A Climbing Hydrangea Not Opening Fully

Question

I am attaching photos of the hydrangea. It has been in this situation 6/7 years and each year it does the same. It produces lots of florets as can be seen, but only one or two of the florets actually open. It would be quite spectacular if we could get them all to perform. It is facing east and this photo was taken a 2.0pm so showing the amount of sunlight later in the day. We live on the Moray Firth midway between Aberdeen and Inverness and about 70 metres from the sea. The plant is fed fro time to time each season with liquid Phostrogen.

Answer 1

Hydrangea anomala subsp. Petiolaris is a hydrangea that produces lacecap form blooms. These blooms have a flat, disc shaped appearance, with large, white, sterile sepals/florets around the outside of the bloom and small fertile flowers inside the rest of the bloom. These blooms have white sepals (special leaves) that help attract pollinators to the fertile flowers in the center. Depending on the cultivar that one buys, it is possible to observe blooms with more or with less of the white sepals but, the sepals normally develop around the periphery only. I have observed that variegated cultivars of Petiolaris, like Miranda, tend to produce less of the white sepals but, it may also be possible to have less white sepals if the plant does not get a sufficient number of morning sun (is in bright shade all the time). Phostrogen has a NPK Ratio of around 16:20:24 (it varies a little) plus trace elements and can be used for all plants, in the garden, greenhouse and home. Consider applying it after all danger of late frosts has passed and stop using it about three months before your average date of first frost (the average date is around week 3-4 for Inverness)… so the plant will not be "actively growing" when the first frosts hit. Climbing hydrangea blooms on old wood.