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Need Blue Companion for 2 Nikko Blues

17 years ago

Hello! Hoping someone can give me some ideas here. I have a long border with two Nikko Blue hydrangeas (about 4 years old, at least 5 x 5 feet) near each end. I would like to plant another blue hydrangea somewhere near the middle to help tie the whole bed together. I would get another Nikko blue, but I'm not sure there's enough room. (A giant, but beautiful, rugosa rose is in the way, moving it might lead to loss of life or limb). There's lots more room towards the front of the bed.

Would anything else look nice with the Nikko blue?

Thanks!

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Comments (3)

ego45
17 years ago
I think Glowing Ember/Alpenglow should work in this case.
It will be smaller, 3x3 at maturity and if your Nikkos are blue meaning that your soil is acidic, it will be on a purple side thus will provide nice, but not so harsh contrast as would pink, red or white will do. If you are looking for the visual hedge effect, Endless Summer might work there as well due to the fact that you could trim it to any size you wish to and it will still bloom for you, though intensity of the blue color in ES wouldn't rival a Nikko's.
Picture of the whole site would certainly help.
sergeantcuff
Original Author
17 years ago
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.
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Hydrangeas are understory trees that prefer morning sun and afternoon shade. If they get too much sun here in the summer months, the leaves in direct contact with the sun get scorched. However, the summer sun here is not as strong as it is in the northern half of the country so my MIL in MASS had a Nikko Blue on the western side of her home with no problems. It is possible that with enough moisture, your shrub can do well either on the original or the alternate locations. Why do you not try the current location and transplant it if it turns out to be too much? Just remember to keep the soil moist, well mulched and to check the leaves several times a week. When I gave one hydrangea too much sun, the leaves in contact with the sun turned all yellow including the leaf veins. I would investigate where people are putting similar hydrangeas to give you an idea. You can also look at city gardens and such. But regardless which location you try, you will not be the only person that has had to transplant a hydrangea because the original location did not work out when hot temps in July-August arrive or because it got too big or something else. Luis
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Nikko's bllom on the previous years growth. If the above ground browth dies over the winter, you won't get blooms. My guess is the plant did better this winter than the past two. My Annabelle's tend to bloom a few weeks earlier than my Nikko's. The blooms stay white for a couple of weeks then turn green for a couple of months and turn brown in the fall or winter. It will bloom once per year. You can deadhead if you want. It won't effect blooming. Annabelle is a much better bloomer than Nikko Blue since it blooms on new growth.
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Hi romatravel - Depending on your zone ... if you still have time before Winter sets in, I think you might still have a bit of time ... Fall planting is always great for me. However you won't have time to ground-layer stems as I have done, ahead of time for insurance, in case digging & relocating fails ... you might be able to still do some stem clippings to grow indoors. As with this first attempt I did, it only took 2 weeks for the clumps to prove their resiliency & show survival from the assaults of the shovels & stress of the relocation. Knowing what I know now, in my zone I still have 'til Nov. I suggest you talk to a respectable/knowledgeable nursery, for their thoughts as well ... Good luck! Hi Madeyna - The pot-layering I did was basically similar & I think simpler, since I had to remove them from the, less than ideal site. I have another that I ground layered, an ES, in the mom's adjacent site, simply because the stem was naturally arching down on the ground. I did a shallow furrow, covered with soil & topped with a brick. I'll be checking in Spring. Several different H. stem clippings, I attempted this summer seem to be doing well ... will over-winter in the garage & plant them for my dil! Have a great Fall day!
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Unfortunately, you will have to sacrifice the blooms if you want to prune now. Hydrangeas like Nikko Blue bloom on old wood. Their flower buds develop starting in July-August so pruning now will remove the (now) invisible flower buds that will produce blooms in Spring 2012. Some alternatives, none of which may be perfect.... If cutting them by a large amount (more than a third), you may want to do that in winter when the shrubs are really really dormant. This option is called rejuvenation and you prune in thirds for 3 years only when the plant is dormant: cut the oldest 1/3 stems this year (prune them aaaalllll the way to the bottom); next year, prune the next 1/3; and on year 3, prune the last third. You could prune them this way -for example- every November for three years in a row (or do it every December, January, etc for three years in a row). A variation of rejuvenation: leave the plants alone/unpruned now, let the shrubs bloom in Spring as usual, and then prune them in thirds as described on the next three Springs in a row. However, prune in thirds to the ground a few weeks after the bloomage show has started so you get to see & enjoy some of the show.
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jazzmom516 (Zone 6b, MA)
17 years ago
You could also try any lacecap type hydrangeas for a contrast in flower shape if its placed between the 2 'Nikko Blues'. I have Hydrangea serrata 'Blue Bird' and I love them.

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