gardenchatter

Garden adventures, thoughts and ideas…


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Lacy Hearts Chinese Hydrangea Vine

Lacy Hearts
Came across a very interesting, but apparently rare, new hydrangea vine – Lacy Hearts.

Lacy Hearts foliage is stunning – olive green, heart-shaped leaves that are edged in ivory. Small white flowers present a showy display in late summer.

Lacy Hearts needs plenty of water, particularly during hot spells and because of it’s shade tolerance would grow well in a woodland garden setting. It’s also suitable for creating a colorful privacy fence and would perform well if grown on a north or east-facing wall.

It’s fairly slow growing though but will ultimately sprout up to 15 feet.

A deciduous self-clinging vine (doesn’t need support or to be grown on a trellis), Lacy Hearts will survive in zones 6 to 9. There’s some discussion as to whether my area is 5, 5b or 6a, so if I can find this unique little hydrangea at any of the local garden centers, I might just give it a try in an area well protected from harsh winter winds. Most hydrangea vines grow just fine in zone 5+.

Other Chinese hydrangea vines with unique foliage include ‘Red Rhapsody’ – new foliage growth is red, ‘Rosea’ – bright pink sepals and ‘Moonlight’ – blue leaves with dark green veins.


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Spring Pruning

So, now we’ve cleaned up the garden and here’s hoping the weather is improving in your part of the world. Next comes spring pruning.

Here’s the basic rules…

Prune out dead wood and diseased or injured limbs any time throughout the year as needed. Removing the damaged wood will only help the rest of the plant to develop new, strong shoots.

Prune spring flowering shrubs after flowering. Plants that bloom in early spring usually produce their flower buds the year before. The buds over-winter on the previous year’s growth and open in spring. If you prune these spring bloomers in fall or winter you’ll remove the flower buds and won’t have flowers that year. The plants will be ok, but you’ll miss a year of blooms. (Lilacs are a classic – as soon as the flowering is finished – prune!)

Prune summer flowering shrubs in late winter or early spring. Many summer flowering shrubs bloom on the current year’s growth. Pruning them back in later winter encourages them to produce plenty ‘O new growth that summer and will result in more flowers. 

However, there are two exceptions to the rule………

Hydrangeas- Some bloom on ‘old wood’ while others bloom on ‘new wood’ – know your plant type before pruning.  Pruning at the wrong time won’t hurt the plant, but you may miss out on a year of spectacular blooms.

Clematis (Yikes!)

Clematis are on a whole different planet when it comes to pruning. There are three different bloom and prune times. But remember this – If it blooms before June – Don’t Prune!

Know your clematis before you prune…

Group 1/A – flowers in spring on old wood. Prune after flowering (summer) – light pruning only to remove dead or damaged wood only.

Group 2/B – flowers early summer and has repeat blooms later in the season – flowers on both old and new wood. Prune after flowering in late fall or winter. Remove dead wood adn cut to 12″ or so every couple of years – that’s all it needs.

Group 3/C – flowers late summer on new wood. Prune after flowering in late winter or early spring. Hard prune this one to 12″, ensuring a few strong buds remain – will give you plenty of strong, new wood for spectacular blooms!

 

 


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Pruning Flowering Shrubs

Further to the question on pruning lilacs, there are other shrubs that should be pruned early in the season and those that can wait.

General rule of thumb – Shrubs that bloom in summer or fall are blooming on the current year’s growth. Prune in late fall once the blooms are done, or early spring before they begin to sprout new growth.

Shrubs that bloom in spring are doing so on the previous year’s growth and should be pruned immediately after their blooms begin to die off to ensure good blooms the following spring.

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