If your Hydrangeas is Not Blooming, then read the given reasons and solutions for encouraging plenty of beautiful blooms.
Are you worried about Hydrangeas Not Blooming? There are many factors behind this issue, but the good news is that this problem can be resolved. This article will inform you about the reasons and solutions so you can have plenty of hydrangea flowers in your garden.
Reason Behind Why Hydrangea is Not Blooming
When your hydrangea is not flowering it simply means its requirements are not fulfilled that includes consistent moisture, light, and proper feeding. Read about the reasons and solutions below.
1. Insufficient Light
Hydrangea prefers bright morning light with a partial shade in the afternoon. If you are growing hydrangeas in too much-shaded location, then you will experience no flowers on the plant on floppy, long stems.
Solution:
Place the hydrangea in an area with bright light; the ideal time for transplanting the hydrangea is early spring.
2. Variety of Hydrangea
Certain types of hydrangeas are fussy bloomers. Even without signs of winter damage, deer nibbling, improper pruning, or excessive nitrogen, they can still be unpredictable. One year, they may bloom profusely, while the next, they might only produce a few flowers on their leafy stems.
Bigleaf hydrangeas often exhibit uncertain blooming patterns. Similarly, potted florist hydrangeas, which are forced to bloom out of season (such as those sold for Mother’s Day), are designed to bloom once indoors. These plants are unlikely to rebloom even if planted outdoors.
Solution:
Select a variety that usually flowers frequently, like smooth, panicle, or oakleaf.
3. Feeding Too Much Nitrogen
Fertilizer with a high nitrogen ratio leads to deep green foliage with fewer blooms. Do not feed the hydrangea with high-nitrogen plant food. If you skip fertilizing the hydrangea, it gets nitrogen from the nearby turf, as lawn fertilizer often contains high nitrogen levels that can leach into the surrounding soil.
Solution:
Apply a fertilizer on hydrangea that contains a high ratio of phosphorus for abundant blooming.
4. Pruning Improperly at Wrong Time
The most common reason behind hydrangeas not blooming is pruning the plant at the incorrect time. You can determine the right time to prune the hydrangeas by deciding the variety of hydrangeas you have planted.
You can check which hydrangea variety you have with this trick; If your hydrangea flower in mid to late summer and not in spring then it means you have smooth hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens) or panicle hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata). They produce flower buds during spring. Since both of these varieties form buds and blooms all in the same growing season, so you can prune them in very early spring.
Oakleaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea quercifolia) or bigleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla) flower in spring and early summer. The flower buds of these varieties develop in the previous summer or fall. The right time to prune them is early summer, just after they finish flowering.
Solution:
Prune your hydrangea at the correct time so you will avoid removing flower buds. If you do make a mistake, allow the plant to recover and bloom the next season before attempting any further pruning.
5. Late Frost
Late frost during spring can damage emerging flower buds. Hydrangeas are particularly vulnerable to such freezes if the previous growing days have been moderate and the plant is growing vigorously.
Solution:
Monitor the weather forecast closely in spring. If a late frost is expected, cover the plants with blankets or sheets. Put a brick or any heavy object on the covers so they keep in place.
6. Animal Damage
Deer love to munch on the soft buds and tender stems of hydrangea year-round. Winter grazing can remove flower buds on bigleaf and oakleaf hydrangeas. whereas browsing in the growing season can wipe out the flower buds of smooth and panicle hydrangeas.
As a result, your hydrangeas may not bloom when expected.
Solution:
Guard your plants with a deer-repellant spray or a barrier like netting or fence. Reapply deer repellants after rain. If deer become accustomed to a particular spray, try switching to a different brand.
7. Winter Wound
The flower buds on bigleaf and oakleaf hydrangea develop in late summer and fall for the next spring. These delicate buds must endure the winter to flower in spring. Extreme cold and ice can harm or kill the buds. In Zone 5 and below, these hydrangeas need winter protection to bloom well. Even in Zone 6, they require winter protection.
Dry growing conditions during fall also lead to winter damage and the absence of blooms. Any hydrangea that enters winter with dry stems and roots is more likely to suffer winter injury.
Solution:
To overcome this issue, water plants thoroughly during the fall. To save delicate flower buds of sensitive hydrangeas from intense cold, make an insulative cylinder near the shrub during late November with strong stakes, burlap, or chicken wire. Fill the cylinder with straw or leaves. Remove it, along with the leaves, in early spring.