In fact, it's the hardiest Hydrangea available. When the flowering trees in other landscapes are fading, your Vanilla Strawberry ™ Hydrangea Tree will be going strong. The stems can vary in color and sometimes present a bright red, making a unique contrast against the flowers for your winter landscape. Since the flowers bloom throughout the spring and summer, you'll get a rainbow of color on your tree at one time.Īs the cooler months set it, the blooms still offer color. The blooms begin as a creamy white and then turn to an irresistible pink, finally transitioning to deep red and burgundy. In fact, you'll find yourself (and your neighbors) staring at the gorgeous blooms that appear year after year!Īnd you get months of color. Like a sweet dessert for your garden, these flowers are irresistible. Incredible bright white, pink and deep red blooms.now in tree form. A big thank you to our friend and renowned hydrangea expert Judith King for helping us write this article.Why Vanilla Strawberry ™ Hydrangea Trees? Our favorite is the Vanilla Strawberry tree. While any variety of Hydrangea paniculata may be grown as a tree, the most common variety planted at this time is ‘Limelight.’ The blooms on ‘Limelight’ are huge and can be seen from a great distance. This probably isn’t necessary unless you live in an area with a very harsh winters or the first year or two after planting. It also provides some protection from deer during the winter, when the deer are the hungriest. You can also wrap the ‘trunk’ with newspaper, felt, burlap, or a tree guard loosely to shield it from the wind. Also, add a couple of inches of mulch around the base to help hold moisture in and insulate the roots. Some people do cut the dead blooms off in the winter, so snow doesn’t weigh the branches down and break them off. However, some people like to leave the blooms on the tree for winter interest, especially in areas where they can look lovely with snow on them. (I try to prune so that all branches are radiating toward the outside of the tree, rather than growing across the middle of the tree and across other branches.) The finished blooms may be removed at any time if the tree is small enough for one to reach the blooms. Bloom formation is easy to see if one looks carefully, even in the early stages. These trees can be left to grow naturally, or they may be pruned to control their shape.Īfter they have finished blooming in July or August, any branches growing across other branches may be removed. It can be pruned at any time of the year except when blooms are forming on the tips of the branches in early to mid-summer. Fortunately, pruning a paniculata will not cause any problems with blooming. Pruning may be the concern of many who grow this plant. This can easily be done with 2 or 3 posts in the ground that are attached to the tree with string. This will help the tree remain upright in strong windstorms, and ensure the tree grows straight up instead of sideways. If you purchase a hydrangea from the nursery already in tree form, you should provide extra bracing & support for the tree the first year or two. The first year it is planted, the little tree should be watched carefully, and the soil should not be allowed to dry out. It should be planted at the same level as it was in the pot. Like most plants, it does best in moist but well-drained soil. It should not be planted too deeply. It should be planted in a location that receives at least four hours of sun a day for most of the spring and summer. It can thrive in full sun, but the blooms may last longer if they are in some shade during the hottest part of the day. Planting the hydrangea tree properly is the key to its success. Paniculatas dependably bloom on new growth every year in mid-summer, and the show is spectacular. Nurseries prune them into single trunk trees when they are very young. The only type hydrangea that can be made into a tree is Hydrangea paniculata. Left to their own devices, all hydrangeas will grow into shrubs with multiple stems. Hydrangea trees do not naturally grow into the shape of a tree. (except frost free areas), and they will bloom dependably year after year. In addition, they are easy to grow in almost all parts of the U.S. Of all the small, flowering trees, hydrangea trees are the most dramatic when in full bloom.
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