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Dear Hydrangeas Enthusiasts,
Welcome
We're shipping three days a week and two days preparing for shipping three days a week. Hope that explains my delay in getting some news out to all you hydrangea lovers. Oh, and COVID-19 sure has caused major disruptions in all our lives. I can't tell you how many times I've started a newsletter this month only to be pulled away. Please stay safe!
Lots of buds happening on the hydrangeas and seeing some hydrangeas with some early blooms. We love Tovelitt, shown above.
What’s happening at Hydrangeas Plus®
Thank you for all your support of our nursery. As we start our 21st year of crazy spring shipping, it just feels a little bit different this year. Every hour seems to bring new rules and regulations. But also brings stories of people helping people.
We know the amount of information may feel overwhelming in regards to the Coronavirus (COVID-19), so we appreciate your support and taking the time to read our current status towards addressing the safety of our community as best we can at this time.
The health of our staff and customers is of utmost importance. In order to keep everyone as safe and healthy as possible, we are following the guidance of the Center for Disease Control and Oregon Health Authority. All staff are instructed to wash their hands continually and thoroughly throughout the day, all staff are instructed to clean and disinfect all counters and equipment after using or after any contact.
We will be keeping our regular shipping schedule throughout the week. Order now before the temperatures start rising and we run out of plants. Our plant selection for shipment or in-store/curb side pick up can still be found online at our website HERE. I'm trying to keep that as up to date as possible.
We are open by appointment with lots of social distancing space available. Please email kristin@hydrangeasplus.com or call 503-651-2887 to set up a time to come shop or to confirm our sale date.
Our serrata hydrangeas are beginning to bud up! Here is one of my favorites, Serrata Kirohumi with black stems!
Open dates this month?
We usually have our BIG BIG Annual Spring Sale at the nursery this month but unfortunately, we must cancel while our state is still under the stay home order. We will let you know if anything changes.
We hope to keep our annual Spring Fever Open House of May 23rd, 24th, and 25th here at the nursery as well but may shift to appointment only.
https://www.cascadenurserytrail.com/
Visit some of our members. Several do mail order as well.
I know this isn't hydrangea related but I'm also a crazy chicken lady in addition to a crazy hydrangea lady. Here are a few new additions to our flock of chickens. Rooster is a Buckeye, not sure of mom but both look like Buckeye chicks for now.
QUESTION & ANSWER
I'm getting a lot of good questions about hydrangeas, spring freeze and feeding, pruning, etc. Here's a few of my most common this month.
Q: Do I need to feed my hydrangeas anything right now when they are leafing out? What about feeding my blues to stay blue and my pinks to stay pink?
A: April is a good time to feed your plants with fertilizer or the amendments to make them more pink or more blue (well, as much as a particular cultivar can be deep pink or deep blue). If you want a dark blue blooming mophead, be sure to select one with rich colors to begin with. Those pale blue/pink cultivars will always be lighter in color.
We offer a bundle of any 3 amendments for $29.95. It saves you a few dollars. Click HERE to order. Be sure to tell me what you'd like otherwise we send one of each amendment.
We recommend a balanced, time-released fertilizer that slowly releases the nutrition with heat and/or water. We sell a good one that we love and use in our display garden! It is a 12-8-8 and is $6.50 for a two-pound bag. One bag will (approximately) feed 8 full grown hydrangeas, three times through the season.
Want that lush blue blooming hydrangea and your soil just isn't quite right? Try our Aluminum Sulfate "Blue". Again it is a two-pound bag and you should be able to get 8 full grown hydrangeas fed in one year. This may take several applications to get the desired color. We love this product as it is time released so the risk of aluminum toxicity is greatly reduced. NOTE - This product is not for use on indoor plants, just outdoor!
Lime for pink and red! Looking for something to help that blue hydrangea go back to purple or pink? Try some of our garden lime. This is a 4-pound bag and should give you two or three applications for 8 established hydrangeas. Remember, garden lime will dissolve quickly in water so if you have lots of precipitation, more applications will be necessary to achieve the desired level of pink!
Q: I didn't prune my hydrangeas last year. Am I too late to prune?
A: That depends on the types of hydrangea you have and at what stage they are in leaf. New wood blooming varieties in the Arborescens and Paniculata families can still be pruned. Wait until you see some buds forming and cut above one of those swelling buds.
Most hydrangeas bloom on the old wood so if you prune too much (or too late), you won't get blooms. Once your plant starts to leaf out and your last hard frost is about two weeks past, you can see the leaf nodes beginning to form. Count back from the end of the plant such that you have at least three fat and healthy leaf nodes forming. Prune right above the third one. You may want to wait until leaves are starting to show before you prune your macrophyllas/serratas so you don’t prune too much.
When in doubt, just leave the hydrangea alone. Pruning for shape can always be safely done right after blooming.
Q: We got an unexpected freeze last night. What do I do for my hydrangeas? They look awful.
A: Water, don't let them dry out. The freeze zapped moisture from the green parts of the plant so keep the roots hydrated. Hopefully the ground didn't freeze so the roots should be fine.
Cover them with a light sheet or bucket if you think you're going to get another one. Protect them from another frost!
When you are sure that the frost danger is over, fertilize (do you have anything with good nitrogen 'N' 10 up to 15). It's important to wait until the chance of freezing is past. Too much nitrogen will encourage new growth and that new growth is very susceptible to freeze damage.
Resist the urge to cut them back for now. You may need to do that but it may affect blooming so that's the last resort. The dead and dying foliage can help insulate the plant from further injury.
Free Shipping
For those of you unable to come to Oregon to pickup a hydrangea or three, we are offering for a limited time, free shipping off orders of $249 or greater. This offer is good through April 30th, 2020) and must ship before June 16th, 2020. This offer is only good to continental US addresses and not retroactive to orders placed before today. The discount is coupon code, FREE. You must have $249 of hydrangeas in your basket for the coupon to work.
Have a great spring and visit our Facebook page.
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Privacy Notice
You are receiving this mail because you are a valued customer of Hydrangeas Plusâ. If you feel you have received this e-mail in error or do not wish to receive future mailings, please hit the unsubscribe link below. With specific questions, please email me at info@hydrangeasplus.com.
Sincerely,
Kristin VanHoose
Hydrangeas Plusâ
http://www.hydrangeasplus.com
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