QUESTION: =93I have two hydrangea plants that grow every year in a sunny location, with large bright green leaves. The plants never make flowers, however, even though the woman who gave them to me years ago took the small plants from her garden where she had many flowering specimens.
=93At the end of the summer, I have those long spikes which I carefully protect through the frosty winter, but by spring they are dried up and appear dead. As the new leaves start to grow, I lose hope and cut the pale spikes down. Most of the time, the deer eat the tops anyway. Any hope? Should I transplant them?=94 =96 Faith Gitlow
ANSWER: Hydrangeas can be tricky. According to the experts at
A late spring freeze arrives and ruins the developing bloom buds. Improper pruning. Planted in wrong zone. If you have had the bad luck to plant a hydrangea that has not bloomed after the first year you planted it, you may finally have to concede that this particular variety is not cold hardy in your area.
If you go to their Web site you can find more information about all kinds of hydrangea problems.
QUESTION: =93I have a problem with my blossoming Kwanzan cherry tree. The leaves are turning brown and falling off. Is it dying? I live in the California sierra foothills (elev. 1500ft.). It can get very hot during the summer months. The tree is planted in the middle of my lawn on an island of top soil with 2" of wood mulch on top. The island is about a foot and a half high and less as it spreads out.
=93I water about every other day for 20 minutes at 4am. There are plants and flowers around it but not any closer than 2 ft. It also has new growth coming in. I just don't get it! Do you have any ideas?=94 =96 Dan Buchholz
ANSWER: Over the past four years or so, flowering cherry (and other varieties including birches) trees have been going dormant earlier and earlier each year where we live here in Tennessee which is zone 7. For the most part, it is attributed to the lack of rainfall (actual drought some of the years).
Around early to mid August, they begin to lose their leaves. Their coloring doesn=92t fade to a lovely fall color, just brown. As long as there are no other issues with the tree, I would say it is the same problem. Cheryl and I have been receiving many emails this summer concerning trees doing this.
QUESTION: =93For the past three seasons my pin oak trees have lost their leaves in August. The leaves turn translucent first before falling from the tree. I have used an insect treatment that you add to water and pour at the base of the tree for the past three years and it doesn=92t seem to help. In the spring and during the summer the trees are full of leaves but in August they turn white and fall off the tree. The trees are 30 to 40 feet tall (I have two of them on the west side of my home).=94 =96 Susie Brown
ANSWER: Here is a link to the University of California at Davis Extension site with an article on diagnosing oak tree diseases.
If you can=92t figure it out with the article, contact your local agricultural extension agent for their opinion and how to proceed. To find the Extension Service nearest to you, visit this Web site:
The Plant Man is here to help. Send your questions about trees, shrubs and landscaping to snipped-for-privacy@landsteward.org and for resources and additional information, including archived columns, visit www.landsteward.o= rg