Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris

Hi there,

I recently purchased a [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris and it arrived in a 3 litre pot. Now I haven't planted it yet so I am wondering how I would plant it so it grows up against a 6ft high fence? Do I just plant it in a suitable size hole and angle towards the fence or does it need more support to get hold of like a trellis or wire?

Any advice would be great.

Thanks,

Jumanji
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It's a self clinger... so no need for wires or trellis...

They can be a bit slow settling in, but once they get going they're quite fast growing.

 

I put some thin willow trellis up for the first year or so as they seem to take a while to self cling. Once they grow up past the tellis (about 2/3 ft) then they seem to be fine attaching themselves to the wall. Once they no longer need tying, I then cut the willow trellis away in small sections until its completely gone ...... photos of mine:-

These are new ones I have planted this year so attached to trellis



Large one planted a couple of years ago with trellis now removed



You can just see on this photo the one nearest has one branch that is growing up past the trellis and is self clinging .... the rest is all attached with clips to aid it.




Hope this helps

 

I would suggest you help it at first as when it goes in it won't suck to the wall for a few weeks-a trllis in a good idea, although canes are just as effective if you use them to hold the plant against the wall ( rather than tie the plant to the cane or trellis). Especially if it is a waneylap fence as they tend to rock slightly in the winds, and keep it very well watered.

 

Thanks for that ...

This may sound like a dumb question but I take it I leave the cane that is curently attached to the plant in place to help support it?

 

Sam I noticed you have planted yours quite close to the wall ... did you lean it into the wall when you planted it?

 

I would leave the cane in until it has secured itself to the fence. In fact why not leave it there anyway-it will have grown over it by this tikme next yr.

I know you asked Sam but I would plant it away from the wall/fence and lean it into it-I firmly believe the reason these particular hydrangeas take a while to get established is because usually near a wall or fence the soil is relatively dry ( I know in certain circumstances it isn't-I mean in general) and it takes it's time whilst it's roots search out and find plenty of moisture. The further away from the wall/fence you originally plant it, the sooner it finds said moisture and then away it bolts.



I personally think the reason why Sams have been slow to take off is because they are planted close to the wall where it is particularly dry ( the footings of the exterior wall provide top notch drainage, but it is dry against an exterior wall)-they will take off, next year by the looks of them,-they are certainly healthy enough.


Sam,-are they all the same age plants-were they planted at the same time? If it is the case then the little red brick wall I imagine doesn't have the calibre of footings your exterior wall has-I will hazard a guess that that is why there is a difference between that particular plant and the two against the exterior wall. Of course I could be massively wrong-it wouldn't be the first time lol.

 

The large one (against red brick wall) was planted 2 - maybe even 3 ? year ago.

The little ones planted a couple of months ago.

Reason they are so close to the wall ........ 2 dogs that use that border as their poop area, so anything planted away from the wall gets sat on lol ...... they also use it as their 'run way' to race to the gate to bark at whoever is passing the back of the house, hence why nothing else is planted in front of these because it will either get squashed or ran over (been there and done it already and wasted a small fortune on plants that never survived the dogs!).

Like you say Claire, it may well be why they take so long to grow, although I do always water those plants well as was always aware they would be dry, and they were planted as far away from the wall as possible on an angle so the branches are sat on the wall but the roots further away (if that makes sense) .... but sadly with two dogs, you kinda have to do whats best for them sometimes

My latest plants (the two expensive jasmines) will also get planted well against the wall - is the only way of ensuring anything's survival lol

 

Well, other than they may take a little while longer, it's safe to say they aren't actually suffering-they look in good health-not suffering from being where they are at all.

 

yes took me a long time to learn that planting anything further forward was just never going to work! They wouldnt look so healthy .... more squashed and broken lol

 

Thanks guys

 

jumanji, does it have to grow up your fence, or do you have a large available wall anywhere? These are a bit slow to get going for the first couple of years...but just one plant will eventually cover a wall! I think they're hard to beat for a north facing wall. As the plant matures, it clings well and will bulk up year by year until it ends up sending flowers out to maybe a couple of feet from the supporting wall. You can cut back long growths after flowering. It is quite drought resistant, but as lollipop says, it wants planting away from the wall and watering till established if possible. I just worry that it may be a bit big and strong for your 6 foot fence! Julie

 

The fence is pretty sturdy ... its concreted in by massive posts.

 

I think it will be fine-the only concern would be fence wobble-it could shake off the stems as it grows up it and tries to sucker onto it, and as long as it is either pressure treated or you have treated the wood yourself it will be fine I think.

 

If you look here you will see how I have planted these - feedback welcome:

http://www.gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/showthread.php/have-planted-these-23244.html?t=23244