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How long before new baby hydrangeas make flowers?

East TN Late Bloomer

7 years ago

I bought 5 Everlasting Revolution hydrangeas and one Bobo. They arrived and I planted them mid-April after all frost had passed. I am in East Tennessee (Knoxville).

The ER were starting to get reddish leaves and I realized I had mulched too close (so maybe too damp?) I pulled some away and they look really good, standing up all perky and happy. But....not even a bud.

Bobo is leafy, (small leaves) and a lot of bark (just as it came to me.) It looks very healthy - but no blooms.

I am a total newbie, so is my real problem patience? I hear of others who get them and they start blooming immediately.

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Comments (5)

October_Gardens
7 years ago
First, what did you do, mail-order these?

ER is a dwarf hydrangea macrophylla and makes flowers around mid-late June. If you mail or web-ordered this it should start a baby flower (cluster of "broccoli" at the growing tip) within a month or so, with some sun (not all day) and light fertilizer. If it is a very small cutting that you ordered, it might not flower for a couple of years.

Bobo is a different hydrangea altogether (paniculata) and most of those don't put out flowers until the end of July or later, regardless of when you ordered or bought it.

As far as flowering goes, it is better to buy big (two-gallon or larger pot) so you can get results sooner, as mail-order cuttings (quart or gallon pots) take much longer to grow in most native climates/soils.
East TN Late Bloomer thanked October_Gardens
luis_pr
7 years ago
Patience indeed! And it would not bother me if ER had no blooms. On year one, I prefer that they develop a good root system instead.
East TN Late Bloomer thanked luis_pr
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East TN Late Bloomer
Original Author
7 years ago
Probably the smallish size plus the fact they don't bloom until June and July. Thanks...I think I am doing everything okay....patience is the word of the day for me :-) Thanks again!
luis_pr
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Yes, and make a note on a wall calendar when you see "the broccoli" so, on the following year, you will know about when do they bloom for you. They all do it at different times and the more south you are, the earlier they will bloom. I already have a lot of the mopheads & lacecaps blooming and the oakleaf hydrangeas have some huge, almost 12" inch conical blooms. Paniculatas will open buds later this month for me. Around late June or July for you. But you will get there too!!! Just give them time.
East TN Late Bloomer thanked luis_pr
NHBabs z4b-5a NH
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
As far as H. paniculatas go, around here Bobo starts blooming in early July; it's earlier than most H. paniculata varieties. However, as others said above, with small, new plants, they often spend the first year and sometimes even much of the second year putting on growth below ground (roots, year 1) and above (stems and leaves, year 2) before they are large enough to support flowers. So the saying goes year 1 they sleep, 2 they creep, and 3 they leap, though you might find that hydrangeas do the leaping in year 2. Just don't be surprised if it takes a couple of years before you are really pleased with them.

You are absolutely right about the patience part- that is always one of my major gardening lessons.
East TN Late Bloomer thanked NHBabs z4b-5a NH

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