Hydrangeas

When planted, it was just a twig. 9+ years later, it still hasn't bloomed. Plant always looks healthy. I moved it about 2 weeks ago-where it was is getting repurposed so it either had to be moved or die. What do I need to do to get this plant to bloom?

They are the easiest. 2 things could be happening they flower on old wood. Are you pruning it,if so you might be cutting off buds. You might have a variety that is not good for your zone. I had one like that plant survived winter but flower buds always kill by frost. I needed later flowering for my zone. I love waiting till end of Oct when they are 75% off

I'm in zone 7b and after a harsh winter I can have a no bloom the following year if it hadn't had some winter protection. I never remove the flower heads until the following spring after danger of frost and then I just remove the spent blooms not cutting down any further. For those in colder zones or like me push the limit, you could try one of these..
http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=67846&cat=2,33141&ap=1
or buy a variety that blooms on new wood.
My latest addition is one that blooms on both old and new wood 'Miss Saori', a win, win, situation. Not my picture of the flowerhead but you can see how pretty this one is, added bonus is the burgundy foliage (my picture) in the spring following planting.

If you prune back hydrangeas other than just removing the old flower heads that only bloom on old wood you will be cutting off the blooms for the following year. Hope this helps.

Annette

Ditto on the late flowering variety. I squeeze out peaches from my tree but they do NOT care for Illinois, preferring the hot and dryer Georgia to produce and a higher zone number. There is an Illinois variety of Hydrangea called, " Annabelle " which was discovered by a U of Illinois Ag professor but FOUND in Southern Illinois. It still does pretty well here in the center of the state, but I woudn't recommend it to you bc of frosts killing the flower buds.
http://redeemyourground.com/favorite-late-blooming-hydrangeas/
I have seen limelight hydrangeas and they grow Chernobyl size huge!! Plenty of flowers and a late bloomer, but they are lime green, so you have to like that. The Angel's Blush probably looks closer to the classic hydrangea.

@aftermidnight , I really like Miss Saori, the burgundy foliage is the selling point for me, although the blooms are pretty too. I'm hydrangealess I just realized. I used to have several paniculatas that I moved into the shrub "border"
(which is code for the wild part of the landscaping off the lawn and into the woods), but I am notorious for forgetting to water that sort of out of bounds place and they must have succumbed.

Seed, why in the world would you wait nine years (nine !) for a hydrangea to bloom? Don't you know they still stock those at nurseries? C'mon little bro, get with the program here!

The new varieties, as already mentioned bloom on old and new wood and there are some beautiful models that plant breeders have excelled at. If your area is brutal for hydrangeas, I recommend the paniculatas, they are the most winter hardy, although Annabelles also seem to thrive well here. They have come out with some nice pastels in Annabelles too.

@ducks4you funny I am not a fan of green flowers but I love my 3 limelights. They where $2.50 end of season, even still had their labels rare at clearance.

Nyboy said:

@ducks4you funny I am not a fan of green flowers but I love my 3 limelights. They where $2.50 end of season, even still had their labels rare at clearance.

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I'm not a fan of green flowers either, but for $2.50 I could be persuaded if you know what I mean.

Why3 years? I bought it and planted it (along with other plants) on a hill that couldn't be mowed. Had hoped it would bloom but otherwise it served its purpose. Now we are going to do something else with the hill.

Thank you for all your replies. Your answers explains ALL my problems. It dies back every winter and comes back from the roots. Explains why it never blooms. Sold to me as good for my area but obviously NOT.

Would you like some cuttings. Suppose to root real EZ. I can get some artic like winters and mine still bloom.