Good day gardening friends,
I retired about 4 years ago and for some strange reason decided to move way out of my comfort zone and start flower gardens in both our front and back yards in our zone 6b Nova Scotia location. Mostly evergreen, flowering shrubs and perennials. By far my favorite are hydrangeas, inspired by an old rickety 15 ft Grandiflora at the corner of our front yard. I have various hydrangea types including varieties of Panicle, Smooth, Mountain, Macrophylla hybrids, etc,
My question is related to supports for 7 Incrediball arborescens that are now at about 4-5 ft. They are certainly much stronger stemmed than Annabelles, but once the flowers are large and full of rain water, my weak effort of staking and tying becomes more than evident. I have researched Hydrangea supports, staking, cages, hoops, grids, etc. to locate suitable options for purchase but I’m not having much luck. Any information or suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks
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Good Morning! Your hydrangea collection sounds lovely! Have you tried pruning them in late winter before growth starts? Not all the way, but leaving at least half the height of the branches. The old branches can help support the new growth. You also might want to sacrifice some weaker stems as the season goes on so they don't clobber the other stems. Other than that, I think I'd stick with staking and twine near the center of the plant, but place the stakes early in the season and tie as the plant fills out. You could also use a good quality peony support or tomato cage, but I think I'd even shore those up with a few stakes, since hydrangeas get so heavy.