hydrangeas

[ltckam]

Help!
It looks as if my two big Hydrangeas have no desire to bloom this year. Last year they bloomed allot and were heavy with beautiful huge, full blooms. But after cutting them back in the fall and mulching them for the winter the leaves are many , but no evidence of any blooms ...anywhere.
What could possibly be the problem?[/b]

[Leslie Finical Halleck]

ltckam wrote: Help!
It looks as if my two big Hydrangeas have no desire to bloom this year. Last year they bloomed allot and were heavy with beautiful huge, full blooms. But after cutting them back in the fall and mulching them for the winter the leaves are many , but no evidence of any blooms ...anywhere.
What could possibly be the problem?[/b]


Well, pruning them in the fall is most likely your problem. Many hydrangea species produce the flower bud initials in the fall for the following spring. That means your spring blooms were actually produced on the old wood from the previous year. If you pruned them in the fall, you cut off your flower buds (you would not have seen them). You'll need to prune your hydrangeas in early summer, just after your plants have finished flowering. I would leave your plants alone this year, and you should get your blooms next spring -then when the finish, clean and prune them.