September Blooms: Hydrangeas

Hydrangeas zones 5-9 The everbloom series: Endless Summer, Blushing Bride and Twist and Shout all bloom from late spring through the fall and the Hydrangea paniculata varieties: Pee Gee, Pinky Winky, Lime Light, and Quickfire all bloom mid-summer and hold their blooms into the fall. Many varieties, like quick fire, bloom pure white and then gradually turn to an antique pink, then a metallic bronze as they dry on the plant. Oakleaf Hydrangeas also bloom mid-summer and hold their blooms into the fall, plus they have great fall foliage.

See more hydrangeas.

Add Acid to Turn Hydrangeas Blue and Deer Spray Everything!

A little reminder: add Aluminum Sulfate to the soil around your 'Endless Summer' and 'Twist and Shout' Hydrangeas starting now, if you want them to be blue. (If the soil lacks acid as the shrub puts up its buds, your flowers will be pink.)

Also, as the weather warms the tender green shoots of your perennials will be peaking through the soil. Don't give the deer a chance to chew those babies to nubs. Even if it's a plant they don't normally eat, you can't trust them. They'll eat everything this time of year. Pick up some organic Deer Stopper (our favorite because it smells so good) and spray EVERYTHING!

30% Off Hedges

Look at the fall color on this hardy orange! It is so amazing. These shrubs bloom with white flowers in late winter/ early spring, and their branches stay a bright green color even after they lose their leaves. They would make an incredible hedge.

Actually we have a lot of great hedge plants still in the nursery: clumping bamboo, Holly, fantail willows, Beauty Bush, Deutzia 'Chardonnay Pearls', Spirea, Viburnum, little river birch, forsythia, rose of Sharon, lilacs, Andromeda, PJM Rh...odies, Rosa Rugosa, yellow button bushes, Clethera 'Pink Spires', dappled willows, 'Pink Diamond' hydrangeas, Thujas, and Washington Hawthorns.

So we're putting all this hedging material on sale. Everything on the list is 20% off!
If you buy 6 shrubs, they're 30% off.

'Quickfire' Hydrangea

Hardiness: USDA Zone 3-8

Bloom Color: White flowers transform to rich, deep pink.

Bloom Time: Mid-summer; about a month before other paniculata varieties, not affected by pH.

Foliage: Green

Fall Color: Green with a tinge of yellow. Sometimes a reddish-purple color.

Size: 6-8 feet tall at maturity, 3-5 feet wide

Exposure: Full sun to partial shade

Soil: Prefers good, loamy soil. Most adaptable of all hydrangeas to different soil types. Most urban tolerant and very difficult to kill.

Pruning: Prune to maintain a desired size or to remove any wild branches. Best if done in late fall or early spring. Blooms on new wood. Make sure to prune off spent flowers when they turn brown. Very tolerant of hard pruning, in fact cutting the plant back from 1/2 to 1/3 will result in larger flowers.

Watering: Medium moisture. Not as water dependent as Hyd. Macrophylla. Will tolerant drought.

Wildlife: None

Type: Deciduous

Fertilizing: Fertilize in early spring by applying a slow release fertilizer specialized for trees & shrubs. Follow the label for recommended rate of application.

Uses: Groupings or masses, perennial or shrub borders, specimen, screens or hedges, mixed container, cut flowers.

Hydrangeas!!!

Are you on our email list? You could receive special sales and discounts on plants like these every week. To sign up send an email to victoriagardens.ny@gmail.com with "EMAIL LIST" is the subject line or stop in at the store to sign up!

Heavenly Hydrangea

The hydrangea are finally in bloom! We love them all but here is a sampling of our favorites:

Hydrangea 'Quickfire'



An early bloomer, the flowers bloom white and then turn rich pink, then red. Versatile, cold-hardy shrub, really pays its rent in your garden. Will reach 6 to 8 feet tall and 3 to 5 feet wide in maturity. Cold hardy to zone 3.



Hydrangea LET'S DANCE™Moonlight™

Hydrangea LET'S DANCE™Moonlight™ is strong rebloomer with large, rich rose-pink (or blue depending upon pH) mophead flowers that are held on sturdy stems. Moonlight™ has a wonderful compact habit, growing to only 2-3 feet tall. In autumn, the healthy foliage takes on rich bronze red tones for additional interest late in the season.





'Twist-n-Shout' Hydrangea

The Twist-n-Shout, the latest release from the Endless Summer® Collection, is the first reblooming lacecap hydrangea. A true re-bloomer that is hardy to Zone 4 and grows 3 to 5 feet tall and wide in maturity.

The Twist-n-Shout flowers on both old and new growth all summer long. Gorgeous blossoms of pink or periwinkle blue, depending upon your soil type (make them blue with a sprinkle of aluminum phosphate or a mixture of citrus peels and coffee grounds).




Oakleaf Hydrangea:

Oakleaf hydrangea is native to the United States and can take the most shade of all the hydrangeas. It can also tolerate dry sandy soil, better than its "mophead" cousins. But what is really attractive about this shrub (besides the dramatic cone-shaped flowers) is its knockout fall color. Grows 6 to 8 feet high and 4 to 6 feet wide in maturity.