I have these rather large hydrangas that I have had for 10 years or more. Over the past 3 or 4 years they haven't bloomed at all. They just get green. Not sure how to make them bloom again. Haven't really tried anything as of yet as I don't want to kill them my cutting them down etc. Please help!!!! Thanks in advance

Can you tell us roughtly where you are (or at least hardiness zone) and what kind of hydrangeas they are? If you don't know the name, are the flower clusters round or elongated, white or coloured? It looks like they actually have already been cut back somewhat, or are those broken branches or cut off because they were dead? Just making sure you aren't pruning at the wrong time and cutting off already formed flower buds.

Hi Sooby. I am in zone 5 in Central Illinois. I believe they might be lacecap hydrangas. And yes I have cut back some branches that didn't have any blooms on them as I thought they were dead. Thanks for your help Sooby.

If they are lacecaps I'm not sure that they'll be totally hardy in zone 5. But it sounds like you've had them flower previously so maybe this site will help identify them:

http://www.hydrangeashydrangea...

I would not be able to grow lacecaps here in Zone 4, can't even grow the mophead Endless Summer here, so maybe if they are lacecaps someone else can comment. If it's a lacecap or most mopheads except Endless Summer types (are the flowers coloured?) they flower only on old wood so pruning should be just removal of old dead wood, and if you must shorten the branches do so right after they flower otherwise you'll be cutting off the next year's blooms.

If the winter killed the branches back then they probably won't flower unless they're another kind of hydrangea that can flower on new wood. I would just leave them be for this year and see what they do. Have the winters been colder than usual the past 3 or 4 years?

Have they been fertilized at all, and do you know your soil pH (or if the flowers were coloured back when it bloomed, were they blue or pink or somewhere in between?).

Thanks Sooby: They are definately a species of lacecaps . So the question remains. They bloomed at one time for years. Any ideas of something to do to make them bloom?

The very cold winter, year before last may have killed back the bloom for last year. This winter was fairly mild, I think, so the answer is just to wait and see. (the hardest thing to do is nothing, of course)

And don't prune anything off them unless you have to, then ONLY immediately after they finish blooming.

Thanks DYZ: Not real good at waiting, as that's what I've been doing to no avail......

A lace cap would be at the edge of its hardiness capabilities in zone 5, but I don't know why it flowered in the previous years unless they were just a few mild winters - has anything changed in the environment so that it now has less protection? If it is not leafing out right to the ends of the branches then the problem is that winter is killing the flower buds. So, first question is are the tips of the branches still alive? If they're not you aren't going to get flowers this year. There are some suggestions for how to winter protect them in future here:

http://www.hydrangea.com/Winte...

The other question is soil pH and whether you've fertilized and if so with what?

Thanks Sooby:

Took a few pics today so all could see how they are progressing.... Some of the wood does have blooms on the very ends. Some don't. So Should I cut these back to where they aren't blooming anymore?

Hi my blue Hydrangea is doing great now! Mid summer it gets droopy and burn! What can I do now! To stay fresh?

If you can give it some extra shade through the hot weather, that will probably help the most of anything you can do. Any way to rig up a piece of shade cloth above it? It will keep the side of your house a little cooler, too.

Increase the water as the weather gets warmer. Water them deeply in the morning before the heat gets going, and make sure the whole root area gets moisture. Have you put down some mulch over the roots? That will help preserve moisture in the soil and keep the roots cooler too.

@Purplebloomcactus. Please start your own thread in this forum so it can get the attention that it needs since the original poster is still getting help here in this thread. As noted at the bottom of every thread, new posts may trigger an email to the original poster.

I just had one question? And answered

Calif_Sue said:@Purplebloomcactus. Please start your own thread in this forum so it can get the attention that it needs since the original poster is still getting help here in this thread. As noted at the bottom of every thread, new posts may trigger an email to the original poster.