Hydrangeas!

[Rosemaryandlavender1]

Hello all! I have a small border at the front of the garden which is approx 6ft in length and just over 1.5ft in width. I am strongly considering planting Hydrangeas there. For my lovely Hydrangeas who have experience with Hydrangeas which type were successful for you? I have been looking online and there are so many different types!
I have a south facing garden but this border is overshadowed further ahead by a huge hedge so it is in partial shade throughout the day.
This is the small area I would be planting them

That's great to hear! If these ones do well i might be tempted to try another type
If I manage to keep these alive!

OK so these are the two plants
And this was where I was going to plant them
But I didn't expect them to be this big and I'm worried they will be squished against the fence once they grow
Any thoughts?

They should be fine planted in middle of border if they get too big can be hard pruned although the stems pruned out wouldn't flower until the next year.

Gorgeous colour, bear in mind to retain the blue colour soil needs to be on the acid side.

I did see that depending on the soil the colour will change but I don't mind which colour they end up blooming.
One other concern is slugs! I have often seen some big ones near that border

They'll be fine.

Have never seen a slug on a hydrangea.

@Rosemaryandlavender1 those look really healthy! Which did you go for in the end - was it gardening express?

Yes I got this one. As they were half price I could get two plants for the price of one

https://www.gardeningexpress.co.uk/amazing-powder-blue-hydrangea-macrophylla-magical-revolution-large-flowered-mophead-hydrangea-xxxl-plants?ff=20&irclickid=UU9wM6zWuxyKU9TXdwXKgXX6UkCUEUUm4VeSR00&irgwc=1&Source=Im&utm_source=Impact&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=1812968

Yes there is a new hydrangea called Endless Summer which blooms from June to October. I have The Bride version in a pot on my patio it’s been in flower all summer.

So I decided to plant one of the hydrangeas on the shady side next to my rosemary
I have started digging a hole and can see there are loots of dead roots inside the ground
Would that be a issue?

This is how it looks

OK i have planted one. Hope it looks right

Not that I’m an expert but I reckon you’ll be ok 🤣🤷‍♀️

looks great!

Thank you!

That’s fine. Mine has far more roots. The soil would benefit from annual mulching, it will transform it in 4-5 years.

If you buy a plant in a pot, plant it so the soil comes up to where the soil in the pot came to.

Ohhh
Have I planted it too low? I didn't know that

I can't remember whether I did do that now

@MereDintofPandiculation this is a better angle to see it
Have I done it right?

Also, has anyone had luck with Hydranges in large pots?

It doesn’t look to be more than an inch too low. If you’re worried, you could scrape the soil back a bit. Don’t even consider digging up and replanting! It’s something to be very careful about if you buy something that’s been grafted (most trees, roses, for example) as planting too low causes shoots to come up from the rootstock (“suckers”) which are more vigorous than your plant and will take over unless you religiously remove them when they appear.

Looking again, I think it will be fine. Did you firm the soil round the outside gently with your foot? (Just giving some of the standard planting instructions- much easier to learn when you’ve done the job 😀 )

I did it with the back of my spade. But I might just scrape back a little bit to be on the safe side. I think there needs to be an idiots manual for people like me 😂
It said everywhere to dig a hole at the depth of the pot. Never mentioned that it should be planted at the same depth where the soil in the pot comes up to

I have one which did well - a macrophylla type, though it needs repotted (or most likely planted in the ground now,mist not getting much bigger…

Another potted one was eaten down to the roots by my dogs 🤦‍♀️

I'm glad to hear it did well. When I looked online it said the pot should be approx 18inch - 20inch in diameter do will be on the hunt for one this weekend

It said everywhere to dig a hole at the depth of the pot. Never mentioned that it should be planted at the same depth where the soil in the pot comes up to I think that’s what they mean by “the depth of the pot”. 😀 I agree that, taken literally, it’s confusing.