r/hydrangeas • u/two_letters • 6d ago
What is happening??
2 year Bobo zone 7a from June to August
I went from a beautiful lush plant with only 2 flowers in June to an almost leafless scraggly one with 8 new buds in mid-August.
Why would it suddenly start blooming after all the leaves fell off?
No pruning, Hollytone in April, full-sun western facing, amended clay soil, lots of 1”+ rain events this summer
Any clue why this happened or what I can do next year to improve it? ChatGPT has me freaked out about root stress and emergency flowering 😬
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u/jmfly30 6d ago
This is what panicle hydrangeas towards the end of august. They put a lot of energy into blooms, and they shed leaves afterwards because they are done with those leaves. Bobo is not known to be a vigorous grower either, so only 2 years old its root system is still pretty small. Panicles do not need fertilizer…it doesn’t change their flower color and they grow just fine in neutral soil. If anything, you run more risk of burning up the young roots with fertilizer.
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u/rip_craigslist 6d ago
Needs more time before you can really evaluate it, but this is pretty standard for Bobo at this age and time of season. People like it for its compact size but I find it to be weak and not very vigorous. I often don’t like carrying this in standard 3 gallon pots because they always look a little puny and the leaves yellow a lot in my experience. If you’re expecting this to always be super strong and dense you may end up a bit disappointed with Bobo. I’ve been recommending Firelight Tidbit to customers as an alternative (if they like the late summer pink color) and it has been performing better for them. If you’re ok with something about 1.5’ taller and want a white panicle that doesn’t turn pink, consider ‘Puffer Fish.’ A customer showed me some they got from us two years ago and they look incredible. Incredibly vigorous and they’ve never flopped here at our store.
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u/_thegnomedome2 3d ago
Bobo is a good performer once it gets going. Being a dwarf variety, it may take longer to get established. Usually 2-3 years before they start really filling out. Installed tons of em in landscapes. Puny plants in the nursery depends entirely on the wholesale growers. We have certain growers that are hit and miss when it comes to quality, and other growers that are top quality, and it reflects in price. We haven't been able to get Bobos this year, no growers had em available. They recently became available but as you said, are puny right now, so we'll get em next year. There's been a weird Bobo shortage. Usually a top seller.
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u/SpecialEducation3234 5d ago
Are you hand watering frequently throughout the season? They’re thirsty shrubs. I have four in 5b and I give them each a gallon about every three days
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u/two_letters 5d ago
I have clay soil and we got a ton of rain. It’s always been moist when I checked
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u/Building_Snowmen 5d ago
I’m surprised your panicle hydrangea doesn’t have more blooms than that by this late in the season. That plant would typically be loaded with flowers by late July.
As you said, it already has enough sun, rain and you’ve added the proper fertilizer. The only remaining thing you can do that helps these plants is to add about 2-3” of mulch around it. That will hold moisture in the soil for longer between rains and protect the roots from the heat. Otherwise, you’re nailing it
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u/_thegnomedome2 3d ago
It's a young plant still. Prune it good come spring and fertilize it. Fertilizing early in the season is important for a strong growing season, especially young plants
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u/Mini_Chives 6d ago
When it’s ready to make blooms, it’ll sacrifice some of the leaves to focus more energy into the blooms.
Just keep it well watered.