Proper care for oakleaf hydrangea

Why does my oakleaf hydrangea not flower?

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**FULL QUESTION** Dear *Gardening Life*, I've had an oakleaf hydrangea for three full years. It is about five feet high and grows beautifully with large leaves but has never flowered. It is placed under large pines in a raised, west-facing bed that we amended with compost and garden soil. I am wondering if it is crowded because it is surrounded by quite a few other shrubs. What are your thoughts? *—Annie Young*

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**FULL ANSWER** Oakleaf hydrangea (*Hydrangea quercifolia*) can take a few years to start blooming so persistence should pay off. You don’t say if you’ve pruned it all, but oakleaf hydrangeas bloom on the previous year’s wood so pruning in fall, winter or early spring will remove flower buds. They don’t really need much pruning but any trimming should be done after flowering. Too much shade can lessen blooms, but your light conditions sound to be pretty good. Drought stress will also reduce flowering so make sure you give it consistent moisture, but not so it has wet feet. If you have severely cold winters, terminal buds may be killed off, resulting in no bloom. You’re right that hydrangeas don’t like being crowded, so perhaps you can prune back some of the surrounding shrubs to give it a bit more room. Give it an annual top-dressing of compost, and don’t use high-nitrogen fertilizer, even close by. Drift from high-nitrogen lawn fertilizer can result in lots of foliage but fewer flowers. Hope that helps! *—Karen York, Botanical Editor* Other questions recently answered by the GL team: Eliminating earwigs from clematis flowers Beetle damage to spruce trees Removing whiteflies from hibiscus leaves Building a cactus garden Maintaining redbud trees Maintaining Boston ivy growth Using black walnut leaves for mulch Stopping powdery mildew on maples Planting trees near a swale Growing on a septic field How to battle weeds between flagstone and alternative options Mysterious orange powder on the lawn What to do with end-of-season potatoes on the vine How to control Japanese knotweed What to grow in a dry area The proper way to plant astrantia What is the star flower and how do I manage it? How do I eliminate my ant problem? Preventing red beetles from attacking lilies Vine types to grow on a new pergola Maintaining purple fountain grass Keeping bougainvilllea healthy throughout the winer How to rid invasive green goutweed Good garden uses for fireplace ashes Growing grape hyacinth indoors The best way to convert a lawn into a meadow The proper way to grow rhododendrons Eliminating beetle damage to spruce trees Annual resembling Japanese maple Planting ivy near cedar trees In search of the 'Sundance Kid' sunflower Caring for canna bulbs A supplier for barren strawberry ground cover Winter care for roses Cutting back mauna loa The best time to harvest curly-leaf lettuce Eliminating invasive trumpet Caring for double-flowering hibiscus trees Eliminating white aphids from honeysuckle vine Where to purchase Japanese blood grass An alternative to rhododendrons Growing a vegetable garden over a septic field Dividing and replanting daylilies

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