Question From: South Windsor, Connecticut, United States
Q: I have several endless summer hydrangeas in a garden near where the lawn is on a slight slope. Except for the very first summer, these plants have not bloomed. Other endless summer hydrangeas on higher gardens have bloomed, as do the ones I planted in the church gardens nearby. I am wondering if it is due to over fertilization of our lawn and runoff into the beds where the hydrangeas have NOT bloomed, as the church cannot afford a lawn service and these plants have the most flowers. All other conditions are the same. My grandmother always said, "If a plant is fat and happy it has no reason to reproduce, as it feels no threat of extinction." What are your thoughts and what should be done to the soil around endless summer hydrangeas to promote blooms in the future?
A: Too much fertilizer will reduce flowering. My ES hydrangeas played the same game until this year - they flowered My friend's Endless Summer also bloomed for the first time this year. We have had an incredible amount of rain. I fertilize in fall with an organic fertilizer and mulch with wood chips. The only change is the amount of water they are getting. If your ESHs are on a slope they my not get the water others do. One more point - we had the hottest summer on record here in Michigan and suffered several weeks of drought. Also, I told those plants if they didn't bloom they were goners. Your grandmother my have may have been right on. Best And Happy Yardening, Nancy
