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melaroma

Did these die back? (Pics)

melaroma
13 years ago

My Es is lush and seems to have made it almost intact from the winter weather. However my BB seems to have died back some and my Nikko seems to have died back all the way. Should I prun them back or wait some more? I winter protected all of them the same way so I don't know why one would be fine and not the others.

Here is my ES.

Here is my BB which seems to have a bit of growth on one of the upper stems.

My Nikko has no growth except from the bottom.

At what point do you determine that there will be no more growth on last years wood?

Comments (13)

  • Vicki
    13 years ago

    That looks like pretty normal die back to me. I think you can cut back to where you see green now. Even if you were to cut more than you need which I doubt will happen, those things grow right back. Mine die completely to the ground every year and grow back from brand new shoots completely.

  • melaroma
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Does that mean that my nikko won't bloom this year?

  • hydrangeasnohio
    13 years ago

    How long ago did you uncover them? The Nikko will not bloom if it did die to the ground.

  • ostrich
    13 years ago

    No, no, no, no, no, no, no! Don't cut anything yet!!!

    Even though there is the temptation to cut off the "dead" looking stems, you must resist it!

    Often times, these canes look dead when they are not. So, if you really want to test it, just scratch the surface of the canes, and if it's still green underneath the outer woody layer, then it's still alive. If it's all brown, then it's dead.... and it's OK to cut it off.

    For my macrophyllas, I just leave these canes completely alone until the new leaves have all come out, and then I will finally figure out which ones are well and truly dead. That means that I don't get to know until June. That's OK, it just requires some more patience. What is there to gain now by cutting the canes off? Nothing, except for some subjective aesthetic reasons. Don't risk it unless you are absolutely sure!

  • melaroma
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Oh I am in no hurry to cut the stems off. I just wasn't sure how long to wait. The stems don't bother me. However, If the Nikko doesn't bloom this year it is a goner. My ES blooms with out fail so I will replace the Nikko with another ES. Guess I will wait and find out.

  • dublinbay z6 (KS)
    13 years ago

    My Nikko Blue usually comes back mostly as growth from the bottom, but it does bloom. I don't know why, but I've had it for at least 10 years and that is how it has always behaved. So don't give up hope yet.

    Kate

  • mehearty
    13 years ago

    What Ostrich said.

    My Nikkos are still brown at the top, but I always hold out hope, and they often surprise me.

    My biggest ES, which has long since outgrown it's spot, is leafing out at the tips. Go figure. She's staying in this spot another year.

  • frannie_belle
    13 years ago

    i'm a new gardener and i bought a couple of es this spring. am in zone 6b, does this mean that i have to winter protect my ES too? How do i do that?? i thought they're hardy that you can leave them alone during winter and will grow back during spring.

  • melaroma
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Ostrich, I looked at my Nikko and she has new growth on two upper stems! Guess it didn't die back and is just a bit slower than the other two. I did plant the Nikko and BB in the fall where has my ES has been established so that might be why.

    Frannie_belle- the ES is hardier to your zone and because it blooms on new wood as well as on old wood. You should get blooms so long as a late frost doesn't kill the blooms if they start forming. I winter covered mine because I figured why not enjoy the blooms on the old AND new wood, lol. You can winter protect by surrounding your hydrangea with chicken wire held in place with stakes and filled up with leaves late in the fall. You'd uncover them in the spring. Make sure you heavily mulch the bottom with straw or regular mulch. You can search on GW and you'll find postings with more detail on how to winter protect.

  • ostrich
    13 years ago

    Hi melaroma, isn't that so exciting!? You may actually get some blooms this year then!!! The poor thing probably got too scared by your threat of removing her so she is finally showing some respect for you.... LOL Keep us posted!

  • ditas
    13 years ago

    In my much lower zone, garden Divas get the coziest cover-ups I could manage. Please don't be too hard on Nikko she may just surprise you!!!

    I usually leave the old dry looking canes for a while for obvious reasons - the second reason is, they serve as supports for the new up-coming young canes still too fragile to handle our strong winds/tornados! I know 'tis a bit tricky pruning them down later, but worth the trouble to me.

    Often I'm surprised by new growths from the base, producing huge blossoms - I've learned from this forum, that there may be old canes that have laid close to the surface/protected by mulch that send up branches & blooms - much like stems that have grazed the soil & rooted (ergo new plants!!!) ... young canes competing for sunlight often swerve down on its way up!

    We had a recent season of record-killing Winter, 2 wks of late-April-freeze, followed by flood & oppressively hot June - didn't expect my Divas to bloom ... not blooms for red-carpet presentations, but still did, except for the Oakleaf H ... it was simply too much assaults for them (I've just found cluster buds on all 3, last yr's rest helped)!!! Â;)

    FWIW

  • melaroma
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Well she has even more growth on the upper stems so I think that she is good. And it looks like we are freeze free here moving forward so we should be golden!
    Thank you all for the positive encouragement and advice.

  • ditas
    13 years ago

    I think you'll get some blossoms!!! Keep us posted ... am excited for you! Â;)

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