Nikko Blue Hydrangea in Zone 5b
yovan mcgregor
5 years ago
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5 years agoRelated Discussions
Homigo better than Endless Summer for zone 5b!?
Comments (2)Hi Ostrich - I thought I was gonna kick my self for passing up on Homigo a couple of years ago & got F&E instead ... George chimes in and I'm back to my decision to quit while I'm ahead ... OK to call me a chicken!!! LOL I'll just be content with the challenges of these temperamental 7 that I have ... old Nikko is the queen of these pretentious Divas!!! Even my 8 serratas are more dependable (except LOD - no show) ... 'don't mind coddling them in Winter, they deserve it ... it was a record-killing Winter this past one & an awful Spring to boot, but the blossoms they produced are even more than last season's ... even MV has several! I'll perhaps stick with H paniculatas, so carefree in my zone & love the beautiful airy blossoms, the Monarchs & Swallowtails adore! So sorry ... I'm just venting, I usually don't shy away from challenges, but disappointments weakened my spirit. BB is the only commendable one of the ES improvements in my piece of soil ... floriferous & white! Pia ... of course, is a different story!!! Â;) D...See MoreProtecting hydrangea in zone 5b Ohio
Comments (4)Hi Kentstar - Congratulations!!! Now you can come over & help me put together my 12 wire cages ... working with gloves is quite trying to patience as one folds end wires to hold together!!! Â:( I still have 'til Thanksgiving to get this annual musts, accomplished ... bags & bags of dried fallen leaves awaits patiently on our porch for this great adventure!!! Â;) IMHO ... unshredded oak leaves won't mat down as easily, pine needles, as well, I find excellent pads around the canes, inside the burlap wraps ... shredded leaves are excellent mulch - holds moisture & protects the stems close to the surface. Our devastating *Killing-Winter* of '08-'09 decimated many of the old canes of my Nikko & Lacecaps that I very seriously protect & yet, all but Nikko & LOD, were quite floriferous this season ... the stems barely on the ground surface, protected by the heavy mulching save this '09 season of blooms!!! I spent these past weeks, since 23 Oct dealing with this *Bumper-Crop-Year* of my beloved Ginkgo Tree ... raking, scooping, sweeping, nit-picking, bagging, etc, etc, etc ... 4+weeks of must-do, lest I'll be lost in a Ginkgo jungle & this prolific *Prince turned Duchess* will be removed from the *Red list of endangered plants by the IUCN* In case you're curious to view my endeavor, I posted in the Trees Forum - *So you think you really like to grow a Ginkgo Tree?* or so thread! I can breathe a bit easier now that my beloved Prince/Duchess is naked of golden cloak & just a hundred, perhaps, babies still holding bravely in her arms! Here is a pic of the last 20 gallons hauled away yesterday ... Of the 31+ bags I singlehandedly enslaved on ... I'm not called *Glut for Punishment* for nothing, by my family!!! Â;) or Â:((( for smelling of Wintergreen-aching-back-relief overnite! ugh!!! Again Congrats & Happy Floriferous 2010!!!...See MoreSuggestions for privacy border between houses - zone 5b
Comments (20)I have a mixed shrub bed that is probably 15’ x 60’ and am in a similar zone. If you want arborvitae or Rhodies, just plan to spray with a deer repellent. Some are oil based and some can be mixed with a substance like Wiltpruf to prevent it washing off so that it only has to be renewed every few months unless there is new growth. I second the comment about blue spruce not being worth a long term planting in the humid east. Mine after 10 years are bare on the bottom and losing needles and shoots on the top, so I will take them out in the next few years. My preference is for having a rhythm of repeated characteristic plants down the length of the bed rather than clumps of one kind, and then I fill with variety. Here is a thread where about half way down I added a couple of posts with photos and an explanation of my plan and goals, so rather than rewriting the whole thing, I am sending you to the link. https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/3113384/shrubs-for-privacy-along-a-fence#n=22 I have listed plants I used and even after 10 years I am generally pleased. Some plants have not done well (Pieris and Cornus are much beloved by the voles and don’t live long without roots) and as mentioned above, the blue spruce are disease prone. By now many of my groundcovers and perennials have been shaded out. Right now it needs editing, but I have spent the last year dealing with a terminally ill family member, and it has done surprisingly well with quite literally no maintenance. I will do some editing this fall when it is a bit cooler, and if you can find dwarf versions of other evergreens that are less popular with deer if you don’t want to spray, that would be good. My Norway spruce which isn’t in my shrub border, while lovely, at something like 25-30 years, it is huge, perhaps 25’-30’ wide and well over twice that tall. So if you want to use a spruce, look for ones that grow more slowly. For instance, there is a slow growing version of Serbian spruce/Picea omorika as well as one that looks bluish, so look for those. I went to all the nurseries in my rural area and chose from what was available that suited my needs since I wanted somewhat larger starting plants. One of the fastest growing plants I put in were panicled hydrangeas, and between their ability to gain size quickly, their need for little attention after the first year or two, and their months long bloom, I would use these again in any similar garden. I deliberately used more than one color and texture of evergreen for winter interest, particularly during the long fall and early spring when there isn’t snow. My cover photo shows a piece of it during this stage if you click on my name. If you have questions, feel free to ask....See MoreCan Nikko blue hydrangea take full sun?
Comments (12)Just to add to your silliness... An adaptation of leaves in shade is an increased surface area and thinner leaves. Comparing an oakleaf to a smaller limbed hydrangea is invalid because an oakleaf has much thicker branches. Allowing it to transport more water. So it can support larger leaves. The same is true for trees. All things being equal, a tree can support larger leaves than a smaller limbed shrub or perennial. https://www.field-studies-council.org/resources/14-16-biology/photosynthesis/comparing-sun-and-shade/ Can you please provide links that show some scientific evidence to the contrary? I would be interested in learning about it....See Moreophoenix
5 years agoyovan mcgregor
5 years agoyovan mcgregor
5 years agonicholsworth Z6 Indianapolis
5 years agoOf the Woods Hydrangea and Peony Farm
5 years agoyovan mcgregor
5 years ago
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