Skip to content

Galway Independent

Home arrow Sections arrow Living arrow The Awakening
The Awakening E-mail
Written by Administrator   
Wednesday, 14 February 2007
Aside from the scatterings of snow we have received recently, a few shafts of sunshine have begun to cast their warming influence across our gardens. This increasing level of warming sunshine has begun to awaken plants and gardeners' curiosity in those plants.

One of the shrubs starting to rise from it sleep is Hydrangea macrophylla, commonly known as the Big leaf Hydrangea or mop-head Hydrangea. Hydrangea macrophylla 'Madame E. Mouilliere' is a good example of this mop-head Hydrangea. This mounded deciduous shrub, which originated in Asia and the Americas, grows to a height of 1.5 metres (41/2 ft), with a similar spread. 'Madame E. Mouilliere' produces dome-like mop-head blooms in shades of blue on acid soil, with pinkish red blooms displayed on limey soils, both throughout summer. Bold oval leaves with jagged edges cover the branches carrying the mop-heads. These lush leaves will often exhibit warm autumn colouration before shedding in winter.

As Hydrangeas usually flowers during the summer, this would lead one to think that the best time to prune it would be after flowering in autumn. Not so! Rather than pruning directly after flowering to give the plant maximum regrow time, we should instead hold off pruning until after winter. Leaving the old growth on the Hydrangea over winter will with a bit of luck act as a snow and frost buffer for this tender-in the-bud plant. There is no need to prune newly planted Hydrangeas during the first two years in your garden, with the pruning regime coming into force from the third spring onwards. Once the Hydrangea has finished flowering in late summer, leave the plant with its old flower heads or mop-tops intact. The old flower heads will prevent any burning or blackening snow and frost from alighting on the plants newly forming flower buds.

Around the second week in March, you may remove the old flower heads, snapping them by hand or snipping them off with a sharp secateurs. The correct point to remove these spent flowers to is just above a newly formed pair otf buds. Next, remove one third of the plants older stems completely. Carry this out using a combination of your secateurs and a loppers or long handled pruners. This form of pruning will force the Hydrangea to produce fresh new growth for flowering next season and increase the quantity of flowers produced. Following this method will prevent your Hydrangea converting to a mass of unflowering twigs as so many plants end up as after incorrect pruning. Be kind to your Hydrangea after pruning, give it a mulch of well-rotted compost around the base to feed and retain moisture.

Answer to last week's gardening brainteaser:

The best time to examine your plants for slugs is at night.

Here is this week's question:

What is another common name for Hydrangea macrophylla? Is it?

(a) Autumn Hydrangea
(b) Climbing Hydrangea
(c) French Hydrangea

There are no prizes; this is just for fun and education. I will have the answer next week.

As well as his horticultural writing, James Kilkelly provides a garden and landscape design service based in County Galway. Contact him through his website www.gardenplansireland.com or alternatively by phone on 087-2067846. For free access to an incredible wealth of gardening information visit his gardening forum www.irishgardeners.com.


Comments (0) »		 feed
Show/Hide comment formtoggle


Write the displayed characters


busy
 
User Rating: / 0
PoorBest 
< Prev   Next >
[ Back ]


Custom Search
Visit our Games and puzzles section
How will you vote in Lisbon 2?
 
Find your ideal job in Galway using our Galway Jobs listings.