84 SOUTHERN FLORIST AND NURSERYMAN: 
Hydrangeas—How to 
Grow Them 
With: notes on varieties, watering, fertilizers, fempera- 
ture, disease control, pinching and propagating 
By JOSEPH S. MERRITT, Jr. 
E ARE hydrangea specialists, 
NY forcing only a few into flower 
each year so that we can know va- 
riety, color and characteristics. For 
the past two years we forced a large 
number of hydrangeas for the na- 
tional flower shows in Washington, 
D. C., in 1950, and Baltimore, Md.., 
in 1951. 
We are always looking for new 
varieties, trying to find better ones 
than are now available. Some of the 
new varieties that show promise 
have been imported from Europe 
and some were hybridized here in 
the United States. 
New varieties: We like Charm be- 
cause it grows well and is a good 
early forcing variety. It breaks nice- 
ly when topped and makes a nice 
compact plant. It forces easily, mak- 
ing a nice size flower head. Charm 
flowers with an outstanding bril- 
liant color, a good, deep pink. 
-Charming grows similar to Mer- 
ritt’s Beauty. It breaks well when 
topped and forces about mid-season. 
It is a nice, clear light pink that will 
blue nicely. 
Dixie grows well with nice heavy 
stems and produces large flower 
heads. It blooms a light pink and 
makes a blue about the shade of 
Niedersachsen. 
Drapes Pink branches well and 
grows easily. It is a good early 
forcer with good size flower heads. 
It is a clear pink about the shade of 
Rosabelle. 
Dundalk has wiry, tough stems 
that do not need stakes. It is a short 
grower and will not stretch if placed 
close together on the beds. Dundalk 
is a good Mother’s Day variety be- 
cause it holds dormancy well. It 
blooms with a good dark pink, per- 
haps a salmon color-~ 
Rose Supreme is also a good one 
for late flowering. It grows to a 
medium height with strong stems, 
and makes the largest flower heads 
Mr. Merritt presented this material at the 
Middle Atlantic Florists Association Convention 
in Richmond, Va., July 22-25. 
of any variety that we have seen. If 
grown properly the flower heads 
will mreasure a full 12 inches across. 
It is a very nice pink, perhaps 4 
shade lighter than Merveille, and 
blues very well, about the same 
color as Kuhnert. 
Southland grows and breaks well 
when topped. It flowers a nice dark 
pink with a good size flower head. 
Springtime, just a shade lighter 
than Southland, has a very pleasing 
eclor. It breaks nicely when topped 
and* grows to about a medium 
height. 
Joan Merritt is a new white. It 
is a sport of Merveille and is a 
whiter white than other ones. 
Benelux won the prize for the 
best hydrangea at the flower show 
at Gent, Holland, two years ago. It 
is reported to have an exceptionally 
large flower head. It is a good 
strong grower. 
The variety Bobby Merritt is a 
good clear pink with large florets; it 
makes a nice round flower head, 
and grows free and a little taller 
than Jean Merritt. 
Jean Merritt is a goad short grow- 
August 10, 1951 
er that will not stretch very much 
when crowded. It grows and breaks: 
well. The flower is of a good com- 
mercial size and is a pleasing dark 
pink. 
Growing hydrangeas: First make: 
sure to get the variety that grows 
best for you. Try these new ones as: 
they come out, but stick to your old 
stand-by’s until you are sure the new 
varieties will do a better job for you: 
under your growing conditions. 
H you propagate your own cut- 
tings, do not root the blind wood 
fronr your forcing stock. Instead, 
grow plants as stock plants; remove: 
the flowering buds while still dor- 
mant, and when they break out with 
new shoets you will get plenty of 
cuttings from a few plants. By do- 
ing this, you will be able to keep 
your varieties straight. 
When growing’ mixed varieties, 
blind wood cuttings may cause you: 
in a few years to increase the poor 
blooming varieties and decrease the: 
more desirable ones. Prune you 
forcing plants both in summer and 
fall to eliminate weak shoots and to- 
strengthen the flowering wood. In 
that way you should not have any 
blind wood; if you do get a few 
blind breaks from the bottonr of the: 
plant, they should not be allowed to: 
weaken your flowering shoots. Rub 
them off as soon as they appear. 
Leaf-bud cuttings are very good.. 
They will help you to get a volume: 
of cuttings from: your stock plants. 
all at one time. They root about as 
good as tip cuttings and will catch 
up and co as well as tip cuttings in 
cuttings 
a short time. Leaf bud 
The picture above is of a hydrangea garden prepared by the Merritt firm for the: 
recent National Flawer Show held in Washington, D. C. 
