Find Your Ask the Expert: Have a lace-cap hydrangea but no blooms. Help? My lace-cap hydrangea looks healthy with lots of deep green leaves but no flowers. Should I be fertilizing it? Elizabeth
Plant expert Reply:
There are 2 major reasons Lacecap Hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla) cold damage or improper pruning. Since they form their buds August through September, the Lacecap hydrangea bloom buds are susceptible to frost damage. There is very little you can do about this type of blooming problem except to use a variety that is a little more hardy. However if pruning is the cause for lack of blooms, you have all the control over this problem. Lacecap hydrangeas should be deheaded immediately after blooming and very little true pruning needs to take place. If you must prune your hydrangea, follow the fantastic pruning instructions I found at Hydrangeas! Hydrangeas.
2 minor reasons hydranges don’t bloom: Not enough sunlight and insufficient nutrients. Hydrangeas love morning sun and afternoon shade. Also they will grow in shaier conditions, it does inhibit blooming. make sure your hydrangeas get half a day of sun. Fertlize your hydrangeas will a balanced slow-release fertilizer once or twice a summer. May and july are good months to fertilize your hydrangeas. Don not fertlize after August.
Hopefully the reason your hydrangea isn’t blooming will become clear and you will be able to correct the problem.
My lacecap pink & blue hydrangeas bloom every summer, but only a few buds open on each flower. the bushes get bigger each summer; I protect them in the winter and hardly prune; and I feed them. But I have a lot of partially open flowers and none fully blooming. adjacent mopheads are blooming perfectly well. Any suggestions?
Mr. Ross,
From what you’ve told me, I can only assume that they may not be getting the proper amount of sun, or they are not getting enough water. Hydrangeas prefer light shade and morning sunlight. If they are getting more direct sunlight in the hotter parts of the day, they may need more water to compensate. If they are not getting enough sun, that could be an issue as well. Hope this helps!
Ed
My lace cap hydrangea bloomed this spring and then I removed the dead blooms when they were done. Afterwards, there were no more buds or blooms for the rest of the summer. Also, the leaves turned red and there was very little new growth. it is located in area that gets morning sun until about 1:30pm and thereafter shade. It gets regular water. Am I doing something wrong? Is it diseased or sick?
If it has been extremely hot or dry, you may need to water more frequently. You may also try fertilizing with a phosphorus-rich fertilizer.