{"id":2532,"date":"2020-01-18T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2020-01-18T08:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/pal\/pal-question-324\/"},"modified":"2024-04-20T11:47:05","modified_gmt":"2024-04-20T18:47:05","slug":"hydrangeas-wont-bloom","status":"publish","type":"pal","link":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/pal\/hydrangeas-wont-bloom\/","title":{"rendered":"Hydrangeas won’t bloom"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have two Hydrangeas<\/i> growing up the side of my house in a northeastern exposure. This will be their 4th year. Leaf growth is robust… flower growth almost non-existent (on one of the shrubs, one bloom last year; one forming this year). What can I do to encourage bloom or should I start over?<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to the Plant Addicts website, there could be several reasons why yours are not blooming well. Check out their page, “Why Won’t My Hydrangeas Bloom?”<\/a><\/p>\n

There is another useful resource that may be of help. Try Why Plants Fail to Bloom<\/i><\/a>, by Leonard P. Perry, a professor at the University of Vermont Extension. Perry suggests there are five possible reasons: Age, Temperature, Alternate Flowering, Light, Nutrition and Pruning.<\/p>\n

In addition, I consulted two books on hydrangeas<\/i>. Both mentioned that Hydrangea anomala<\/i> subsp. petiolaris<\/i> can take time to bloom. According to Michael A. Dirr’s Hydrangeas for American Gardens<\/i>, Time is [the climbing hydrangea’s] biggest ally. That is, once it gets established, there is no stopping it.<\/p>\n

Michael A Dirr. Hydrangeas for American Gardens<\/i>. Timber Press, 2004. p. 24.<\/p>\n

Toni Lawson-Hall’s Hydrangeas: A Gardener’s Guide<\/i> also says that Hydrangea anomala<\/i> subsp. petiolaris<\/i> “grows well on north-facing walls but takes a while to get established.”<\/p>\n

Toni Lawson-Hall. Hydrangeas: A Gardener’s Guide.<\/i> 1995. p. 81.<\/p>\n

You are probably wondering how long a while is. Alas, I was unable to locate a specific timeframe for when you might expect those gorgeous blooms to start, but from what I can gather, time may help.<\/p>\n

Failure to flower<\/a>, <\/span>Hydrangea<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have two Hydrangeas growing up the side of my house in a northeastern exposure. This will be their 4th year. Leaf growth is robust… flower growth almost non-existent (on one of the shrubs, one bloom last year; one forming this year). What can I do to encourage bloom or should I start over? According to the Plant Addicts website, there could be several reasons why yours are not blooming well. Check out their page, “Why Won’t My Hydrangeas Bloom?”…<\/p>\n

Continue reading Hydrangeas won’t bloom<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","keyword":[468,292],"class_list":["post-2532","pal","type-pal","status-publish","hentry","keyword-failure-to-flower","keyword-hydrangea"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pal\/2532"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pal"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/pal"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"keyword","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/keyword?post=2532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}