Hi,
I have an established Oak Leaf Hydrangea, and I have been trying to get a start from it. I noticed last fall that there were a series of suckers growing from a long root, coming from the plant.
In January of this year, at the end of this long root, I noticed a sucker, and I removed some dirt from around it, and there were quite a few roots developing. I cut the shoot root at the end, to about 3 inches, to include the sucker and the developing roots. I then planted this in a sheltered area by a wall.
In early March, the sucker awakened and began to grow several layers of new leaves, reaching about 3 inches tall. A second sucker came up too, at about the same time, with similar leaves and height.
Over the past week, the second sucker has withered, while the first sucker has remained healthy looking, but remaining at its 3 inch height.
I was wondering if I need to do anything to help the plant along? I don't want to lose the developing plant, and I was wondering if the 2nd sucker might have been too much of a burden on the developing system, etc?
(I've included a photo - you can see the lilies are starting to intrude a bit.)
Thanks for any ideas. :-)

The 2nd sucker was too close to the other plant which means too much competition for root space there. Stronger one wins. The surviving cutting looks good!! Just keep it lightly shaded and water when dry and should be ok.

pepper23 said: The 2nd sucker was too close to the other plant which means too much competition for root space there. Stronger one wins. The surviving cutting looks good!! Just keep it lightly shaded and water when dry and should be ok.

Thanks!

I usually wait for a year before transplanting suckers as they originally get most of the nutrients from their mother plant. Yours seems to be well developed, not from this year though. Aim to keep the soil evenly moist though as it looks dry and this may cause leaf wilting. Mulch it to keep the soil at a depth of 4 inches or so moist longer. Keep equally shallow rooted plants away so the oakleaf and other plants do not compete for water and nutrients; lilies tend to spread roots horizontally near the soil surface rather than growing deep into the ground. In Oklahoma and here in Texas, the oakleaf needs morning sun by 11am or so as it does not tolerate our daily 100s with afternoon/evening sun well from June through September. Enjoy your free plant!!!