I planted 4 hydrangeas at my old place about 7 years ago. They never bloomed. I have 2 nikko blues, a lace cap and another that was gave to me (I'm not sure what it is). We still own that property so I dug 3 of them up and brought them to the new house early this spring. At the old place I had them planted in a front bed and they stayed damp all the time (it was a trailer with no guttering), they even had mossy looking stuff growing around them. Here, I cut all the dead off of them and put them in a nice shady spot and they have done great. I haven't put any fertilizer on them, just water. One is blooming now, a nice deep purply blue and the other two have gotten really nice big leaves but no blooms. The lace cap has white edges on one side of the plant but the other is side is all green. Any pointers on what I need to do with it? I still have the one at the rental place I'm wanting to get but it's overgrown with an old rambling rose and it's so hot right now I guess I'll wait until fall to get it. My mom always told me about/used the rusty nail trick too. Is it acid that gives the blue color and alkaline that gives the pink color or the other way around? I can't remember. An old neighbor I had used to put pennies in her soil too but I can't remember why.

I was exactly where you are last year. I had bought my hydrangeas blooming, and for a few years in a row they had leaves but no flowers. They were in full sun and I could not water them easily at that location, they were far from the house. So, last spring I have moved them close to the house, where I can water them. They get shade in the morning, and a bit too much sun in the mid day and afternoon. But they are planted under a young birch that will provide shade in a few years. Anyway, last year, after spring transplanting, I watered and fed them and they made one bloom between 3 hydrangeas. They were still stressed from the previous year. This year was to be their last. They all died back during winter. I fertilized them with an organic rose food in the spring (same as wendy above - maybe that's key?), and voila! They bloomed incessantly this summer... amazing season they are having! They are still stressed out by too much mid-day and afternoon sun. I water them every afternoon if they wilt. But, they bloomed! So, my lesson learned is that they need some shade, a lot of water, and fertilizer as well. My soil is sandy, well drained, slightly acidic and poor in nutrients. You may have to give yours one more year after transplanting to a better location... Anda

Sleslie, If you have Endless Summer you don't have to protect but if you do you will have more flower buds come Summer. I winter protected mine and it did not have one stem with out a flower as you can see in this picture: To Winter Protect them I heavily Mulch the base of the plant with straw or mulch. Then I stake the area around them with 4 ft wood stakes I buy from Lowes making sure to leave some space between the stakes and the leaves. Then I surround the stakes with chicken wire and fill it up with leaves which you can bum off from a neighbor if you don't have any. Make sure that you fill the caged area all the way to the top covering the hydrangea. Also save some leaves as the leaves will settle in during the winter and you will need to refill the cage. You can also cover the cage with burlap but I didn't find that necessary. You can bury your potted one in the ground and give it the same treatment. The "fun" part comes in Spring when you uncover them and then have to baby them running around with blankets every time there is a frost warning. At first they will look dead but trust me do not prune those branches back until early summer. Mine looked completely dead but thanks to friends on here I didn't prune them back and they bloomed beautifully. I uncovered mine on Mothers day and was told later that I waited a bit long and it caused mine to be a bit yellow and tender to the touch. This year I plan to uncover them the last week of April and see what happens. I do not prune the Endless Summers as they really don't need it but if you want to I think that early fall would be the time. If you prune them in Spring you will not have any blooms for the rest of the year(if they are mopheads) If you have Annabell or Limelight you can prune those down in the fall or Spring. You can search on here for pruning times and tips.

I did go down to Joy Creek Nursery. It was about a 2 hour drive from Tacoma. They have a wonderful display garden with lots of hydrangeas there. I ended up purchasing seven good sized hydrangeas (about $16-$18 each) plus other misc. plants, enough to almost fill the back seat and trunk of the car. I felt the trip was well worth it. There's no sales tax in Oregon, so I almost saved the gas it took to get there, and didn't have to pay shipping charges. Plus the hydrangea selection was wonderful, and I got to see them growing in the display garden, although not lots of blooms due to this past hard winter. The staff were very helpful. They don't do a big Fall sale since they winter over all their plants. Daphne in Tacoma