Gardening information for zone 6 Ohio in neutral clay soil. The backbone of my gardens Hosta, Heather,
Heuchera, flowering shrubs, perennials, ground covers, conifers, and trees.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Hydrangeas Smoketree Golden Spirit Mums

September 2011 and gardening has been an experience this summer. We did finally luck out and get a drenching rain last week but immediately went back in to dry mode here and in the 90's again with 97 by Friday. They are predicting mid 70's next week, just in time for me to get my new tree planted.

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A lot of people have commented about the Chrysanthemums from previous posts. First I do not pinch them back ever. I let them grow as big as they want. I've been very fortunate on the pink which I have had many years and always have the first bloom by July 1st, the others the beginning of August. My Yorkshire Terrier Pagan stopping to sniff the blooms. Why she would want to sniff a Mum is beyond me, but that's a dog for you. The Mums will have to be divided next Spring. They have gotten way too wide for the space I have allotted them in my Family Garden.

I have a few other colors that I transplanted in May right before the heatwave hit, so they are alive but not blooming yet. I believe they are in decent shape otherwise and should overwinter and bloom fine next year. I've found that you can not cut them down to the base in the fall like so many of my other perennials. When I do cut back I leave atleast 4 inches of stalks to protect them although some people leave them and do the cutting back in early spring. I also find that dividing should be done in the spring by April for the best shot of survival.

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In just a few weeks you can already see the Hydrangea Vanilla Strawberry pinking up on this bloom and you can see two more blooms coming in on the left. I just have a really good feeling this is going to be a big bloomer for me when it grows up and fills in. You can see a Hydrangea Limelight behind it in this photo.

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The Hydrangea Limelights are really looking beautiful in full bloom. This one is located elsewhere in the yard.

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My new shrub I got last week. This is a Cotinus Coggygria Ancot common name Golden Spirit Smoketree. I love the looks of this shrub. When mature and filled in it will be mostly a golden color and some day the plumes a pinkish shade. It was hard even locating one of these and I was ready to order online when a local nursery found one and I lucked out with 30% off which was nice since it's not a cheap one to buy. I vacillated on where to put it. I wanted it in two different spots with it's golden color but really only wanted one shrub. I would have loved it in the corner of my yard where my Viburnum is since I have a Norway Weeping Spruce in front of the Viburnum and the golden shrub would have made my spruce stand out, but I went to dig up that Viburnum and hit the driest dirt possible. Well decided that I wasn't digging up something that does that well in that location and decided to put this in the other spot that really was choice for me to look at. I removed two Hydrangea Quickfire to plant this in it's new location. Relocated one Quickfire elsewhere in the yard and sent the other to my brothers.

This backline has been pretty bare this year. I dug up and moved all my Lavender because they weren't located right between all the shrubs and centered them better. Should have done this when I decided to do flowering shrubs as the backbone a couple years ago but didn't. I did lose most of the Lavender when the heatwave hit right after transplanting. I did save a few and decided to add a few other things down the backline instead of all Lavender. Those should all be coming in decently next Spring and that area looking better for me hopefully.

45 comments:

Bella's Rose Cottage said...

It seems everyone has had a weird weather year, here dry and cool....
Your sweet Pagan in her pink dress by the mums is beautiful, I never thought to divide Mums, thanks for the info!
Bella

Diana LaMarre said...

those mums are just beautiful!

Your new Golden Spirit Smoketree sounds like an interesting shrub.
I googled it and found out the leaves turn a bright orange/red in autumn. It sounds like a winner!

ANGEL said...

love the mums! beautiful color and cute dog too! happy gardening!
~ANGEL

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

Those mums are wonderful as are the hydrangeas.

I have a feeling most of us will be really happy to see this summer over with.

Have a great weekend ~ FlowerLady

Christine @ Stonehouse Living said...

Hi Cher,

What a fine addition to your garden!
Your hydrangea blooms are just lovely...

Hopefully fall will bring some nice gentle rains.

All the Best,
Christine

HolleyGarden said...

Your plants look very happy. Love that hydrangea vanilla strawberry! This is a new one to me, but it looks gorgeous! I love smoketrees, too. Didn't know there was a gold one!

Kingdom said...

I would love to have a smoke tree, but it is not available in our side of the planet. :) Having seen photos of Cotinus, I bet yours will grow into one great tree!

Lona said...

Cher your Mums are so pretty. Always before I pinched my Mums back but this year I have some I pinched back and some I did not and I believe the ones I just left grow are much better.So I think I will just stop wasting my time and let them grow from now one. LOL!
I have not saw the Golden Smoke Tree before. The blooms against those leaves will be gorgeous.
I am so disappointed in my Vanilla Strawberry hydrangea this year. It is new but it is also just hanging on and not growing much at all. Did you see very much growth in yours? I love the changing of the color in yours to pink.

Malay-Kadazan girl said...

Your mums is gorgeous!

scottweberpdx said...

Love those pink Mums...so pretty...I really need to find a good one this fall...maybe I'll find one similar!

Mom Does Reviews said...

Gorgeous mums! Cute pup too!
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Malar said...

All the plants are looking good! Nice shot of little pagan with the mums!

dorothy said...

Pagan is dressed to complement the mums! What a cute dog. Your limelite hydrangea looks great. That's one I would like to have but not sure where I could put it!

Rebecca said...

I DID "remember" to cut my mums back around the 4th of July as some recommend. Perhaps that (coupled with the dry heat) is why they are leggy this year. I've very disappointed. I have a couple that are huge and will need transplanted, too. Thanks for sharing your tips.

And oh, a smokebush! I can't wait to see your "smoke". Gary and I both like these every time we see them somewhere.

Diane at My Cottage Garden said...

It's interesting that you don't pinch back your mums. I'm sorry I've gotten behind in commenting. Life is in the way of blogging. LOL.

I will catch up properly next week.

Have a great weekend, Cher.

Diane

VandaQC said...

What beautiful flowers and nice dog!
Unfortunately I do not understand English, but I sense your heart is in your photos!
Happy after
Vanda ( Italia )

Maura @ Kisiwa Creek Photography said...

Hi Cher!
Your gardens look wonderful...wish mine looked this good but then it's been a very hot dry summer here in Kansas too. I've lost at least 6 plants and I'm going to have to move my 3 hydrangea as the place I chose was just too sunny for them. The triple digit heat didn't help either which started right after I planted them. LOVE your little Pagan's outfit! I hope you enjoy a wonderful Labor Day weekend!
Maura :)

Patsy said...

Looks like your flowers and plants or doing great.

Liz @ Sit With Me In My Garden said...

Hi- I've never heard of the Vanilla Strawberry hydrangea..I'll have to look it up! I enjoyed watching some videos on Youtube about caring for the different hydrangeas. I have a PeeGee hydrangea tree form that only bloomed a bit this year. It seems as though these guys like to be trimmed and then the new growth will produce the flowers! I've never seen a smoke tree in that color...sounds like it will be very interesting to see when it starts to bloom! Your Yorkies are cuties! Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Anonymous said...

Looks good. I might have to get one of those gold smoketrees. It would look really good close to my purple one.
Ohio Outdoors

kitchen flavours said...

Your mums are really so beautiful, gorgeous colour! Your little doggie has great taste! :)
Your new shrub sounds nice with your description, a plant that I would definitely love. Hope it thrives well and grow healthy! Have a lovely weekend!

b-a-g said...

I've never seen a display of mums like that before. No wonder little Pagan is impressed.

Pinecone Stew said...

Have a SUPER weekend !

Sissy said...

I love the smoke bush! I hope it grows quickly for you and you get those plumes sooner than later!
I always enjoy seeing one of your dogs in the photos!

Carolina said...

Hi Cher, your dog Pagan sniff the flowers, sweet love!
You know? Here, spring is coming and everything is sprouting, green, pink, yellow ... butterflies start again decorate all around ... The best time of year is coming pretty!
Hugs.

Debs Dealz said...

Adorable pup!!! Needs to be in a contest! :-)

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Annie said...

I planted a red smoke bush last year, and am looking forward to that shooting out any minute now. Are those hydrangeas the Oak Leaf variety? I have never heard of the lime light one. I have a lime light salvia and that is so so pretty.

Unknown said...

What a gorgeous garden!

Stopping by from the SSS!

~your newest follower

You can find me at www.theclumsycoquette.com

Iowa Gardening Woman said...

Your mums are beautiful! And your little pup in her cute outfit matches them perfectly. Mums do not do well for me, I have lots of asters........

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The Sage Butterfly said...

Lovely blooms, especially the chrysanthemum. The form and color are stunning. This is my first year growing the Vanilla Strawberry hydrangea. The blooms first showed well, but then started to turn brown. Do you have this problem? My Limelights do not have this problem.

Garden Lily said...

Yes, on the west coast, we had the reverse weather - we finally got a couple of weeks of decent summer weather, and now it's almost Fall! I love the smoketree too, I have a purple one. You won't be disappointed.

pam said...

We finally got some rain - too much actually. It's feast or famine with rain! Thanks for linking up!

The Darby Creek Diaries said...

Lovely mums. I never seem to have any comeback the next year. (Or maybe I forget about them and weed them LOL---nah, hardly ever feel like weeding!

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DeniseinVA said...

Loved my visit today, your flowers are lovely.

Kippy Marrie said...

Olá amiguinha...
É meu ANIVERSÁRIO e estou muito feliz. Venha ao meu blog para dar os parabéns e ver meu bolo, voce vai gostar. Espero voce com grande alegria.
Seu blog continua lindo.
Aus 1000 com amor...

KIPPY

StoBlogger said...

I'm so ready for it to cool off some more so I can divide and conquer some of my sprawling plants. lol. I've never had much luck with growing mums for some reason. Yours are beautiful--I love the vibrant pink color.

Rosor och Pioner said...

Hallo Cher
Hope you´re fine. Your mums are really very pretty with a gorgeous colour. Little Pagan is so cute and she seems like smelling on flowers..

Hugs
Susanne

Kit Aerie-el said...

Great shot of Pagan stopping to smell the mums! How funny she did that.
I just got a Limelight this year and love it. That Cotinus is now on my must-have list. It is sure to be a show-stopper! Very cool.

Unknown said...

Very interesting post Sunray Gardens and the flowers are so beautiful. By the way, Chrysanthemums are the birth flowers for my twin and me. I note that they are also called Mums! I have some flowers in my garden and do not know their names!:) Take care and have a great weekend.
Judy

Donna Heber said...

Cher,

Your pink mum is stunning! I have yet to find some good hardy mums that will come back nice after our winters. I tend to plant them as a seasonal item. Wonderful shot of your Yorkie!

Anonymous said...

stunning! your little pup is darn cute too!

enthusiastically, dawn said...

Beautiful pics. Following you from Tuesday Train- stop by and catch your breath sometime! I am at Beneath the Surface: Breath of Faith. Have a great week.

Anonymous said...

Your Hydrangeas look great! Mine never look like that. Great pictures. Thanks for sharing!