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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...

Thomas Vetter's Garden - Another Revisit


I've been trying to catch up on visiting some of the HPSO Open Gardens this summer and one that I can't pass up is Thomas Vetter's garden in Portland. It continues to inspire me. He is a master at putting plants together. 








Persicaria 'Painter's Palette'





The above photos are from the back garden. He also has a nice collection of succulents -






In the front, a large Parrotia was recently removed. Of course, he used the logs to make an artistic monument -


And, in the back again, one more photo of the lovely Robinia Tree along the back border-


I highly recommend a visit when his garden is open. The Open Gardens directory can be found on the HPSO website

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

Comments

  1. Such a peaceful, painterly garden! Someday I'll get up that way to take advantage of the HPSO open gardens...

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  2. I can imagine putting in the forest grass, hosta, etc combination and immediately knowing that it was a stellar compilation of color/texture. So beautiful!

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  3. His collection of succulents has grown considerably since my last visit.

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