Saturday, June 4, 2011

Help with an Oakleaf Hydrangea, and what is that weed?

It is hot and humid out again today, so I watered the veggies and pots on the west side this morning, while they were still in shade.  Hopefully they'll be able to enjoy the drink before the sun bakes them again this afternoon.

This is a bed of iris and spiderwort that we kept trying to get rid of, but we've given up now.  The spiderwort is a spreading kind, rather than a clumping kind, and it has filled in nicely.  There are orange asian lilies in here too, that bloom later.


The poppy plant has bloomed:  two blooms this year.  It had one last year; maybe next year I'll get three?


I planted this spiderwort last year.  It has a very yellow-green leaf, with a deep blue/purple flower.


This is my last hybrid columbine bloom; the species are still full of blossoms, and the hummingbirds are visiting them pretty regularly.


Emma took this shot, of the daisy in her garden.


Dianthus


Finally, this is the plant that Sissy thought might be Star of Bethlehem.  The flowers look more dandelion-ish than lily-like.  The strange thing is that I've never seen this anywhere else on our property.


I'm also having a problem with the oakleaf hydrangea (below) I planted last year.  It did beautifully through the fall, but this spring was incredibly slow to bud and leaf out.  (Scilla came up around it, and is the yellowing leave in the bed).  Now it has tiny leaves, but it's like it's just stopped growing.  It's in a raised bed, so root rot shouldn't be a problem.  It's not showing any wilting, and I have fertilized it.  I don't know if it's going to make it, and I don't know if there is anything I should do for it.  Any suggestions would be much appreciated!


4 comments:

  1. Hard to tell from the photo, but your weed might be hawkweed? Both poppies are gorgeous...hope you have an abundance next year! You and Emma both have green thumbs!

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  2. Your poppies are beautiful, Renee! I've never had much luck with them, but I have a lot coming up this year from seed I scattered--I'm just waiting to see if they all bloom.

    Wish I could help you with the hydrangea. I don't have an oakleaf, but I do have several of the macrophyllas and paniculatas. Some years they just don't seem to do as well. I would give it time and continue to keep it watered. This heat may not be to its liking either--Saturday was crazy hot!

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  3. perhaps the flower is Annual agoseris?? A weedlike native from the aster family??
    You know, it looks to me like nutrient deficiency with they hydrangea. I would get some compost or humus and scratch it into the soil around the base of the hydrangea. Perhaps with some blood meal and ozmocote?
    When we see undersized leaves, it's the first clue that the plant doesn't have what it needs!

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  4. Hi Dear! What lovely flowers you have! It is so awkward for me to do any serious gardening these days - standing on one foot, hanging on to my walker with one hand and wield a rake or shovel with the other. You should se me!

    Andrea did some beautiful gardening for me today. I will ask her to take a foto and put it on face book. Wish I could visit to enjoy your flowers with you.

    Love Mom

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