Help with Limelight hydrangea design
I am redesigning the shrubs in front of my deck. This area is 15' long with a left depth 5.5' and right depth 10.5'. The hand railing is 3' and the bottom is 4’. It was previously planted with Knock-out roses, which were removed due to rosette disease. I am thinking about replacing them with limelight hydrangea in the spring but need some help to make up my mind.
I often look at my backyard through the two French doors inside the house. When Knock-out roses were planted there, I could barely see them unless I walk to the backyard. Since limelight will grow 8’ tall, well above the hand railing, I should be able to enjoy them inside the house, but will they be too tall to block the view of the backyard? Since there is a fair distance between the French doors and hand railing, will this still be an issue? Sorry for my lack of imagination.
Another question is about limelight spacing. I could squeeze 3 limelight with 5’ spacing or 2 limelight with 7’ spacing, about 3-3.5’ from the fence. I usually don’t prune my hydrangeas unless it is absolutely necessary. Since this area receives plenty of sunshine, I guess limelight should grow well. With the above information, should I place them 5’ or 7’ apart?
Thanks a lot for your suggestion.
Comments (11)
Gardening_7bAtlanta thanked shaxhome (Frog Rock, Australia 9b)Related Discussions
Limelight Hydrangea Help!
Comments (2)It is probably a mixture of transplant shock, high temperatures during the summer and/or maybe insufficient water. They wilt here too now. Monitor them every other day and water (1/2 to 1g) if the wilting looks unusually bad. If it looks 'normal', you can use the finger method to add water (1g for a new small plant): water when the soil feels almost dry or dry to a depth of 4". If it feels moist or wet, take no immediate action... water next morning (if the plant has not yet recovered on its own by then). Because they are not established, this summer will be a sensitive time for them from a moisture standpoint. In future years, they will also wilt but not as often or as bad. If temperatures will be high or it will be windy, consider watering the night before. But do not go overboard with the watering as this could result in root rot. Water is needed when the wilting is extreme or when the soil is almost dry or dry. Otherwise, wait and see if they receover by themselves. I notice that some do that by nightfall, others by next morning. The finger method can always be used to tell if yu need to water. You can re-check this way when the temperatures change by 10-15 degrees and stay there. Having a good amount of any type of acidic mulch, 3" for example, will also help conserve water and minimize the loss of moisture. NB can be deadheaded at any time if you really want to. New plants will do this because the stems are "young"; after a few years the stems will be able to support the weight more easily. There is a difference between deadheading and pruning though, so just in case, I added a link below with more information. This time of the year, you should be watering -just an approximate guess- every 2/3 days. The amount of water will vary depending on plant size, whether your planting location is windy and the type of soil (sandy soil requires 30-50% more water). Does this help you? Luis Here is a link that might be useful: Deadheading and Pruning...See MoreNeed help with my Limelight Hydrangea
Comments (13)It may need some water or the cold weather (32 or less) may finally be getting to the leaves. I do not see any mulch around the base so the soil may dry out fast if sandy and-or if windy. I recently had to water mine because they are in a protected location and sometimes light rain does not reach them well. But the lack of mulch and your well draining sandy soil would allow the soil to dry fast so check first if this is going on by inserting a finger into the soil to a depth of 4" to see if it feels dry, moist or wet. January is also the coldest month in your area so this could also affect the leaves and finally make them dry out although my aunt in Ocala sometimes reported this as late as February. Scheduled temps in the 20s will "help" dry the leaves out so keep the soil moist the night prior to cold temp dips. Water once a week or once every two weeks in the winter if winter is dry....See MoreNeed Help: Limelight Hydrangea Trees
Comments (3)You should provide them with water if a finger inserted into the soil to a depth of 4" feels dry or almost dry. You may also consider putting something to block afternoon sun as now is a bad time to be planting hydrangeas. Eventually they may be ok but on year 1 they tend to pout....See MoreLimelight Hydrangea HELP!!
Comments (2)Are you getting the leaves wet? Overhead watering causes all kinds of fungal diseases so it is best to water the soil and never the leaves. Water using soaker hoses or drip irrigation. If you use a regular sprinkler, set the station that waters the hydrangea to activate around 6-8am so the leaves do not stay wet for long periods of time. Dispose of the affected leaves when they brown out or when they fall. Do the same with all plant debris (blooms, dead stems, etc.). Throw them in the trash since they will have fungal spores. Replace the old mulch with new mulch too. Since we are near the end of the growing season, I would not worry too much about the leaves since they will fall shortly. But take steps to minimize conditions that might help fungal spores thrive. You should get new foliage in Spring. Continue taking the steps mentioned every year and the leaves will improve with time....See MoreGardening_7bAtlanta
9 months ago
PROGardening_7bAtlanta thanked Dig Doug's DesignsGardening_7bAtlanta
9 months agolast modified: 9 months ago@Dig Doug's Designs Thank you so much for the visualization. Your design really opens my mind, but I am now concerned about whether Limelight will be too tall. By the way, the evergreen on the left corner is August Beauty gardenia. The 3 on the right are Frostproof gardenia. Here is what I currently see from both French doors. What do you think?
The empty space around the swing was planted with 'Julia Child' roses previously. But most of them were removed last year due to rosette disease. I really like 'Julia Child' roses and plan to replant them next spring.
Gardening_7bAtlanta
9 months agolast modified: 9 months agoGardening_7bAtlanta
9 months agoI planted 3 Little Lime this May and was not very impressed with the flower color. I wish the color is much whiter like Limelight or Bobo. I bought the 3 Bobo online as 4.5 quart plants almost 2 years ago. Maybe due to lack of enough sun, so far only the left one has enough blossom, but I really like the color. If Bobo could reach 5-6' height like Little Lime, that would have been my choice. I plan to switch the location of the Little Lime and Bobo late fall and hope the dark red color of Japanese maples could make the whiteish-green flowers of Little Lime more like greenish-white.
I also have 1 Vanilla Strawberry planted 2 years ago, which has nice white flowers. It turns a tiny bit pinkish now. It flopped last year and holds much better this year. I am thinking about replacing this one with Limelight, and transplanted this VS with two more VS to the deck area. But not sure whether a Limelight will be too big to be out of proportion in this area. Current VS is 6' from all the plants nearby, including the Little Gem Magnolia.
For some reason, I always move plants around in my yard, which my friends don't quite understand. But many times I just could not get it right the first time due to both lack of experience and control of mother nature. Always thankful for the wonderful advice in this forum.
Little Lime
Bobo
Vanilla Strawberry
Gardening_7bAtlanta
9 months ago
khan47