To Prune or Not To Prune…

When we moved into our apartment in August of 2010, the Hydrangea in the backyard was in full bloom.

Hydrangea blooming when we moved in...

blooming in summer of 2010

That fall I researched how to prune hydrangeas and decided, based on photos and info found here, that our hydrangea must be H. arborescens, an Annabelle type.  According to this very helpful site, these types of hydrangeas bloom on new wood (new stems), and that they usually “bloom every single year, no matter how they are treated.  The only time they cannot be pruned is in the spring when they are preparing to bloom.”  The site recommends that you prune this type of hydrangea back to a few inches above ground or to about 18″ – 24″ if you want to leave old wood to support the new branches and keep the plant from flattening in the rain.

So, that’s what I did. However, I also divided the hydrangea at the same time. It was enormous and was crowded in with a holly (which I have since dug up and given away as it didn’t have a mate and produced no berries.)  I gave the hydrangea division to my friend Bev in PA.

Here is the hydrangea in March 2011, after being pruned and divided in November 2010

same day, top view

It continued to grow…

And here it is a month later, in May 2011: (note the cat hiding in my transplant tray!)

…and to become huge, green, and lush:

Hydrangea in June 2011

The only problem?  No flowers!  Not a single bloom all summer long.  I am hoping that the lack of flowers was due to it having been divided the previous fall and not to an error in my pruning methods.

This year I have not yet pruned the hydrangea at all, partly because I’m scared to, and partly because the weather has been so strangely warm that I wondered if I ought to wait for colder temperatures…which are kind of upon us now.  Is it too late?

Here it is now, not yet pruned...showing some buds on those stalks already.

Toward the end of fall I noticed powdery mildew on its leaves before they fell off, so I’m hoping that will not make a comeback this summer.

What do you think?  Have I missed the boat on this one?  Should I just let it be, or start chopping?  (Oh, I know you YOU would answer this question, my good Linnie!  You may be right!)

 

What’s Blooming in January

Normally I don’t think we’d have anything actually blooming in our backyard this time of year except for the Hellebore.

This winter being so frighteningly warm, we have a few more things to add to the “blooming or on the way up” list.

Here is the Hellebore, which I planted a year and a half ago.  This is its first time blooming.  It is quite small, only one flower, but it’s been blooming for a few weeks now and is lovely to see.  It rained yesterday so it’s a bit dirty, but lovely to see nonetheless.

Hellebore in bloom

My Galanthus seems to have decided that it’s officially Spring:

Snowdrops in bloom already! Last year it was March before they emerged.

That’s it for actual blooms, although several things are already poking their way through soil and up into the air…I’m not certain what most of them are, thanks to the lousy job I did labeling bulbs last year!  Time will tell, and once they’re up this year I’m going to label!

Bulbs emerging...I think this is Muscari (Grape Hyacinth) Maybe.

All bets are on Daffodils here...

I think these are crocus leaves...

Here’s one I do know, thanks to Bev who helped me to identify.  I sent her a picture and  told her it had a really unique smell when I rubbed the leaves…sort of spicy, musky…”like aftershave” was as close as I could get!  She immediately identified it as Feverfew!  I’m glad to know some of the seeds I planted last year came up (and didn’t get mistakenly identified as a WEED by me and subsequently pulled.)

Feverfew, nice and green - and it will stay green all winter!

Here’s another one I didn’t label:

this could be Foam Flower or Lavender...(it's Tiarella / Foam Flower!)

Last year Bev gave me a Purple Coneflower transplant that had some Sweet Woodruff tagging along in the pot.  Here they are, apparently doing well and starting to spread!

lovely little Sweet Woodruff

one of a few tiny patches of Sweet Woodruff

This next one has me stumped – and a bit worried…

This plant smells very strongly of oregano or thyme, or some savory herb.

It’s growing around my Mondarda (Bee Balm) and once again, my lack of labeling plants last year now puts me in the position of now knowing if this something I planted by seed or a volunteer of some sort.  Here’s the close up and the worrying part:

same plant - is that POWDERY MILDEW on the leaves??

I noticed toward the end of summer that the Monarda has a pretty bad case of powdery mildew, and this is right under it.  I hope I don’t have a big problem on my hands here! Not sure what can be done about powdery mildew, but I did notice some in that area of the garden at the end of last summer.  Yikes!  At least the Sweet Woodruff, which is in the same area, isn’t showing signs of being affected!