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Pruning 'Summer Crush' Hydrangea in Late Summer or Early Fall

Hydrangea 'Summer Crush' in June... in September Pruning can be a complicated project, especially when it comes to hydrangeas (I can think of one more plant that causes pruning headaches - clematis). That said, if you grow many hydrangeas, especially different types, once you get the hang of it, it begins to come naturally. I used to rarely prune my hydrangeas because I had more space. Now, with a smaller garden, I'm finding that some are getting too large for comfort. Case in point, 'Summer Crush'. It is actually not a huge hydrangea, but it does get larger than advertised - about 5 feet in my garden (the tag said 3-4'). 'Summer Crush' is in the 'Endless Summer' line of hydrangeas and they are among the easier to prune. This is because they bloom on both old and new wood. Therefore, no matter when you prune, you should get blooms. It is the older hydrangeas, the ones that only bloom on old wood, that you have to be careful with. I would recomm...

Gifts for a gardener

My birthday was last week and I received some nifty gardening related gifts. Michael's aunt, cousin and a good friend pitched in and got me this wagon - I guess that is what you call it - and I was excited to get it. My wheelbarrow is on its last leg and I'm sure this little guy is much stronger - they say it will hold 1500 pounds!



I had hinted to Michael that I needed a new pair of lopers and he went beyond the call of duty and gave me these which feature an extension - you rotate the knobs and it will extend a foot or so. I had never seen any made like this and I'm sure they will come in handy when I resume the pruning of Rambling Rector.


Comments

  1. I have that wagon and lopers. You will love them both!

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  2. Cool wagon. What a great gift! Our local nursery has a version of that wagon sans sides. They're heavy but very sturdy but be sure to grease the axles well because I believe the wheel bearings are sleeve bearings and not ball bearings. The ones at the nursery are left out in the elements and are not greased often if ever and some of them are difficult to lug around and even more so when loaded with heavy plants. The ones with inflatable tires are also easier to pull if inflated properly.

    There's many a time when I wished for more leverage using the loppers. That's a great idea to have extensible handles. The only problem is that the cutting head and pivot need to be heavy duty too with the extra leverage you can exert as that seems to be the weak spot with the two loppers I have.

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