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help making climbing hydrangea climb

16 years ago

Hi,

I'm new to this forum, but seem to find nice people on all the forums so here goes. I've had a climbing hydrangea for probably 10 years. It's been very slow to grow at all. There are lots of stems now, but none over 2 1/2 feet. When I try to make them grow up on the heavy wood support behind them they just sulk and the plant puts out new pieces that try to cover the ground. What should I be doing differently?

It is planted about 24 inches from a few clematis that seem to grow fine. I had originally figured the clematis would climb up the hydrangea.

Mary

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Comments (3)

roseluvr
16 years ago
I have a climbing hydrangea that is 3 years old and almost 6 ft tall, with several laterals. I have trained mine through a trellis--here's a pic:

{{gwi:1339938}}

Mine also tries to spread across the ground--I just cut them off--I figure keeping them just diverts the plant's energy from growing taller and spreading farther. Since trimming them again this year, I've noticed the laterals are putting on new growth. The lack of growth of your plant may be due to placement or watering or both. My vine gets morning sun and afternoon shade and I water very frequently (every other day at the least.) I recently removed several roses from that trellis--while there, the roses were fertilized regularly, so the vine benefitted from proximity to them. Hope this helps!
roseluvr
16 years ago
Oops-broke my link-here it is again. :)
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I'm not sure exactly what you were expecting but that hydrangea HAS bloomed - old flowerheads are readily apparent in the first and second photos. That it produced mostly fertile florets - tiny little flowers - is not at all uncommon with climbing hydrangeas and especially ones that have not yet fully matured. 8 years in the ground is only just the beginning of full establishment for H. petiolaris and folks often wait 5-10 years or more for this climber to flower reliably and consistently. Even then, you are not going to get full, dense flowerheads. Climbing hydrangeas produce lacecap type flowers or flattened corymbs of mostly fertile florets sparsely outlined with the larger, showier sterile florets. This is what the flowers will look like: If this is not what you want or expected, by all means move or remove. But your vine has bloomed and should continue to do so going forward.
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julia
16 years ago
Climbing hydrangea will only attach to a porous surface - masonry or unpainted wood. The surface has to be occasionally moist and the vine has to rub against the surface. This will trigger the growth of the rootlets that this vine uses to climb. Usually rain and wind do the trick. Since it hasn't in 10 years, I would move it. It is not well situated.

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