Why I Oughta...

Yesterday, I showed off the one-gallon Limelight Hydrangea that I've grown from a cutting and how it was throwing off its first blooms .  In that post, I talked about how I was going to prune some of the limbs back to get it to be a little less 'leggy'.  This morning, I did just that.  But, I also did something else:  drenched it.  Here, below, is the limelight hydrangea after pruning off the tips.  I kept 3 sets of leaves on all limbs, but clipped off everything above that third pair.  It was looking a little droopy, still: But, a few hours later - after the water had time to work its way through the plant's system, here (below) is what it looked like - a lot less stressed: I'll make sure this thing is happy for the rest of the month, then come September - when the temps begin to drop - I'm hoping it will continue to put on some new growth. 

Back in the late Summer of 2022, I tried to get a couple of flowering shrub cuttings to root.  One of them - a Limelight Hydrangea cutting managed to get established that first month and put on some growth .   Ever since, I've kept it in a container and somewhat protected - both during Summer (in the shade) and Winter (buried in the ground).  Last Fall - October 2023, I upgraded it from a quart nursery container to a one-gallon nursery pot .   This year, I put the small container shrub in the shade of the understory bed and mostly neglected it.  It put on foliage and then....recently....it put on its first-ever blooms.  Four of them.  Two opened up, two more on their way.   See below for a peek: How nice to find this little treat.  Something I've neglected has FOUND A WAY.  It does, however, appear to be a little 'leggy', so I'm thinking that I'm going to give it a haircut to bring it down in size and try to stimulate a little bit more 'bush-like' in for

A few days ago, I posted photos of the latest trees that I planted via acorns (and Chestnuts) in my annual backyard tree nursery project to grow trees from seeds.  I've been at this a few years now and started with Kentucky Coffee Tree seeds in 2021 .  In 2022, I cultivated some Catalpa trees from seed .  And tried to root some Hydrangea cuttings .  By 2023, I had a number of small seedlings of different varieties that all needed to be potted-up .  And, most-recently, last Fall, I opted to go for just ONE species: Regal Prince Oak trees.  And, a couple of Chinese Chestnuts .  With those potted up (at least some of them), I thought it was time to dig-up the inventory and see how things are going with the existing seedlings. As I've done the past few years, I buried the nursery pots in the ground in hopes that they'd handle the cold Zone 6a/5b winter a little better in the ground.   Here's how things are looking now - but most haven't leaf'd out yet, so I'm n

Last month, I provided an update on some of the nursery stock that I've been growing from seeds and cuttings including a look at the (then) one-year-old Limelight Hydrangea that I have been growing from a cutting .   The small shrub has been putting on some size and has two primary trunks that have emerged from the cutting that now have more than eight sets of leaves growing up the (now) 12-inch-or-so shrub.  They were originally planted in a small one quart nursery pot - that you can see below. The roots were peeking out the bottom of the small container, so I figured it was time to upgrade this to a one-gallon pot.  See below for the roots that have emerged after one year in the quart container: Here, below, is the 'after' - the Limelight Hydrangea in its new one-gallon nursery pot that I've put back in the landscape to live out the rest of the growing season.  I'll do what I've done in the past - dig these in the ground an mulch them in - to overwinter.  My

One of the items (#16) on my annual to-do list was to keep working on 'seasonal tasks' and #24 was to 'try to get cuttings to root'.    I've been after a container-based tree nursery for a few years now and have posted about it from time to time.  The most recent post was this Summer .  I started in 2021 with Kentucky Coffee Tree seeds and seedlings.  Then, last year I tried with Limelight Hydrangea s.  And this past Fall/Winter, I went a little bit further.   I collected a variety of seeds (acorns mostly) and put them to bed in a damp sand container that I stashed in the fridge to simulate cold stratifying .   After the Summer, it appears that I have birthed a handful of oak tree seedlings.  And, have seemingly kept the Kentucky Coffee Tree and Catalpa trees alive.  I've also succesfully rooted a Limelight Hydrangea and a Boxwood evergreen shrub.   Below are a few photos showing the current situation.  First..the larger, 1# containers of two-year-old trees: Th

Starting back in 2021, I started to grow some tree seedlings from collected tree seeds in little containers on our patio.  I started with Kentucky Coffee Tree seedlings .  Then, added some Catalpa trees .  And then last year, I tried to add some flowering shrub cuttings - with Limelight Hydrangea .  By last Summer, I had a number of trees that had grown into some tiny trees .   I have overwintered these tree pots in the ground and each Spring, most of the seedlings have come back.  Below are a few photos showing the current state of these trees - first with some Kentucky Coffee tree seedings that are in one-gallon containers: And, last Fall, I collected a number of tree seed nuts (Oaks, Pecan, Chestnut) and stuck them in a container of wet sand to winter stratify in the fridge .  I planted a bunch of those seeds this Spring and have had mixed results - some germination.  Below you can see some trays showing the results of that seed collection as well as some cutting experiments.  I hav

Ten days ago, I posted a couple of photos a new (to me) project of trying to grow hydrangeas from cuttings .  I tried two different culitvars (Limelight and Strawberry Vanilla) at the time and frankly...I wasn't sure if what I was doing was going to work and/or if it was going to be too late in the growing season to even attempt these. I still don't have the answer to the second question (is it too late?), but I do have a mixed-results answer to how they would do.  That answer?  The Limelight seems to have transitioned from cutting to (potentially) rooted.  The Vanilla Strawberry cutting?  Not so much. Here, below, is the limelight cutting.  The most critical thing to note?  The new, lighter color leaves at the center.  These new leaves are a sign that this cutting has managed to 'take hold': The larger leaves are cut.  And that's on purpose.  I trimmed them in half as a way to try to help the little cutting survive.  Some plantsmen call them 'solar panels'

Along with the Catalpa tree seeds/seedlings work and the transplanting of the Kentucky Coffee Tree seedlings into larger containers, I came across a video that talked about growing hydrangeas from cuttings.  So...I figured....why not give it a try.   The process is pretty easy.  Find a shoot that is still green.  Count down three pairs of leaves and give the shoot a cut.  I then dipped the stem in rooting compound, trimmed all the leaves off - and even trimmed the remaining leaves in half - and stuck it in some potting mix.   I'm trying this with two species:  on the left below (the sad one) is Strawberry Vanilla Hydrangea.  On the right is a Limelight Hydrangea.  I stuck them in a couple of pots that I formerly had Kentucky Coffee tree seedlings that I had on hand:  Below is a closer look at the Limelight.  After I took this photo, I trimmed the top leaves in half to try to give the little cutting a bit less plant to try to support.   I have concerns that I've taken on this pr