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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...

Seeing Yellow

Yellow seems to be the dominant color of early spring. Daffodils, carolina jessamine, witch hazel, Lady Banks rose, forsythia - it seems the list is endless. Here are two yellows that I photographed yesterday. My Lady Banks rose has just started and I will be posting a photo of it later.

Kerria Japonica (also known as Easter Rose) blooms before the leaves appear. It is a graceful and dependable shrub.




Carolina Jessamine is a fast-growing vine that can be used in a variety of ways. I have mine growing on a low picket fence next to my tiny vegetable garden.

Comments

  1. Phillip,
    Wow! Double wow!! Your two most recent posts with such beautiful photos leave me grasping for just the right superlative adjectives or words to use in my comment. Hmmm..seriously stunning Southern spring snapshots!

    Jon in Vicksburg, Miss. on 4-4-08

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  2. You must have been reading my mind! I was trying to find the name of that first shrub just yesterday. We visited a garden that had one. It was kind of staked and gathered up around the bottom so that it didn't sprawl, which I thought was interesting too. I love that color yellow best, I think - really eye-catching!

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  3. YOU have some beautiful scenery in your garden...I love the work you have put in...Envy is my sin!...*winks*

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  4. Phillip, you have such a beautiful garden. All that work shows. I wish I lived in your zone instead of zone 6. You grow some plants I have longed to have.

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