I have six hydrangeas (I did have 7, but my dog dug one up), one is in full bloom but the other 5 only have a couple of blooms each. They are all growing and have lovely leaves, but no blooms. They are all planted in part-shade. I've been watering deeply 1-2 times a week and fertilizing when I think about it--every couple of weeks. I have been using a 10-10-10 fertilizer, I'm wondering if the plants are getting too much nitrogen? What am I doing wrong? --Diane

-- Diane (dd@kendaco.telebyte.com), July 26, 2000

Answers

I don't know a lot about hydrangeas, but that does sound like an awful lot of nitrogen. Try cutting back on the fertilizer to just a couple of times a season, or use a lower concentration, slow release fertilizer.

Sometimes, though, I think it's the weather. A lot of people in this area had no blooms last year, but this is a great year for hydrangeas. We had a super mild winter this year, and the hydrangeas are going gangbusters. The year before we had a lot of freezes, and they barely bloomed. I think there may be a correlation.

-- Beth (beth@xeney.com), August 06, 2000.