Question
I bought a home and moved in during the month of August.  The Hydrangea Plant in the yard (south side) had beautiful blue blooms.  The following year, the plant was huge and gorgeous but no blooms.  I let the sticks alone did not cut back (during the fall) and then in spring cut the bush back to the ground.  The leaves were great but no flowers.  I did fertilize the lawn did that prevent blooming?  I did not fertilize the plant. Any tips?  What do I need to do to get the large blue flowers back?  Thank you.


Answer
Hi Joanie,
Thanx for your question.  You should only prune a flowering bush after it flowers or in the case of one that did not flower, prune it in the late summer or early fall.  Use Miracid or some other acidic fertilizer for your plant as these are acid-loving plants.  Make sure the plants are kept watered and not subject to drought.  If you fertilized the lawn and the fertilizer was high in Nitrogen (which is usual for lawn fertilizers) this will induce more green growth and less flowering and could very well have caused the problem of no blooming.  Use the Miracid as directed on the box and kee the plant well watered and keep the grass fertilizer off of it.  I hope this helps.
Tom