What do I need to know about them ?
I bought three steeply discounted pots of them at the garden center after much reading. They seem like they are tough, fast growers, love lots of sun and can live for a very long time. From what I've read they can grow to be 10 - 25' tall, with a large spread.
What I need most from a hedge type planting is to block out the offending light/sign from the gas station. I am less concerned about the horrible fence since I have covered it up, but the less of it to see the better.
My intention is to plant them strategically, in a section of the yard that gets blazing south west exposure with a great deal of reflected light from the cement retaining wall. This area has been really hard on everything I planted there, including the most common variety of orange daylily which refused to bloom. Even Cosmos are struggling there. Common Milkweed and Queen Anne's Lace has done okay.
What do I need to do to help them get established and survive ?
Pee Gee Hydrangea Grandiflora
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mjt
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Re: Pee Gee Hydrangea Grandiflora
I have a pair at my house. In the first photo below, they are the ones either side of the front porch. The photo was taken in early June. I prune mine back hard every spring to perhaps 5-6 ft tall. They grow to about 8 ft by the end of the summer and bloom prodigiously as a result (see second photo below taken in August).
Other than pruning each spring, I've not done anything special to care for them. I water the whole front bed when the plants look dry, which isn't required very often, and use hardwood chip mulch. We are in zone 4b. Mine are in the tree form rather than shrub form. I have no idea what they'd look like if I "let them go"...
Other than pruning each spring, I've not done anything special to care for them. I water the whole front bed when the plants look dry, which isn't required very often, and use hardwood chip mulch. We are in zone 4b. Mine are in the tree form rather than shrub form. I have no idea what they'd look like if I "let them go"...
Re: Pee Gee Hydrangea Grandiflora
Did you plant them, or were they there when you bought the house ? If you planted them, is there anything I need to know about getting them established ?
They are currently sitting in a shady spot in my yard to attempt to acclimatize them after a season under shade cloth at the garden centre. I figured that if I just planted them when they are intended to go, they would probably scorch and shock ?
They are currently sitting in a shady spot in my yard to attempt to acclimatize them after a season under shade cloth at the garden centre. I figured that if I just planted them when they are intended to go, they would probably scorch and shock ?
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mjt
- Shakes a cane at new house owners
- Posts: 557
- Joined: Fri Aug 21, 2015 2:04 am
- Location: Saint Paul, MN
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Re: Pee Gee Hydrangea Grandiflora
We planted them. Here are the two blog posts that show what they looked like when newly planted.
I tend to plant stuff in the spring/fall and avoid planting in the heat of the summer. I think its a good idea to slowly acclimatize them to the space by slowly giving them more sunlight over the next couple of weeks. Plant them after September first or after the hot weather breaks for the year in your area. Then they can focus on establishing good roots before winter.
The usual planting practices work fine. Dig a hole twice as wide as the pot, etc. Make sure you set the plant at the right height in the hole. Especially if it is pot bound, scruff up the root ball to free some of the roots so they spread out instead of thinking they are still constrained in the pot. Give them a good soaking after you plant them. Make sure they get enough water until well established.
I tend to plant stuff in the spring/fall and avoid planting in the heat of the summer. I think its a good idea to slowly acclimatize them to the space by slowly giving them more sunlight over the next couple of weeks. Plant them after September first or after the hot weather breaks for the year in your area. Then they can focus on establishing good roots before winter.
The usual planting practices work fine. Dig a hole twice as wide as the pot, etc. Make sure you set the plant at the right height in the hole. Especially if it is pot bound, scruff up the root ball to free some of the roots so they spread out instead of thinking they are still constrained in the pot. Give them a good soaking after you plant them. Make sure they get enough water until well established.