Hidden Hydrangea blooms

nigewalker

As per the photos, I have a Hydrangea (mop head I think) where the blooms are hidden behind other very leafy stalks and I suspect this is probably down to my "care & maintenance" but would appreciate any advise please on how I might better look after them and ensure the blooms are more visible in future.

To me, the blooms look very healthy and are the biggest I have seen on this particular plant. I have fed it well this year and did prune in the spring but wonder if I could have done something better?

A different Hydrangea (not sure this is a mop head, see below) immediately adjacent to this one has also bloomed as well as ever this year, albeit only lately (September) and still not finished. Again fed well and pruned in Spring.  These blooms don't look as "full" and I'm not sure if this is the type of Hydrangea or again something I could have done better.

All advice to these novice green fingers is very welcome.

JennyJ

The second one looks like a lacecap.

Not sure about the hidden blooms. Possibly pruned hard or late so the new shoots haven't flowered yet, and the flowers are on stems that weren't pruned? Mopheads flower on the previous summer's growth so you only need to prune to just below the old flowers from the previous year (unless you are renovation pruning, in which case you'd be giving up flowers for that year). More info here https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/hydrangea/pruning-guide.

Fairygirl

You said you had fed it a lot @nigewalker . I think that might be part of the problem, unless there's been the pruning that @JennyJ mentions. It's possibly created a lot of foliage, which has simply overtaken the flowers. That can depend on what you're feeding it with.  A higher nitrogen product can do that - seaweed for example. 
Hydrangeas don't usually need much food if the soil's in good condition, so it's always better to just add lots of organic matter- compost/rotted manure/bark/leaf mould etc. That gives them a good balance. 

nigewalker

Thank you both for your suggestions. I think I will be a little less "robust" with my next prune and probably feed a little less next year

AnniD

My MIL's hydrangeas were always pretty spectacular, the secret is to only feed once with seaweed feed just after pruning apparently. No more food after that.

ViewAhead

Yes, I feed my hydrangeas once a yr in spring, with slow release granules, and they seem to like this routine.