Oh, BTW, can you recommend another hydrangea that will stay relatively small...4" maybe, for that spot. I want color back there but it has been a challenging spot to place anything because it is under the eaves. Believe me, I've tried. Actually any suggestions for any plant that would grow there would be helpful. Thanks. Kathie

My Annabelle is about the same age and is covered in blooms. Mine gets more sun (almost 100%) and probably less water because it is in an area I don't water frequently. A Little Lamb would fit without your size requirements. Mine is 2 years old and is about 4', maybe slightly taller. It is close to mature because it was large when I bought it. Some on here complain the LL flop when they bloom, but I haven't had that issue. Limelight probably gets too large unless you want to keep it pruned back. Honestly, if it were me, I would try a Nikko there. In your zone it might bloom well and in that protected location especially. Or you could try an Endless Summer.

Thanks sue36. I really don't know what else to do with it. I have a spot like yours...more sun and only rain for water. Maybe I'll move it there. It is also an open area so it can grow as large as it wants. The problem with this spot is it is right on the deer trail through our yard.

Kathie, I would give another year. I bought a quart size 'Annabelle' from Bluestone in 2008. It's about the same size as yours now. No blooms this year neither. But I'm confident it will bloom next. Because I have another two older ones all take few years to establish before blooming. Here is a photo of the another two -

BTW, mine does NOT get as much sun as yours, still bloom profusely. So I don't think that's the issue (just have to watch out for deer nibbling. A spray or two of Liquid Fence would do the trick). Sounds like you've already moved it once. I don't think woody type of the perennials (another example is Rose Mallow) like to be disturbed to much. If you do, be prepared to delay the growth.

It's my experience though, the newer âÂÂIncrediballâ (the white kind) does not take as long to start blooming (from the same quart size).
Good luck to you.

Do the deer bother your hydrangeas? They don't touch mine.

Yes unfortunately our deer do like hydrangeas. I had one that required too much babying (winter wrapping, etc.) so I moved it to a remote bed that I call my sick bed. I put plants there that are not doing well where I initially planted them. They are pretty much on their own there....I'm a heck of a nurse!!!. But some really do much better than before. Anyway this hydrangea, I think it was a mophead, was moved to that bed. Sorry to say the deer keep it from growing and blooming. I also have a seedling Pee Gee up in that same area. Although the deer eat one side of it, it still grows beautifully and is quite large now...over 5 ft. The funny thing is I have 2 other Pee Gees that they don't touch and they are in the same general area.

Sue36 are your hydrangeas up close to your house or out in the open?

I would question if the plant you have is Annabelle. They bloom on new wood, so there's not an issue with winter cold killing buds. And the fact that it blooms green. Mine bloom white, and when the blooms start aging they turn green. You're sure they're green from the start? That doesn't sound right.

Deanna

I would also question whether that really is an Annabelle. Mine are very easy to grow, with no help from me other than some water when it gets really, really hot here. I've even dug up a part of one Annabelle--while it was in bloom--and replanted it elsewhere--and it continued blooming (though not as vigorously) that same summer.

At garden centers, hydrangeas often get mislabeled and there is no way to know for sure unless you buy them while they are blooming.

I do have one question: The way yours is jammed back in a corner like the pic shows, are you sure it is getting sufficient water from nature? I would thinks that the building and the eaves often deflect the rain away from the plant. It ought to be planted a couple feet at least away from the building. Even then, it may need more watering than nature provides.

Kate

Kathieo,

We had quite a few deer, right now there is a family of one mother with triplets, one mother with one fawn and 2 bucks that we see regularly. They have mowed down the hosta not near the house and now have started on the ones right up against the house, but they haven't touched any hydrangeam, ever. Some hosta are near the house, others are further away. I didn't know they ate hydrangea, I've never heard anyone near here comment on that. They seem to favor hosta, rhodos and azaleas.

gardenfanatic and dublinbay, that plant was bought with maybe two blooms on it. They were white and it was marked as an Annabelle. It was very ragged looking so I cut it down and it came back that same yr..no blooms. The next yr. it grew well but the blossoms were green mostly, some small white ones but they turned brown very quickly. I attributed it to its location in front of a huge landscaping boulder. It also seemed to be growing backwards because the sun was behind it. So I moved it from there to its current spot. Actually it is not jammed into that corner, it actually is about three feet from the house. I thought I was giving it enough room to grow and that it would get some water naturally. This year we have had practically no rain to speak of. I knew it wouldn't get much rain anyway because as I said I have tried various plants there and had no luck. So I knew I had to keep it out from the eaves some. I do have soaker hoses around it so it has been getting water.

So maybe it isn't an Annabelle....just my luck. I've been strolling around our property the last few days trying to decide on a spot for it. Do you think it needs full sun as opposed to sun/shade?

Sue36, we've had several deer families as well. One mother with triples and one with twins. I've seen two twin bucks as well...their antlers were exactly the same. They were quite young though. Haven't seen them lately, but the doe and babies are out every AM.

I knew about the hosta and azaleas being their plant of choice so I kept away from them for the most part. The one hosta I have I had in a pot on my deck so I put it in the ground in a place the deer don't travel very often. Every once in awhile it gets eaten. Our azaleas are in a huge mixed planted area and we have them sprayed every yr. with repellent. We always have deer damage of some sort. I even put up deer fencing around my lilacs. And they always nibble on the lower branches of my crabapple trees. It is a regular buffet around here!!

I actually thought of putting one of those huge hostas, the chartruese colored one, back in that corner. Do you think they could take sun/shade? It is the farthest corner of a perennial bed so it may have a chance. That's not to say the deer won't walk in there because they have been known to do so. This is why I am in such a quandry as to what to grow there.

Right now there is a big hole behind Annabelle which the resident groundhog dug to get under the porch there. They are always another challenge....so brazen they come right up on the deck and eat the flowers in the pots. You can see the fencing I have around that flock because he ate it down once already.

I'm ready for a good all day, all night rain. Bad year for the gardens around here this yr.

My experience is that Annabelle can take some sun--actually likes it--as long as it isn't too much. When my neighbor's giant tree was taken down (it shaded part of my yard), my poor Annabelle suffered a lot from brown, burnt edges--too much sun. And I was having to water it all the time. But in a couple years my new River Birch got tall enough to shade Annabelle all afternoon, and that worked quite well. But in our present 100 degree heat, I do have to give Annabelle extra waterings--all morning sun is maybe just a bit too much in this heat.

Kate