Rethinking doing rhododendrons, hydrangea's may be better?

disneynut1977 ~ Melissa

14 years ago

I originally asked about rhodo's in the Rhody forum for this area, but now I'm wondering if hydrangea's would be a better choice?

I have a strip against half the back of my house that I just cleaned up. It's about 20' long x 2 1/2' deep. This area in the spring before leafout, gets about 3-3 1/2 hours direct-dappled sun, after leaf out, it only gets about 1.5 -2hrs direct sun than the rest dappled to shade. I have a full size maple not too far from my house that shades this area. The bed is OK on moisture being right next to the house. I know I would have to water the first year, but I think after that they would be ok (I do have 1 of my waterbarrels and my outside faucet on this side, so getting water to them is not an issue). Just a bit away from the house it can get wet, but no actual standing water.

I have 2 Big Daddy's in the front of my house that are doing wonderful, except sometimes it does get a little hot and the flower heads droop/wilt someday's(this area gets more sun, about 2 more hrs, 1 of those being around noon, than shaded by my house). So I thought maybe the back would be perfect for some more hydrangea's. I would really like to get some Lacecap's. Those are my favorite. I love my big flowers head's on the BD's, but there's something so delicate about the lacecap's. So since I really don't know anything about different lacecap's, what would be good for the area in zone5? Which color is not much of a biggie. I would prefer not to have white though. I know white would pop out more in the shade, but I do want some color. I don't want 1 that will get over about 4 ft, I don't mind having to prune if the hydrangea respond's well to pruning. I actually like to prune, it's very relaxing to me :)

If this is the wrong place for this, please don't hesitate to say so, I won't take any offense. I wasn't sure since there is no hydrangea trade forum's and I thought there would be more hydrangea people on here compared to the plant exchange. If anybody has some rooted cuttings of lacecaps that would work, please check my trade page out and let me know. I know I do need to have rooted cuttings as I don't think I could root them myself. I would like to put 4 lacecaps back there. They don't have to be all the same either.

Thanks for your help

Melissa1977

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Comments (7)

orchidacea
14 years ago
Melissa, if the spot get only 2 hrs less sun than the spots where your BDs have no trouble to set blooms, then I think you are ok...the sun exposure is on the low side, even for hyrangeas, if you want reliable blooms...that said, i think your location will be alright...since it close to the house, the soil maybe more alkaline than you think..hydrangeas are more tolerant to alkaline soil than Rhodies would...there are many lacecaps you can chose...I am partial to the mopheads but i have clients would only have lacecaps...fuji waterfall, blue bird, blue billow are the common ones...the more recent introductions like lady in red, twist-n-shout (1st rebloomer for a lacecap), and lemon wave...I dont have cuttings for these, but you probably can find these plants in local nurseries or online suppliers (hyrangeaplus.com)..forestfarm.com would be another place for hydrangea online shopping..

/..
disneynut1977 ~ Melissa
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks for the suggestion's on the Lacecaps. I will look then up. I think they would be ok back there too. I didn't think about hydrangea's, until I really started to notice that my BD's would droop around noon time on the hot days, so I thought the back would be perfect for more hydrangea's.

I still have the other side of my deck on the back of my house that's empty too. All cleaned up and the same size, but it does get more sun, still part sun, but more afternoon sun. I could put some rhodie's there I guess if I still want them also.

Melissa1977
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I think hard pruning will be just as temporary as any pruning. It will come back the same way. The best way to get the back to grow is to remove some of the front. That is what is shading the back. If you want a more uniform looking plant, you need to open it up. This results in a healthier plant with good air flow and light getting to all parts. Another trick is to paint the fence (at least that part) white so more light gets to the back. Also, heavy doses of nitrogen will weaken the plant and may prevent it from blooming. A good balanced rhododendron fertilizer is a much better choice. Rhododendrons are easy to move. They have very shallow roots. If you could just move it out from the fence, things would improve.
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Term is actually spelled "heeling in", of course. Anyway hydrangea still being viable after a month out in the air seems doubtful. And because this plant adheres to supports, will therefore be hard to get off the tree it probably isn't feasible to recover and keep making use of the top. Also you will have to have some other place to place the now liberated - and very clumsy to handle - top attractively. Yet much of the value of it having grown for 40 years will have been lost if you cut the top down, in order to make the rest of the plant portable. I would look at the root situation and decide if I wanted to bother with separating it from most of its own top, as well as the roots of the conifer, and lugging it to a new planting site, digging a big enough hole to spread to roots out, and so on. It might be better to just let the specimen go. Also when tall conifers in my area topple effects of root pathogens often become visible, making it apparent reduction of the root system by these agents was the cause of the tree no longer being able to remain upright. If it turned out the tree was taken out by something like Honey Fungus for instance then the hydrangea could be infested as well, or some of the fungus might get transported to the new planting site in soil attached to the hydrangea. This would not be desirable.
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hydrangeasnohio
14 years ago
I have many hydrangeas and some rhododendrons. Both plants would do great in that location. I am partial to reblooming hydrangeas in our zone 5. I have to take drastic measures of winter protection to ensure a good amount of flowers on my no reblooming hydrangeas. I did buy two of the Twist n Shout from the Endless Summer collection this year. Along with 2 of the Let's Dance Starlight Lacecap reblooming hydrangeas. So far I think the Starlight wins. But if you would like a mophead I think the Blue Heaven from the Forever and Ever collection is the most reliable. How many seasons have you had the Big Daddys?
ostrich
14 years ago
Melissa1977, since you are in zone 5a and more lacecaps are really just hardy to zone 6, I think that you will have to baby them every winter in order to keep them alive and to protect the buds.

To be honest with you, hydrangeasnohio, I am not so sure about the reblooming power of these newer macrophyllas even in zone 5b. So for zone 5a, I think they probably need to be protected still.

Just my opinion.
orchidacea
14 years ago
good catch ostrich, I didn't even chk with the zone info for Melissa..most of the common lacecaps will not tolerate the cold winter in zone 5a...twist-n-shout listed for zone 4..lady in red will need winter protection for zone 5...a new lacecap from Proven Winners is coming up next season..Blue Bunny...I have some folks asking for that one..listed for zone 5, blooms on new wood (so reliable bloomer), stays blue regardless of soil pH, appears to need heavy shade conditions, compact size...maybe that one Melissa should keep an eye on next spring (if she can wait for one winter for that spot)...blue bird, blue billow, lemon wave will not do in zone 5a...as for twist-n-shout, i'll chk with folks have this plant earlier this season and see if it really reblooms.

...
disneynut1977 ~ Melissa
Original Author
14 years ago
Oh, I can wait. Blue Bunny sounds perfect for this strip. I'll have to keep my eye out for them and maybe only be able to pick up 2. Being new, I would think the price will be high. In the mean time, I can try to get my rhodie's all set before late fall on the other side.

hydrangeasohio,

My BD's have only been through 1 winter with me. I bought them as large 3yr plants, planted in fall and MOUNDED leaves ontop for winter protection. They are only about 2ft tall and even if I get alot of dieback each year and they don't get any taller that's fine with me. I have I think a 6-7 blooms on each plant and I would say the blooms are 8-9inches wide. The blooms are lasting for quite a bit too. Even though they are rated zone 6, so far I am very happy with them.
hydrangeasnohio
14 years ago
Thanks for the response I thought BD's were for zone 5 also. I have seen them in many places around here. Thanks good to know. Good Luck!!!

Rethinking doing rhododendrons, hydrangea's may be better?

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orchidacea

disneynut1977 ~ Melissa
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orchidacea

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Rethinking doing rhododendrons, hydrangea's may be better?

Comments (7)

orchidacea

disneynut1977 ~ MelissaOriginal Author

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hydrangeasnohio

ostrich

orchidacea

disneynut1977 ~ MelissaOriginal Author

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disneynut1977 ~ Melissa
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disneynut1977 ~ Melissa
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