Crazy weather. After two days of record setting warmth we have been plunged back to into the depths of winter tonight with a wet snowstorm covering the landscape. Yesterday the temperature reached a toasty 77° on our New Hampshire Seacoast, a record for the books! Of course, the ground was still frozen solid with piles of snow everywhere, but it was warm enough for mister gardener and me to take our meals outside for two days without coats….or sweaters!
Yesterday was also a good day to do a little yard work. Too soon for cleaning up borders but perfect time for pruning our 3-yr. old hydrangea arborescens ‘Incrediball’ shrubs. I left the flower heads on the shrub for visual interest in the fall, but they had become frazzled from winter weather.
The ‘Incrediball’ is an improvement of the old favorite ‘Annabelle’ hydrangea or the smooth leaf hydrangea because the stems are sturdier and the white blooms are much larger. (I am withholding judgement for one more season) Because it blooms on new wood, pruning can be done anytime from from the first frost to late winter so now, on this warm winter day, I chose to prune these shrubs.
I removed sick, dead, and crossed branches and shaped the shrub a little. Some experts advised cutting ‘Incrediball’ to the ground but I chose to leave about 2′. I cut out many of tiny branches, leaving the sturdier branches for support.
Looking at the same shrub through our screened window this afternoon, a whole different scene greeted us. It’s 27° now and that’s okay because it’s winter in New Hampshire and this is our norm. The unusual 77° we experienced yesterday was an anomaly but a sweet hint of spring, a gift that we greatly appreciated.
I can only imagine how much you enjoyed those two unseasonably warm days. 🙂 I will look forward to seeing how you like the Incrediball Hydrangea.
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It’s been two seasons and I’m under-impressed so far by the shrub. The flower heads are huge and heavy and do droop in heavy rains. Hoping the stems are sturdier as it enters the 3rd growing season.
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That’s quite a gear shift for temperatures! It’s been unusually cold here in California. Pretty pictures! 🙂
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I still prefer the more traditional hydrangeas. I got the press releases for this cultivar, but I would rather stick with the familiar. Besides, I do not expect hydrangeas to grow like the newer cultivars.
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I fell for the hype. If they don’t live up to their potential this summer, they are coming out.
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Some of the hype is justified. I thought that it was nice that they brought back flowering quince. I just do not want to be the first to try something new. I prefer the classics.
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My mind’s eye flashes back to my childhood and my mother’s wonderful quince. Glad it’s back and thornless.
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Thornless?! I did not know quinces were supposed to by thorny. They were not common here in our mild climate, and the most common one with the bright orangish pink flowers lacked thorns. Although I liked the color, I sort of thought that flowering quinces should look more frou frou, with lighter pink flowers like apple blossoms. Regardless, they are all classics.
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