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cjsm5nys

Snowy Mountain Hydrangean Tree

cjsm5nys
15 years ago

Last August I planted a Snowy Mountain Hydrangean Tree. The tree was planted in full sun. I followed all planting recommendation and planted the tree in a well protected area to keep wind and snow from damaging this expensive tree!

It is now spring. What can I look for. I do not think it is dead but it certainly does not look good :(

Thanks for some feedback.

Comments (4)

  • luis_pr
    15 years ago

    I think now would be the start of "leafout season" in Zone 5. That implies that some hydrangeas may have leafed out but not all. This is a process that can take until late May in some cases further north.

    You can do two things now to check your Snow Mountain Hydrangea Tree: (1) wait or (2) prune some of the stems at 1" or 2" intervals until you get to the main tree stem or until you hit some green. Because it is so early in the season and this is a new shrub, I would wait a little longer instead of pruning.

    Maintain the soil moist but not wet/dry as best as you can. Make sure that you water the root ball as the roots have probably not grown much past the edge of the pot in which the plant came. And keep it well mulched.

  • cjsm5nys
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    luis pr,

    Thank you for your response.

    I live in upstate NY and it is now early spring, but it has been unusually hot. So I am inclinded to give it some more time. I have begun to water in attempt to maintain moist soil but not to over water at the same time.

    No leaves yet. However, just before fall last year, this tree grew two small branches about 6" length. This growth is a nice green with what appears to be very small buds.

    The tree is of good size, about 7-8 feet.
    The root ball when I planted was maybe about 2.5' wide.

    Should I fertilize and if so what? Anything thing else I should do?

    Thank you.

  • ostrich
    15 years ago

    cjsm, it's funny that you just posted this, because I was going to do the same for my Snow Mountain tree too!

    Yes, I remembered that you planted your tree at about the same time that I did. My tree is certainly not dead, as I checked the branches and they were green and alive. However, it is still not quite leafing out yet. I vaguely see some buds swelling from the nodes, but at times I wonder if it's just my imagination...! To make things worse, I gave a Snow Mountain tree to a friend at the same time last year as their house-warming present, and then another friend bought the same tree and planted it in her yard at also the same time. The one that I gave to the first friend as a present was overwintered in its pot and it is now showing new growth, and my other friend who planted it in her yard has tons of new growth in her Snow Mountain tree! Yikes! What is going on with mine?

    The only explanation I could come up with was that my tree was in shock when I planted it last year. I remember that both of our trees were not doing so well last summer with all the leaves falling out prematurely. I suppose that's why it is waking up so slowly?

    I can't think of anything else to do but to be patient... let's hope for the best and keep me posted! :-)

  • luis_pr
    15 years ago

    Hello, cjsm5nys. At this point, I would do nothing other than maintain the soil moist. In other words, do not feed the plant any fertilizers.

    Hydrangeas in your zone should be fertilized with manure or cottonseed meal in June (once a year and that is it). Minor fertilizers like liquid seaweed, liquid fish and coffee grounds can be applied throughout the growing season (after the plant leafs out) but all types of fertilization should then stop by August/September (in order to prepare the plant for winter).

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