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How do I get my lace hydrangea to flower?
It flowered some when I bought it 10 years ago. I then planted it where it got quite a bit of sun; it got huge in size and it's leaves were beautiful but didn't flower. I split it in two last summer and relocated one to a site that gets morning sunlight and the other gets sunlight through midday but neither are flowering. A garden store told me to apply super phosphate and it would force it to flower; I did but it still hasn't flowered. Both plants are thriving in their new locations but they are flowerless.
Some varieties don't bloom year after year. The Mophead (rounded) varieties are notorious for not blooming year after year.
Also, a lack of blooms could be due to pruning at the wrong time.
Or...sometimes hydrangea will leaf out early in the spring during a warm spell and then get caught in a late spring freeze. If the new growth came only from the ground, then types of hydrange that blooms only on old wood will not bloom this year. In frost zones, winter protection & planting in an area away from drying winter winds helps.
The smooth hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens), bloom on new wood. Others, like some mopheads and many big-leaf hydrangeas (H. macrophylla) bloom on old wood, so any late-season (or fall or winter) pruning you do erases next year's flowers. The safest time to prune is right after flowering. Cut the spent blooms to the ground; then prune out any old, dead or weak shoots.
That advice about phosphate encouraging flowering is correct. It's ideal to use a fertilizer low in Nitrogen and with a Phosphorus content over 30. (An N-P-K ratio of 10-40-10 is ideal) & fertilize them regularly. Organic soil enriched with compost is best. If you're using store-bought fertilizers & you don't want to fuss with a scheduled feeding of fertilizer, you can also use a slow-release fertilizer like osmacote or use manure around your plants. Water on a consistent basis. Morning sun and afternoon shade is ideal. Too much shade will retard the development of flowers. Full sun can scorch the leaves so part sun to shade is best.
Here's the "official" care instructions for your lace cap hydrangea:
http://www.robertsonsflowers.com/Ask_the_Expert.asp
"Lace caps need a bit more sun than most Hydrangeas. Cut off old blooms when the blooms are faded. Don't cut the old wood however. Most Hydrangeas bloom on old wood from the previous year. Don't over fertilize. Use a time release plant food like Osmocote granular type. Just give it the right sun exposure, no hot noon summer sun they are best in morning and late afternoon sun. That is why the plant tags usually say "partial shade". Plant outside after May 15th (frost date) and it will come back every year."
Here's a forum discussing why Hydrangeas weren't blooming:
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/okgard/msg061400511787.html
Good luck! Hope this helps.
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