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cindyloohoo_gw

My PeeGee Hydrangea won't bloom

cindyloohoo
12 years ago

I have had this shrub for about 8 years now, It keeps getting lush beautiful foliage every year, but it never blooms. I haven't ever pruned it, and it gets sun until about 2pm,then shade.

Can anyone tell me what I am doing wrong? Should I be fertilizing? If so, with what?

Comments (7)

  • luis_pr
    12 years ago

    Hello, cindyloohoo. Has it never bloomed? Ever at all? Wow!

    Can you tell if it produces flower buds or not in Spring?

    Do you have pests in the area which may be eating the tender flower buds?

    How is your winter weather? Is it dry? I have to water here when winter is dry.

    How do you fertilize this shrub and when? If you fertilize too much, nitrogen levels can get high enough where the plant only grows nice green leaves. An example of fertilizer applications for Virginia may be either (a) one application in June or (b) one application in May and a second again in July. That is it for the whole year.

    On a newly planted hydrangea, you can use about 1/2 to 1 cup of compost, composted manure or cottonseed meal. You can also use a slow-release general-purpose fertilizer like Osmocote instead. Stop all fertilizer applications by July to the shrub goes dormant when it is supposed to in the Fall.

    Luis

  • cindyloohoo
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    No I have never seen any buds on it at all. I am embarrassed to say that I am not sure when the last time I fertilized it. If I did last year, it was probably with miracle grow bloom booster. I know that sometimes over fertilizing can produce lush foliage, so I haven't done it too much. I have wondered about deer, so I have been spraying it with liquid fence. It doesn't look like it's being chewed on by anything. Our winter last year was fairly wet. Do you think the Osmocote now would be ok? I am clueless!
    Thankyou!

  • luis_pr
    12 years ago

    jclay321, I think she is taking about Pee Gee... a paniculata also known as Grandiflora. Nice pictures of oakleafs though! My Alice succumbed to root rot and I almost got a PeeWee this year.

    cindyloohoo, yes, Osmocote would be fine. You can also use compost, composted manure or cottonseed meal.

    The following are some random questions to see if your answers trigger some ideas.

    Pee Gee is a sturdy shrub cold-wise so it is surprising that you are having blooming problems.

    Question: do you know what your zone is? Do you suffer from hard frosts late in Spring?

    Q. Did you notice if it produced flower buds this year?

    Q. At what times of the day does it get sun? That is, from when until when? I am trying to get an idea of the total number of hours that it gets sun too. Note: summer times only; not winter or spring.

    Q. What type of soil do you have? Have you done a soil test before? Any idea what your soil pH level is (approx.)?

  • cindyloohoo
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    jclay your hydrangeas are beautiful! I imagine you are both right, I need to use some compost.
    Luis, I had another hydrangea that someone gave me as a gift. It was pink, I planted it and it took 10 years for that one to bloom again. Now it's growing slowly but has lots of blooms. So perhaps my yard needs a major work-over! I am in zone 7a. Last winter had a couple of 20 degree days but not that many, and I don't remember any hard frosts in the spring. I don't believe deer are eating the blooms, the plant really looks great, other than no blooms, and I have never seen any buds. This shrub gets full sun from about 8am to 4 pm. I haven't tested my soil, but I am pretty sure I added absolutely nothing when I planted it. As a matter of fact, a few years after planting, I had to add more top soil because the roots were starting to show. That was about 6 years ago. I live in northern virginia, so I believe our soil is fairly acidic. Thanks so much for your help!
    Can anyone tell me how to add a pic to my post?

  • luis_pr
    12 years ago

    After you take a picture with a digital camera, you need to store in a computer that is always connected to the Internet. That is the service provided by websites like photobucket.com

    Create an account with them and save the picture there. You will then be able to get a direct link or URL to the picture. That direct link or URL looks like a http address and you can copy/paste it here.

    Or you can make the picture part of your message by keying a statement similar to the one shown below:

    When you type the statement above in the message, (1) get rid of the blank space between "Can you elaborate on what you said about roots starting to show?!? Why is that happening? Do you mulch the plants? Are you loosing the topsoil because lots of water is eroding it when it rains?

  • jclay321
    12 years ago

    Luis,

    It's a oakleaf called Pee Wee. I guess because it's smaller. You can find more about here, but I bought mine locally. They like similar conditions.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Pee Wee