I got a nice 5 gal. specimen from Gledhill and put it right by the garage door to eventually climb up over the pergola. And after 10 years it finally did!
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| 7/15/16 |
It took some doing to reach that stage after 10 years. A mature plant can reach over 60 feet!
It blooms beautifully in early June, but because I am constantly trimming and pruning it, there are only a few flowers on the back side, away from where I have tried to shape it.
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| 6/2/13 |
In winter the peeling reddish bark and twisty branches are nice, especially right by the garage door where they can be seen. So I keep the lower stems pruned to show the bark.
Flowers are like lace cap hydrangea, but not very profuse or showy. They come out in June, then sporadically through the summer.
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| In the beginning -- first season: 6/14/06 |
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| 5/2/15 |
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| 5/3/15 |
I want to expose the peeling bark on the lower limbs, so since 2015 I have been pruning away leaves below, but each year it fills in.
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| 5/30/15 |
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| 11/4/16 |
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Here is the example of what I am going for with my climbing hydrangea. This was a mature one I saw on a Simsbury garden tour in 2011. Notice how the stems on the far right have been pruned up so they are exposed, and only a few have been selected, the other profuse canes have been cut back.
