flowers and vines in Lavaux - august 2016

hydrangea serrata 'spreading beauty' - japanese mountain hydrangea - up to 60cm H only! best in part shade - blooms on old wood - limited pruning because of compact size

hydrangea paniculata - panicle hydrangea - up to 3m H - blooms on new wood - large informal shrubs need limited pruning

hydrangea macrophylla 'enziandom' - bigleaf (mophead) hydrangea - up to 1.2m H - needs consistent moisture to withstand full sun exposure - dark blue blooms on old wood

hydrangea macrophylla 'endless summer' - up to 1.2m H - blooms on old and new wood hence its name! - you cannot go wrong pruning these hydrangeas...

white annabelle flowers can turn greenish in shade or later in summer

hydrangeas - the ultimate long blooming summer flowers...
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can you prune to size?
no, they re-grow into their size and shape each growing season so make sure you buy the right size

​you cannot really keep them small by pruning!

flowers or not...?
all to do with whether the specific type hydrangea blooms on old or new wood...

​on 'old wood' means flower buds for next year are prepared in the stems of this year

if you prune these old stems you cut off the flower buds for next year - so no flowers...

pruning is best done in spring when the buds are visible on the stems: you can then cut the oldest stems and keep the flowers you want

​blooming on 'new wood' can be pruned more rigorously as they create flower buds in the new stems that start growing in spring

sun or shade...
most hydrangeas like some sun during the day but the part shade is what they like best!

they need consistent moisture for leaves and flowers to stay lush...

hydrangea macrophylla varieties can change color depending on acidity of the soil

hydrangea aspera sargentiana - rough-leaf hydrangea - up to 2.5m H - velvety oval shaped leaves - prefers part shade - blooms on old wood - limited pruning as large, informal shrubs are usually left as is

hydrangea quercifolia - oakleaf hydrangea - up to 1-2.5m H - prefer shady locations - beautiful fall leaf colors as extra bonus! - blooms on old wood, need minimal pruning as large, informal shrubs

hydrangea quercifolia - autumn

hydrangea arborescens 'annabelle' - up to 1.5m H - blooms on new wood - leave 1/3 of old stems after pruning to support stems in the new growing season, to enable them to carry the 'heavy' white flower heads

blue or pink flowers?
hydrangea macrophylla varieties can change flower color depending on the soil:
more acid soils make flowers blue (pH around 5) and alkaline soils more pink (pH around 6)

it is the uptake of aluminum from the soil into the flowers that changes the pink color towards blue

in more acid soils this just goes better!

you can manipulate your soil yourself, however it is not that easy...

first of all it will take months for the flowers to turn

secondly not all soils are that easy to manipulate

to get more pink flowers use garden lime (ground limestone) and for blue flowers use sulfur

it can also be that your soil lacks sufficient aluminum so in that case use aluminum sulfate to get blue

ask in your garden store the exact amounts to use as over dosing could affect overall soil health (also for other plants!)

In the mean time in the vineyards....

as the grapes are now 'closed' spraying against fungi is no longer necessary - and yes they affect the leaves now (no problem at this stage as the growing season is over)

netting to protect the grapes from birds - wrapped only around the grapes not the leaves

this is the time that the green grapes turn blue and purple on red grape varieties