{"id":208,"date":"2010-08-13T16:05:00","date_gmt":"2010-08-13T20:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/2010\/08\/13\/a-perfect-year-for-hortensia-hydrangeas\/"},"modified":"2010-08-13T16:05:00","modified_gmt":"2010-08-13T20:05:00","slug":"a-perfect-year-for-hortensia-hydrangeas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/2010\/08\/13\/a-perfect-year-for-hortensia-hydrangeas\/","title":{"rendered":"A Perfect Year for Hortensia Hydrangeas"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/_ZzNIw3ADWQo\/TGQe7PDbAUI\/AAAAAAAAASo\/spfpwYbX8DI\/s1600\/DSC_0180.JPG\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand\" id=\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504558647555588418\" border=\"0\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/_ZzNIw3ADWQo\/TGQe7PDbAUI\/AAAAAAAAASo\/spfpwYbX8DI\/s320\/DSC_0180.JPG\" \/><\/a> <\/p>\n<div>2010 has been an exceptional year for big leaf hydrangeas (<em>Hydrangea macrophylla<\/em>), also called \u201chortensia\u201d hydrangeas. Consecutive year blooming rarely occurs here in the southern Appalachian region (USDA zones 6 and 7). \u2018Nikko Blue\u201d hydrangea, which has not bloomed for over 15 years, has been beautiful in my garden this summer.<\/div>\n<div> <\/div>\n<div>Why have big leaf hydrangeas been so \u201con\u201d this summer? I asked Dr. Sandra Reed, USDA hydrangea breeder at the TN State University Nursery Crops Research Station in McMinnville. Sandra\u2019s response\u2026 \u201cthe weather\u201d. The 2009 autumn was unusual. October and November temperatures gradually declined. The winter was cold and temps stayed cold, not fluctuating wildly. Across most areas a perfect spring followed with no severe freezes or frosts.<\/div>\n<div>Finally, new hardier cultivars are available such as Endless Summer\u00ae, \u2018Penny Mac\u2019, and \u2018Pia\u2019 (lacecap type). These varieties are remontant, able to bloom on either old or new wood.<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>If your hydrangea(s) did not bloom this year, check the plant\u2019s light exposure and nutrition. Hortensia types want a minimum of one-half day sunlight, preferably in the morning. Feed shrubs in early spring with a water soluble or slow-release fertilizer according the manufacturer\u2019s package directions. <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>2010 has been an exceptional year for big leaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla), also called \u201chortensia\u201d hydrangeas. Consecutive year blooming rarely occurs here in the southern Appalachian region (USDA zones 6 and 7). \u2018Nikko Blue\u201d hydrangea, which has not bloomed for over 15 years, has been beautiful in my garden this summer. Why have big leaf [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=208"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}