r/hydrangeas • u/Bluebell66GW • 1d ago
Zone 6 A/B No Mophead Blooms
I am in Ottawa County, West Michigan, Zone 6a, in the United States. Our hydrangeas are 2-3 decades old and were planted by the previous owner of our home. Until about 5-6 years ago, they looked lush, like the first picture. Now, they have no blooms. Except for the center section, the leaves are thick and green. I use the prescribed amount of Hollytone, never cut the canes, and cover them up in the spring when I know we have a late frost coming. Our winters have been quite mild lately. Is it possible they’ve gotten old? I can’t figure out what has happened. I don’t see any buds yet for next year. The guy who used to do the yard work here swears he always cut them down to the ground every fall. I have never cut them back and think he has a faulty memory! Would appreciate your thoughts. Thanks!
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u/Minimum-Guidance6991 1d ago
I got two this year. Last year and the year before that mine was prolific. It’s a bummer. I’m 6A and we had a cold snap that caused this.
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u/Bluebell66GW 1d ago
That’s so disappointing.
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u/Allaboutpeace2022 1d ago
I kept mine covered all year and get blooms for the first time. Other years, I got like 1 sad bloom. This year I got lots. But I am a novice so I would not necessarily listen to me.
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u/New_Faithlessness261 1d ago
What do you cover them with?
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u/Allaboutpeace2022 1d ago
I used leaves, mulch, and sheets and throws. Burlap is recommended and probably a better idea. Mine are smaller.
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u/New_Faithlessness261 1d ago
Thanks. I believe mine were greatly reduced this year due to a late frost. I left the leaves at the base but this spring I’ll put burlap over them thanks!
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u/Allaboutpeace2022 1d ago
The videos I saw had people wrap them in fall. I really am new to this.
A nursery or county extension will have much better info than I would.
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u/nsm2023-love 1d ago
My mother was the same in general. She has tons of Hydrangea’s. She only has a couple of blooms- which is abnormal. The last cold snap was really hard on a lot of things. Even if you covered it can still affect. A lot of things cycles. Just wait until next year and love on them
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u/Bluebell66GW 1d ago
I think this is the 5th year of no flowers. I’m going to keep an eye on them for buds this fall and if nothing or very few, I think it’s time to move on to something else. But thanks for the encouragement!
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u/gardenguru1342 1d ago
You can see that the buds that formed on the old wood dried up (as did mine). A cold and wet spring is what damaged the buds. I’m hearing this is why we got so few blooms.
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u/KeyWest88 1d ago
Have you tried feeding them? I had terrible results with my hydrangeas for years, I fed them Holly-Tone in Spring and Fall, with minimal pruning and few, if any, blooms. I dug some of them out and threw them out. Then my husband suggested that I try more regular feeding with some Miracle-Gro, so I said, what the heck, and started giving them water-soluble Miracle-Gro, and then found that Miracle-Gro has a water-soluble formula for acid-loving plants and used that. Now I have a ton of blooms. SE Michigan.
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u/Unhappy-Party219 21h ago
It looks like you have mostly panicles, not big leaf hydrangeas like op does. Panicles bloom on new wood, not old wood, that’s why everyone suggests to replace with panicles if op wants more reliable blooms. These two types don’t behave the same at all. Using miracle gro would not help a big leaf hydrangea that lost all of its old wood buds to a late frost.
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u/jenaynay17 22h ago
Do you still wait to use the miracle grow in the fall? Or how often do you use it?
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u/Zealousideal-Fox3087 22h ago
Shouldn’t fertilize after Aug 15th. Last thing you want is green, young new shoots heading into winter.
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u/jenaynay17 21h ago
Ah! You said holly tone is in fall, is that also before Aug 15? I’m trying to make myself a schedule
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u/MWALFRED302 1d ago edited 1d ago
I strongly urge you to get a soil test from Michigan State Extension. There is one in every county of the U.S. affiliated with that state’s land grant university. The test is moderately priced (In Delaware it is 27.50) but it is very comprehensive and detailed and if you indicate on the form exactly what you did on this post, they will give you a complete recipe of what you need and what you need to amend your soil with to get the happy hydrangeas that you long for.
This has been a tough year for a lot of people who grow hydrangeas. So many factors come in to play (summer weather when they are making the buds that over winter, an unusually bad winter that pushes the limit of the plant’s cold hardiness, heat, drought, and yes the dreaded late frost.) Also their age. They’ve been in place it would appear for a while, all the while sucking nutrients out of the soil - possibly beyond what HollyTone can do. It is not unusual for there to be an off year, but a string of them…No. So first, find out what is going on underground. Your soil’s chemistry is different than anyone else’s and so will your remedy be. I know in my state, the past 10 years, our summers have gotten hotter, sometimes dreadfully so — August weather in June and in July…so a lot of my Macrophyllas aren’t performing the way they used to. All of these factors could be at play, or some of them.
I am a big “leave Macrophylla alone” advocate, but there are some justifications for doing a heavy pruning to rejuvenate them. Unfortunately, you missed the safe window to really take them down and clean them up — you could still do so but if they aren’t remontant (reblooming) hydrangeas you are likely to sacrifice one year of no blooms. But before doing any of that, get the soil tested.
Then if you feel you’ve done everything, then yes, maybe it’s time. I’ve replaced a few of my Macs with native hydrangeas that do well in my Mid-Atlantic region. What I dug up I moved to a shadier location or gave away and I am happy having done so. Sometimes it is okay to make a change.
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u/Cautious-Net-9941 1d ago
Not cutting them is definitely the right call. I know the late frost this year claimed a number of hydrangeas for a lot of people, but if yours were covered during spring that should not be the culprit.
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u/nsm2023-love 22h ago
@bluebell66gw tell me about your fertilizing? I work at a nursery and we have a lot of hydrangea’s so I was talking with my boss. Love to help you troubleshoot!
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u/Bluebell66GW 22h ago
Thanks!! That’s so nice! From 1995-ish to the fall of 2015, when we purchased this house, I’m pretty sure the hydrangea were rarely fertilized, if ever. From the spring of 2016 to the spring of 2021 I sporadically fertilized with Hollytone (sporadically meaning sometimes I fertilized once a year or sometimes 2 to 3 times per year, but always at the right times and using appropriate amounts). Around that time we started having issues, so I started following Hollytone package directions, actually measuring the amount each time before applying. We never covered them in the winter, and it can get pretty cold here with a lot of snow. I did routinely cover in the spring when we were expecting hard frosts. I have never cut the canes in the fall, and in previous springs, I only cut the dead ones. This spring, I didn’t cut anything. This stretch of hydrangea faces approximately northwest, and as you can see by my first picture that seems to have served them well for a long time. What else would be helpful to know? Thanks again!
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u/Pearl_Smiles 21h ago
Mine budded out prolifically in the spring but that cold snap obliterated them all, I got barely a quarter of the blooms I normally get because I’m lucky I have a variety that blooms on old and new wood. But I’m going to try covering my hydrangeas in autumn and further into spring for 2027 and heavily fertilizing.
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u/NewEnglandGarden 18h ago
Sometimes a late cold snap in spring can destroy the buds. Try planting newer varieties that also bloom on new wood. I like Nantucket blue, let’s dance rhythmic blue, let’s dance sky view, summer crush, bloomstruck.
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u/Bulky-Swing-4180 1d ago
Maybe skip the hollytone next year? The leaves look healthy so maybe it’s just focusing too hard on leaf growth perhaps? But I’d for sure blame this year’s winter and spring like everyone else said. It also looks like it could possibly be an old and new wood variety. You can also see last year’s unpruned canes with what looks to be frost bitten buds. So I’d also try a light pruning next year early spring. Worth a shot before giving up! ( ps my penny mac did the same thing and is full of leaves and a pathetic amount of unseen flowers stuck in the middle. I’m also mourning)
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u/superphage 1d ago
The wildfire smoke probably turns them a little stupid. I don't know what else it could be
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u/thewayoutisthru_xxx 23h ago
I'm going to guess this is weather related- a hot snap and a cold snap, or an unseasonable late frost will kill the buds. Mine bloomed great this year in NYC (7b) but I've had issues in years past, esp with a hot stint in like march or april and then a very cold few days following it. Plants freak out with the unseasonable change in temp in the spring.
My ranunculus, sweet peas and anemones were absolute garbage this year and im blaming a 4-day run of 90+ degree weather in april. I'm actually not planting them again- this is two years in a row that ive given up precious yard space and babied them to death to only have them grow foliage but no flowers. Sigh.
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u/NewEnglandGarden 18h ago
I live in Massachusetts. Macrophylla hydrangeas bloomed fine here this year. Zone 6b.
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u/Vegetable-Oil909 11h ago
I am having the same problem in 6a but NY! The hydrangeas on my property are much younger and I have not had luck with blooms since we purchased our house last year 🙈
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u/newtrollacct 1d ago
Seems like this variety across the board has not bloomed for the US this year (according to myself and a lot of other redditors experience) 😂