My hyrdanga bush did not bloom - any ideas why? and Starting to Bloom

My hyrdanga bush did not bloom - any ideas why?

I have two hydranga bushes -one small and the other somewhat larger. The smaller one bloomed beautiful this year but the larger one did not bloom at all. Does anyone have an idea why?


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Answer by raven s
Hi

I found this info online, thinking that perhaps your plant did not recieve the correct fertiliser. :

If your hydrangea's leaves are lush and green but don't have any blooms, it could be that you're fertilizing too much. Hydrangeas bloom best if they are a little stressed. High nitrogen-based fertilizers can actually inhibit blooms on most varieties. Hydrangeas don't like to be overfed with fertilizers. Some hydrangea growers never feed their hydrangeas and have great blooms and healthy leaves. However, some must feed every few months to maintain the healthy plant. It really depends on your soil and the nutrients that are found naturally in your soil. Luckily, hydrangeas are such wonderful plants, they will tell you what they need.

As a general rule, we recommend fertilizing twice: early spring and early fall. Use a time-released fertilizer that releases slowly (by water or temperature or both) over a 4 to 6 month period. A commonly available product is called Osmocote but there are other brands that are equal. The general blend that yields 10-10-10 or 16-16-16 is all you need. There is no need to run out and buy a special fertilizer for every variety of plant in the garden. This particular mix is great for everything.

There are some fertilizers just for acid loving plants available on the market. These are a great instant boost for plants but tend to be very high in nitrogen and may actually inhibit the ability for the plant to bloom. Too much nitrogen and the plant will focus on stems and roots – which is not a bad thing. However, you bought these plants to bloom so there needs to be a balance.

Our recommended use for these instant fertilizers is for emergencies only. In May or June (depending on your area) hydrangeas begin to set bud and grow very quickly. The hydrangea will begin absorbing nutrients from the soil at a very rapid pace. If your soil doesn't have enough nutrients, hydrangeas may get yellowing leaves on the inside parts of the plant. This is a perfect time for the instant fertilizer when the hydrangea needs it most.

What do your hydrangeas need in terms of fertilizing? The three essential components of fertilizer are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, the N-P-K numbers on any fertilizer. Nitrogen is for healthy green growth by helping the plant to grow chlorophyll. Fertilizers high in nitrogen like 25-10-10, is great for greening up your lawn. Phosphorus helps a plant grow good roots and stems in the early growth season then in flower production. A mix like 10-30-10 is great for flowers on your annuals and perennials. The Potassium (K) helps your plants generate and process nutrients. Other important elements in fertilizers are calcium, magnesium, iron, copper, manganese, zinc, and sulfur. Organic fertilizers are usually very low in these trace elements.

Hydrangeas like a balanced fertilizer. We prefer the granular time-released kind that delivers nutrients to the plant constantly for a 3- or 4-month period. Water will break down the outside coating of the fertilizer slowly and nutrients won't dwindle out in the active spring growth season. Be sure that the soil is slightly moist when applying the granulated variety and keep the fertilizer off the foliage to prevent burn.

For blue hydrangeas, a low phosphorus element (the 'P') is important as too much will limit the plant's ability to absorb aluminum. The amounts of sulfur (lowers pH) and calcium (raises pH) are important to keep the blue color. A good soil test from your local garden center can tell you what elements are missing from your soil."

But among this reason, there are many others there about no blooms. Here's a link to the page:
http://www.conweb.com/hydrangea/noblooms.shtml

I hope this helped, and best wishes to you.

bloom

Starting to Bloom


A winter succulent beginning to blossom. Part of a series of test shots with my new Olympus OM-5 E-M1 micro 4/3 camera using the Olympus M.60mm F2.8 Macro lens.Raw processing in DxO Optics Pro 9. Additional image processing in Perfect Photo Suite 8, Topaz Adjust and PhotoLine 18.

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