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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...

Lily 'Caravan" and "Silk Road"


The lilies are beginning to bloom. I think they are spectacular plants. They struggle to reach for the sun in our garden and the stalks aways flop over and have to be staked, otherwise the beautiful flowers end up nodding towards the ground. This is one of my favorites - "Caravan" - which I purchased many years ago from The Lily Garden in Vancouver, Washington.

Another good one is "Silk Road" (pictured below).



Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

Comments

  1. Phillip, I love lilies as well and appreciate them more every year. They fill a void in my garden between rose flushes and before the Rose of Sharon and fall perennials kick in.

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  2. These are beauties. How can anyone not like these gorgeous plants? I would love to have many more than I have now. They are such an easy plant to grow. I too have to stake them. I don't know many who don't have to stake their lilies.

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  3. I haven't had much luck with lilies here, but I'm not sure why. I do have a few plants looking good about now, so maybe I'll have more blooms this year. It's been very rainy this year, so perhaps they like more rain? Yours are gorgeous!

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