August 10, 1951 
should not be made after mid-Au- 
gust as they do poorly after that 
date, 
After the cuttings are rooted they 
should be potted to a soil that is low 
in nitrogen, in small-size pots in a 
shaded greenhouse. A good soil mix- 
ture should consist of two parts 
loam, one part well rotted cow 
manure, one part sand if the soil is 
heavy, and one part peat if needed. 
To this add a 4-inch pot of super- 
phosphate, a 24-inch pot of murate 
of potash and a 24-inch pot of cal- 
cium sulphate to a wheelbarrow of 
soil. The pH should be about 6-6.5. 
Soil mixture: Our soil is a light 
sandy loam. No matter how hard it 
would rain one day we could work 
the ground the next if the sun shone, 
and there would be no danger of 
lumping. To this soil we add well 
rotted cow manure to give it some 
body and to help build it up. The 
manure is added several months in 
advance. At potting time we add 
bone meal and horn shavings, plus 
the proper fertilizers, to get the de- 
sired nutrient levels. We add nitro- 
gen as needed through the summer. 
Our soil and climate must be just 
right for hydrangeas. All we do is 
pot them up and let them grow. 
After the danger of frost in the 
spring, the 2- or 3-inch plants should 
be taken outside and shifted to larg- 
er pots that the plants are to be 
grown in during the summer. Re- 
member that larger size pots need 
some type of drainage. Pot to the 
same type soil as mentioned before 
except for the addition of nitrogen. 
During the growing season, hy- 
drangeas will need additional feed. 
About every two weeks from mid- 
July through August, feed with h- 
quid ammonium sulphate at the rate 
of three pounds to 100 gallons of 
water or one ounce to two gallons. 
Add a complete fertilizer if neces- 
sary once or twice as the soil re- 
quires. Use a 15-30-15 mixture at the 
rate of three pounds to 100 gallons 
of water. If the plants develop chlo- 
rosis, the usual way to correct this 
condition is by adding iron sulphate 
at the same rate. 
The success of field-grown hy- 
drangeas depends largely on ade- 
quate rainfall and moderate heat in 
the summer. They are hard to prop- 
erly feed and just do not do as well 
as pot-grown plants. 
Pinching: Pinch in late June to 
early July in this section. Top Mer- 
veille, Strafford, Dundalk and the 
like early—June 20. Gertrude Glahn, 
Altoona, Europa, Hamburg, and the 
ranker growing “varieties should be | 
topped about July 1, no later. The 
time of pinching depends on the lo- 
cality, but the time should not vary 
much more than a week from North 
to South. The important thing to re- 
member is to pinch early enough to 
produce enough growth before bud 
set in the fall. Pinch as low as pos- 
sible, leaving two sets of leaves if 
practical. This will give the plant 
enough lateral buds to break with 
two to four shoots. 
Watering: It is most important to 
have an adequate watering system. 
Hydrangeas require lots of water. 
Plunge the pots to reduce drying 
out, but be very sure that the soil is 
well drained. Hydrangeas need 
water but they cannot stand wet 
feet. Use raised beds of cinders or 
sand to plunge the pots in unless 
your soil is extremely well drained. 
Our soil is very well drained and 
our plants are never overwatered. If 
your plants are off-color and stunt- 
ed, especially after a rainy spell, it 
just might be that the pots are prac- 
tically sitting in water. 
Water freely until about the end 
of September then taper off. Try to 
water just enough to keep them 
from wilting. 
Don’t take a chance on frost. Pro- 
tect your hydrangeas before the 
danger of frost. The best storage is a 
dark storage with a temperature 
range of 35 to 40 degrees F. or as 
near as possible. Keep your soil 
moist, not wet, in storage. Avoid 
drying as this will cause shrivelling 
of the buds. Allow plenty of air cir- 
culation to help prevent fungus. 
Spray or dust hydrangeas in storage 
with Fermate, Zerlate or Parsate. 
We have had best results with Zer- 
late. 
When poinsettias are moved out 
of the houses at Christmas time, 
Dec. 20-24, move the hydrangeas in. 
Start them off at 50 to 56 degrees F. 
night temperatures for about two 
weeks, then raise the temperature to 
60 degrees. 
If you buy your hydrangeas from 
a specialist, get them when they are 
dormant, already to start to force. 
It may be best to put these plants 
back to the same size pots in order 
to let the roots get started to grow 
before shifting them to the finish- 
ing size. 
If they are shifted at once, then 
try a light crushing of the dirt ball 
before potting. This will help it to 
take up water more readily. The 
hard dirt ball on the dormant plant 
may shed water and only the added 
soil around the ball may get wet 
when you first water, making it 
SOUTHERN FLORIST AND NURSERYMAN 85 
soaking wet while the original ball 
is still dry. Naturally the roots are 
not going to want to reach out into 
this soaking wet soil. To help avoid 
this condition, try soaking the dor- 
mant ball in a bucket of water be- 
fore potting it up. This way very 
little water will be required and the 
plants will get off to a better start. 
Never let hydrangeas dry out or 
they will burn. Try to anticipate 
their needs and water accordingly 
in the morning. Ventilate as much 
as possible, even leave a crack of air 
on cold nights. At 60 degrees F., 
flower buds should show eight 
weeks before sale. 
Fertilizing: It may be advisable 
to pot to a soil that is low in nitro- 
gen and add a complete fertilizer 
when the plant is growing and put- 
ting out new roots. Try using 15- 
30-15 liquid fertilizer or, whenever 
practical, have your soil tested and 
add the fertilizer as required. We 
use Electra in the dry form, adding 
a thimbleful to a 5-inch pot every 
ten days until the color shows. By 
using a thimble you can get a more 
consistent application with dry fer- 
tilizers. The Electra works ideally 
with our soil mix and we get excel- 
lent results. Always remember never 
to apply any fertilizer to a plant 
when the soil is dry — moisten it 
first and then apply the fertilizer. 
The best clear pink color is ob- 
tained when the pH is 6.0 or a little 
over and the nitrogen in the soil is 
optimum. If there is too much afum- 
inum in the soil, add superphosphate 
to help tie it up. 
For blues, add aluminum sulphate 
at the rate of one pound to five gal- 
lons of water and water this on 
three to seven times, as needed. If 
your water is alkaline, use 1ron sul- 
phate to counteract it. 
Keep red-spider, aphids and fun- 
gus controlled. Use Parathion aero- 
sol or spray for red-spider and 
aphids, and use Zerlate for fungi. 
Remember that the best hydran- 
geas come from those that are prop- 
erly cared for, well watered, well 
fed and free of insects and fungus. 
Reprinted from the 
Southern Florist and Nurseryman, ' 
Box 765, 
Fort Worth, Texas 
