Hydrangea both this and other types

none of my hydrangea's flowered very well this year they vary in age from 1 to 4 years , we are changing the garden around this year and moving to another part of the garden, south part under trees, do I need to watch for anything particular ? , I am adding quite a lot of Loam topsoil in the new part.

Re: Hydrangea both this and other types

Reply from Valerie Munro

Hi Jospehine

There are two main reasons for a non-flowering hydrangea. The first is that you have pruned it rather late in the year, thereby removing the (unseen) flowerbuds for the following year.

The second, and more fundamental cause, is that the plant is running short of the vital nutrient potassium. Many of the garden fertlisers contain an equal ratio of NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium). All pack must display the ratio on the side of the pack and you should be looking at a product that contains almost twice (at least) the amount of potassium as nitrogen.

The one product that I advocate is called Westland 'Nutri' - the nutrient balance is perfect and what's more being a slow release product, one application will last for 6 months - every time the plant is watered or it rains, a little of the nutrient is fed in.

When moving the plant, make sure that you dig the destination hole first, so that when you lift it you can pop it in straight away thereby lessening the risk of roots drying out. I am now putting small amounts of watering retaining crystals in planting holes - a couple of teaspoons well mixed into the bottom soil will suffice.

I hope that this helps
Auntie Planty
@THEauntieplanty on twitter