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Oakleaf Hydrangea 'Munchkin, my dog broke the budding wood stem from last year

HotchocolateloverHotchocolatelover Posts: 68
in Problem solving
can anyone advise if I have lost the plant or can I re plant the broken wood stem with the buds in the the soil. any help would be gratefully received. thank you.
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  • Jess is in the GardenJess is in the Garden Posts: 1,022
    edited April 2019
    You have nothing to lose by trying! Give it a good, clean cut at the base of the stem and be sure to have it at the edge of the pot you use. Good luck  :) Dogs eh!
  • HotchocolateloverHotchocolatelover Posts: 68
    thank you Jess, will try my plant is in ground and hope for best. can you advise what will happen to the rootball that is in the ground will this still grow next year? I planted it last spring. they are dwarf hydrangeas and hard to find anywhere. if you can help with any advice I be grateful.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 53,942
    edited April 2019
    It largely depends on how well grown the original plant is,  and the general size etc.
    If it was tiny,it might struggle, but as long as there's a decent enough shrub there, it should recover and grow.
    Do you have a photo?
    Also - the broken stem- make sure you've removed any excess foliage etc from it and made clean cuts above and below joints. That will encourage it to root. Keep it in a sheltered spot away from the excesses of the weather. Not too big a pot for it either - just big enough to hold it. It'll take a while though. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 10,915
    If your dog just snapped the top off, the hydrangea will probably send up new shoots from the base if the crown of the plant is ok.
    Good idea to try with a cutting too, I find they take quite easily.
    You may get 2 plants for the price of one.

    I have a similar problem - from autumn through early spring my dog is allowed on the borders, now it's time to try and keep her off again until autumn - it takes a while and there are always some losses, but by summer she's got the idea.
    I thought my 8 Karl Forester grasses were dying, then I noticed the munch marks!!

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • HotchocolateloverHotchocolatelover Posts: 68

    that's exactly whats happened he snapped off the top, we only had our English male bulldog who 3 for 3 days so he exporing his world. I have put metal fencing up around the whole border but he got through some how. we need to keep a close eye on him. I will post a photo soon its so cold out today in North London. but the rootball came in 5 litre pot last spring and I can see the wood where is been sliced off. will I get flowers this year? I have replanned the snapped off wood back in the rootball as there is loads of buds on it so don't want to take all that off tbh.


  • HotchocolateloverHotchocolatelover Posts: 68
    omg dogs they are so smart eh. good idea about chicken wire, that is exactly what I did not with dog in mind but the dam grey squirrels that will run wild in few weeks but now we have George maybe not! they listen to him with one bark they gone.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 10,915
    If it was is a 5L pot it'll be well established. I would be surprised if it doesn't sprout from the base, but I think it unlikely you'll get flowers this year I'm afraid unless there are other stems, but by next year it will have made up and and be doing well.

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • HotchocolateloverHotchocolatelover Posts: 68
    This is photos of how it looks now 
  • HotchocolateloverHotchocolatelover Posts: 68

  • HotchocolateloverHotchocolatelover Posts: 68

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