About This Episode
One reader struggles with their summer hydrangeas. Plus, Grumpy’s plant of the week.
Question Of The Week
“My hydrangeas will not leaf out on the old branches. All new growth comes from the bottom. Is this because we had a warm spell in early spring, followed by a sudden freeze?” – Janet
Grumpy Gardener: Spot on, Janet. It’s not unusual for big leaf hydrangea, the one that has a blue or the pink flowers to be killed all the way back to the ground by a hard freeze that was preceded by mild weather. All new growth then comes from the ground up. If your hydrangea is an older one blooming type like Nicco blue, that means that all its flower buds are dead. It won’t bloom this year. However, re-blooming types like the Endless summer series and the Let’s Dance series bloom on both old and new growth. That means you can still get flowers after a deep freeze. No matter which kind you have, Janet, cut those old dead stems to the ground. They’re done for.
Plant Of The Week
Waikiki Elephant Ears. Waikiki forms a compact mound about three feet tall and wide.
Growing conditions: It likes full to part sun and moist soil. Hardiness. It’s winter hardy to about 15 degrees. If you live where it gets colder, bring it inside to a cool room for the winter. If there’s no sun in that room, cut off the leaves and force the plant into dormancy, then take it outside next spring and water it, and new leaves will sprout. Now, where can you buy this? Head out to garden centers that carry the Southern Living Plant collection.
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About Ask Grumpy
Ask Grumpy is a podcast featuring Steve Bender, also known as Southern Living’s Grumpy Gardener. For more than 20 years, Grumpy has been sharing advice on what to grow, when to plant, and how to manage just about anything in your garden. Tune in for short episodes every Wednesday and Saturday as Grumpy answers reader questions, solves seasonal conundrums, and provides need-to-know advice for gardeners with his very Grumpy sense of humor. Be sure to follow Ask Grumpy on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen so you don’t miss an episode.
Editor’s Note: Please be mindful that this transcript does not go through our standard editorial process and may contain inaccuracies and grammatical errors.
Read the original article on Southern Living