Probably but it will take time to rebuild (several growing seasons). The plant will develop more stems from the crown at its own pace and there is no good way to force it to speed that up. To boost growth, I have sometimes added some alfalfa, alfalfa tea or blood meal (a fertilizer nigh in nitrogen) to roses but not to hydrangeas. When you add nitrogen rich fertilizers to hydrangeas, they do not react with vigorous growth like roses do (there is some reaction but do not expect the plant to double in size & number of stems like some roses can do in one season, for example). The nitrogen in the blood meal makes the plants go into "grow" mode. You can add it per label directions and add no more after the start of July. Too much nitrogen will keep the plant growing in the Fall when it should be dormant. And too much will produce less blooms or no blooms. So go easy. Alfalfa does not have nitrogen like blood meal but it contains a growth regulator/stimulant called triacontanol and it may help. The thing is, compared to roses, hydrangeas do not react vigorously when given lots of nitrogen so they may do likewise with alfalfa. Stop feeding alfalfa in July 1st as well. So, experiment to see what happens and discontinue when no longer necessary. Remember not go overboard with the blood meal or alfalfa & do not add them starting on/after July 1st. The let us know how the plants did! Luis

I guess I have a similar question - not sure if there's a black and white answer. Novice gardener, moved into my house over 6 years ago. About 5 hydrangeas in one bed in the backyard, gets late afternoon sun, which causes foliage wilt, from which they recover nicely. Watering is inconsistent. They bloomed the first couple years, but not in the past 4 (maybe just a bloom or two). Not sure of the variety, and I've cut back in the fall and not cut back at all. Having left the old growth on for the past two seasons and not seeing blooms, I'm starting to think that I need to protect them in winter to avoid frozen buds on the old growth. I will give this a go in the fall. (I can't recall the weather conditions for the past several years, except for our first growing season in the house (2000), when we had a very mild winter. So I don't know if the rest of the time has been weather related bud kill.) The opposing opinion: My bf thinks that they were doing well during the first couple years in the house because he would dump the ash from our charcoal grill in the bed (and we had nicely colored blooms too). We stopped dumping the ash in the beds when we adopted a dog 3 years ago who would munch on the remnants of charcoal briquets that smelled like bbq steak, and now that we use a gas grill, spreading ash is not likely to happen. So, in addition to protecting in the fall/winter, I'd like to try soil amendment right now. I didn't catch this in the responses above - does composted manure smell? If so, I don't want to use that. Alternately - what should I use to fertilize my hydrangeas right now to perhaps get them to bloom this season?? Sorry if the answers are elsewhere in the forum. I'll try to do a search on fertilization, feeding, amending?? Any key words you recommend? Thanks, Laura

Thanks for the suggestion - I'll look for these at the nursery. Is Nikko Blue the bluest of the blues? I would post a picture but it would be too embarrassing. The garden has been abandoned for months because of heat and mosquitoes. Also, I am a lazy, organic gardener with too many gardens to water. I let everything grow: self-seedlings, things in the wrong place. I also don't have much sun so I put things in spots of sun that don't really "belong". But I am ready to get it under control! I walked around this weekend and made a list of what looks good and will divide and plant more of the "winners" and will lose the "losers". Hydrangeas are one of the big winners, so I plan to buy some more this week. Besides Nikko Blue, I have loads of that very common type with the sorta lime-colored leaves and greenish to turning white mops. I forgot what its called.

My thanks to all of you who posted comments, both good and bad. I can't begin to tell you how feedback about my florals opened my eyes, so I was able to change things for my next set of photos. I'd never think that removable "props" would turn someone off. I also have to say that you're taking it well and seem to appreciate the feedback. Those of us selling can now see our house through strangers eyes and what a potential buyer might think when seeing our house online. How the photos look will dictate whether they take the time to actually walk our houses. The last time our house was for sale we did not get any feedback, so I'm very thankful for this forum and hope that the feedback you got helps you. I noticed that the wallpaper in my home got some of the most frequent and critical remarks and it's left me wondering about something. Is wallpaper no longer in vogue in new or remodeled homes or is it that my particular wallpaper is not to the liking of most of you? I've walked a lot of new communities with model homes and can say that here they are still using wallpaper but not in all of the rooms. You might pick the nicest rooms to keep the wallpaper. I love the foyer wallpaper but not with the door color and not with the flooring. You might think to leave some of it up and paint other walls, using it as an accent. Back entrance wallpaper - I would take it down. Half bath - I like the wallpaper but not with the light fixture. Study - I've seen similar paper used in homes I've walked. Utility - dislike the walls - would sheet rock & paint 1st floor master - would paint 1st floor master bath - I like the paper but not for a room like this. I would paint and think about putting up beadboard 2nd floor master - while I like the top paper, I think it would look better painted. The wood on the door is much too dark. I'd also think about putting up a scarf on the windows, then opening the blinds for the photo. While I like pink, others do not :( Second floor vanity/dressing area - this paper you could get away with leaving. Bath 2, second floor - I would try to lighten this room up or leave the picture out. Living Room - I would paint this I also realize that the paneled family room is dated but my thoughts on that is to either paint the paneling a neutral color or rip off the paneling, put up sheetrock and then paint. I also want to install engineered wood flooring in that room and perhaps extend it in to the foyer where, I admit, the tile color is also dated. Another area of critical comments was due to my home having so much carpeting. Has carpeting also gone out of style or do I just have too many rooms with carpet? We just did this in the master bedroom. I would sheet rock. The carpet wouldn't bother me here. I'm one of the weird ones that actually likes carpet, especially for my bad back. Walking on wood floors kills me. BTW, the Saint Bernard that appeared in at least one photo and brought about a comment or two that some people wouldn't even consider buying a home where a dog had been passed away on June 10 much to my hurt. I'm in the process of cleaning up all traces of his presence here. That is, everywhere but in my heart! Very sorry for your loss. After 22 years, I still miss our German Shepherd.