Hydrangea Aspera Villosa

owendelacey

Hello all,

I planted a fairly large pot grown hydrangea in spring this year, it was quite leggy and one of the 3 stems needs support to stop it drooping.

I am in East Anglia where rain has been very limited throughout the hot summer.  It hasn't flowered but I'm happy to be patient until next year.  I'm only wondering if I have planted it in the wrong place?  It is in a fairly shady border and gets maybe 4-5 hours of sun a day.

I have watered it regularly as it's leaves soon tell me if it's thirsty, but I did neglect it maybe a few days and the leaves shrivelled up!  Not sure if that contributed to it not flowering?

Also what would people recommend regarding its height?  It is nearly 6 foot tall, but there is very little width.  It's a little awkward looking.  Should I chop it down in spring and hope it will bush out some more?

Thank you in advance for any help you can offer.

Owen.

Fairygirl

I'd definitely cut it back in spring, as it shouldn't be that height with so little width. It's probably been struggling for quite a long time.
Shady is perfect for it, but when you water, make sure you water properly - not a little amount. A good bucketful at the base, and then do the same a few days later. It will drop leaves, because it's still under stress, but I wouldn't worry too much about that.
Hopefully, you prepared the newplanting hole with good compost/manure etc. They need good moisture retentive soil to do well. Don't feed it either, as thatwill cause more problems with leggy growth. Leave that till you prune in spring, and it should hopefully have recovered well by then.  

owendelacey

Thanks Fairygirl, I'll definitely cut it back then next year.  I bought it from a garden centre, it was a bigger shrub than I really wanted but they knocked some money off so I was persuaded.  It had probably been in it's pot for many years.  
Thanks again, Owen.

Fairygirl

They're pretty tough, so I'd say it'll be fine. Difficult without seeing it of course.
Bear in mind that they get big, so make sure it has room to fill out. You could take the stems back a little bit to help with it's transplant, but give it a couple of weeks to see how it establishes.
The winter weather will help it settle in, and it should be raring to go next year