"Let's Dance Sky View" (macrophylla) is too good to be true?
rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
Featured Answer
Comments (37)
Paul NY 5b-6a
2 years agorouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
2 years agoRelated Discussions
overwintering Hydrangea macrophylla winter protection
Comments (104)My first Hydrangea is now in the ground for more than 25 years. At this point, I keep it for sentimental reasons only. It's gotten so THICK with canes that if I wrap it in my usual cage, I have to get everything so tight in there that I think I may actually be suffocating the plant. I've not had good luck overwintering it in recent years. This past winter I didn't even bother with it. If I were you, I'd consider taking a cutting or digging out a portion of your sentimental one and essentially start over. It would indeed be the same plant, so you could keep your sentiment. But I can understand sentiment. I should get rid of my first Hydrangea, but I'm not. For a long time I would cut back the old canes completely to the ground in the Fall. I'd only leave canes that had shot up from low points on the canes or from the crown. They would have grown all summer and would end up giving me great flowering the next year. I'd have very long stemmed flowers, too, that I had cut. The big problem with this technique is that you end up with weaker stems than you would otherwise and next summer they'd be weighted down to the ground with their flowers. I've found that, for my zone, I can usually prune as hard as I want up until about Fourth of July, just to be easy to remember, and not hurt the flowering potential for next year. After that, the buds start setting for next year and you start running into that problem. (But then I've cut some "nikkos" back to the crown in the Fall and on some I'd get great flowering and on some I'd get none. Do I really understand this? NO.) So, here is another method for you to consider to keep it smaller, at least in height. Another thing I've experimented with is to prune all the wimpy growth completely out and just end up with a few stout canes over time. This was interesting, but you end up with an artifical looking Hydrangea and the few stout canes start looking rather strange. But with this technique, more or less, you could develop a plant that wasn't so crowded. I don't know though. I wish I could help you more. I'd like an answer to the question you have, too! Hay...See MoreHydrangea macrophylla 'Endless Summer'
Comments (16)Mine aren't protected and don't get an early bloom since they are killed to the snow line or ground level every winter, but I get good summer bloom from new wood. But other than temperature I have ideal growing conditions for H. macrophylla with acid, moist well-drained soil, regular rain, and warm to hot days with cooler nights. Based on my experience, I really think this is a plant that does rely heavily on local growing conditions. I rarely buy newly marketed plants since I have found that often they haven't been tested for long enough in enough different parts of the country. I usually wait a minimum of 3 years since there are a lot of things marketed as zone 5 that I cannot grow here on the northern edge of zone 5. There are so many gorgeous tried and true plants that I would just as soon wait to buy until I have more info from actual gardeners who are more adventurous than I on their experiences with such things as hardiness, floppiness, rebloom, self-seeding, and need to deadhead for new plant varieties. I really don't have either the patience or the budget for what turn out to be expensive annuals or that can't deal with my acid soil and heavy snow load....See Moreoverwintering macrophylla hydrangeas in cold zones
Comments (72)July 14, 2016, z4: I live in West Central MN, z4, have had an Endless Summer, Twist & Shout, planted on East corner of house since summer of 2011 (5 yrs at time of this writing). It gets full sun in morning, a little dappled sun in afternoon for a very short time, rich soil, moist conditions, landscape fabric covered with wood mulch, no turf or other nearby vegetation to compete with. This should be perfect Hydrangea conditions, and while this plant has been robust and healthy from the very beginning, it does NOT get anywhere near its advertised size. (Label that came on my plant says 4 to 5 ft tall and wide.) It dies back completely to the ground every winter so growth starts all over, from ground level, every spring, rather late in the spring, and reaches its maximum size of 2 ft tall X 3 ft wide in mid July. This also means it blooms only on new growth. Though it's advertised as blooming on both new and old growth, there is no old growth that survives the winter for blooms to grow on. I do not cut it back in the fall....don't touch it at all.....and leave the old growth until the following season. In the spring, I clean up the dead and fallen leaves from the year before but leave the old stems standing. (I started leaving the previous year's dead stems through the following spring beginning from the time I planted it, always hoping that, if given enough time, they'd come to life and be that "old growth" that would give the plant that bigger size and more flowers. I've given up that idea, but it's just a habit now. It's become one of those, "This is how I manage this plant because I know it does no harm" , kind of things.) Once the new growth is nearing the height of the previous year's stems, I simply break the old ones off as close to ground level as I can without disturbing new growth, usually ending up to be 3-4 inches above ground level, completely hidden by the new growth. Because they're "dead", the old stems just snap off by hand, very easily, and those few inches that may be left behind have fallen into the soil by the time late fall arrives and the plant once again goes into dormancy, has shed its summer foliage, and everything that was living that summer dies back completely over the coming winter. Over the summer and early fall, it usually has up to 12 blooms at any given time, depending on how much TLC it gets. Blooms range in size from 3" to 7" across (older blooms). Each flower lasts a long time. As far as the color of the flowers, some years they are more on the purple side, some years they are a bit more pinkish. Most years, there's an interesting mix of both colors on each individual flower, often times starting out more on the pink side but changing to purple with a smattering of pink as the blooms mature to full size. I don't know how the plant determines, but it does so on its own since I do NOT amend the soil with anything to change the PH level or influence the bloom color. All I do as far as feeding is give it a drink of water soluble "Bloom Booster" fertilizer (10-52-10) three or four times during the summer, beginning around July 1 (when the plant is nearing its full size and focusing most of its energy into putting on new blooms), and ending the end of August, at the latest. I tried giving it a balanced fertilizer beginning earlier in the season and found that it there was lots of green but sparse on flowers and could get rather leggy. This feeding routine seems to give the best results, in my situation, anyway. I'm very fortunate to live in an area of glacier-rich black soil (black gold!) where pretty much EVERYTHING I've ever planted in my 40 yrs of gardening/landscaping grows much larger and faster than what's stated on the labels. I was expecting the same with this Hydrangea, that its mature size would be greater than its label indicated, so I gave it plenty of room, which is doesn't come close to filling. I've decided to transplant it either this fall or next spring (depending on what I find on the internet for info on how it will stand up to fall transplanting in my zone, which I've not yet found). I think I'll put a Black Lace Elderberry bush in the vacated spot and move the Twist&Shout Hydrangea further down the east side of the house, next to a large bunch of established White Phlox just about to break into beautiful full bloom this time of year. That's my only disappointment with this Hydrangea, its ultimate size. According to my experience, it will never reach the size stated on the label in zone 4, where it dies back to the ground every winter and comes back from ground level every spring. An attractive and, so far, hardy zone 4 plant, to be sure, but not nearly as large as some other varieties in the Hydrangea family, and the larger size is what I was wanting when I bought the Twist and Shout....See Moremy outside macrophyllas
Comments (9)How tall do they get? One of the big box stores near me sells a metal fence that you put together with what are essentially long metal dowels (2) or just hook together and have stakes that help hold them in place(1). They refer to them as no-dig fences. You could fold them flat and store for the summer if you have a space for that. https://www.lowes.com/pd/No-Dig-Actual-3-7-ft-x-3-ft-2-Pack-Black-Powder-coated-Steel-Decorative-Fence-Panel/3464104 https://www.lowes.com/pd/No-Dig-Actual-3-4-ft-x-4-1-ft-Grand-Empire-Powder-Coated-Steel-Decorative-Fence-Panel/3028522 Self-supporting when in a ring, but not so ornamental would be a large ring of welded wire fencing, either coated like this one or galvanized. They are available in different sized mesh and heights. I use this material for compost piles. https://www.lowes.com/pd/Garden-Zone-Actual-50-ft-x-4-ft-Green-PVC-Coated-Steel-Welded-Wire-Rolled-Fencing/1000367327...See Morerouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
2 years agoa1an
2 years agorouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
2 years agoa1an
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agocharles kidder
2 years agoa1an
2 years agorouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
last yeara1an
last yearlast modified: last yeara1an
last yearrouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
11 months agorouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
11 months agorouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
11 months agorouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
11 months agolast modified: 11 months agorouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
9 months agoa1an
9 months agorouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
8 months agoa1an
8 months agolast modified: 8 months ago
Related Stories
MODERN ARCHITECTUREHouzz TV: This Amazing Lake House Made a Couple’s Dream Come True
Step inside a dream home on Lake Austin, where architecture celebrating gorgeous views has a striking beauty of its own
Full StoryWINDOWSHow to Ditch the Drapes and Let Your Windows Shine
If your home has beautiful windows and you don’t need to hide a view, consider dressing them in these elegant, creative ways
Full StoryWINDOW TREATMENTS6 Ways to Deal With a Bad View Out the Window
You can come out from behind the closed curtains now. These strategies let in the light while blocking the ugly
Full StoryLIFEWhy We Want a House With a Great View
Research shows that just looking at nature has powerful mental benefits. Here's how to get a boost — with or without a million-dollar view
Full StoryBASEMENTSDesign Workshop: Is It Time to Let Basements Become Extinct?
Costly and often unnecessary, basements may become obsolete — if they aren’t already. Here are responses to every reason to keep them around
Full StoryMODERN HOMESHouzz Tour: Creek Views Star in a Modern New York Home
Natural materials, all-white interiors and generous windows put the focus on forest and water in this weekend home for a family
Full StoryCOLOR12 Tried-and-True Paint Colors for Your Walls
Discover one pro designer's time-tested favorite paint colors for kitchens, baths, bedrooms and more
Full StoryMOST POPULAR10 Things Clean Freaks Know to Be True
Are you completely committed to domestic cleanliness? Then you may recognize some of these spotless truths
Full StoryHOUSEKEEPING10 Things Neat Freaks Know to Be True
Do you err on the incredibly tidy side? Then you probably already live by these nuggets of neat wisdom
Full StoryFUN HOUZZ31 True Tales of Remodeling Gone Wild
Drugs, sex, excess — the home design industry is rife with stories that will blow your mind, or at least leave you scratching your head
Full Story
pennlake