HYDRANGEA

 Chapter: Entheogens

AKA: Hydrangea arborescens, hydrangea paniculata grandiflora, seven barks, wild hydrangea.

Effects: A pleasant, marijuana-like high accompanied by a slight feeling of drunkenness.

Precautions: Contains a cyanide-like compound which can result in death.

Dosage: No more than one joint of leaves; smoking any more than that could result in severe toxicity.

Questions and Answers

How do I care for an indoor hydrangea plant?, We received a 10 inch potted hydrangea. The balls of blossoms at the top are now dried out, but don't fall off. The skimpy leaves on the stalks come out and then die within a couple of weeks. I water once a week and it gets some sun each day. Do I cut the blossoms off? Any tips? I like the plant.

Yes hydrangea are beautiful. I work in a greenhouse. What i did to mine was, i brought it in this fall cut back maybe 1/4 of the plant depending on how big it is. This is important because they naturally loose their leave over the colder months - so this step saves cleaning them up over n over all winter long. Sun is good place it somewhere it can get 4 hrs or more a day. It will look sad for a while- but it bounces back fast. Mine had almost no leaves at all. Now its full again. It will NOT bloom again until it can be outside in direct sunlight. So aafter u r clear of frost repot it in new soil maybe a bigger pot and put it out for the summer. Dont forget to fert. all summer every two weeks for best blooms. Hope this helps. Good luck.

How do you care for a shooting star hydrangea?, I just bought my first plant for my first apartment. It is a shooting star hydrangea and is beautiful. I am knew to gardening and I want to know if anyone knows how to care for it. Any tips that are more than the traditional ones found on the sticker on the plant and those on the internet would be greatly appreciated!

Hydrangeas are acid loving plants. Use mear acid by Miracle Grow. You can also toss your "used" coffee grinds by the base of the plant. The majority of all soil is deficent in acid and most soils are on the alkaline side. I don't know what zone you live in so this advice is general. It isn't a good idea to place this plant in direct "hot" sunlight for a long period. Good morning sun from sun up until about 11:00 is ok. But hot afternoon sun will scorch the leaves.
Keep your soil moise but do not overwater. Overwatering will kill any plant. Water only when the soil is drying out.
Hope this helps.

Where is the best place to plant a hydrangea?, My husband bought a hydrangea plant for me, but it does not have a description of the kind, and where to plant. Part of our garden does have shade and part does not.

If in doubt, plant in partial shade. One thing to know about Hydrangeas, is that they like water! Sometimes you have to water everyday depending on the heat. You can also change the color of the flower depending on the pH of your soil. For a blue flower, pH of the soil below 5.5. For pink or red flowers, have a pH of the soil at 7.0 or higer. You can find some fertilizers the adjust the pH of the soil, like some types of Miracle Grow. For some more info . . . http://www.cambrianursery.com/hydrangea....

How do I get more blooms on my hydrangea plants?, I have a hydrangea plant that gave me no blooms this year yet any suggestions on what to do?

don't prune it.... feed it.... get it some protection from winter freeze.... the mophead hydrangea sets blooms along about now for next season.... pruning now or later this fall or winter cuts them off.... a late freeze in spring can ruin the flower buds, too.... a good feed now will help for next spring.... protection can be just some nice neighboring plants to block winds , a nice deep mulch around the root area, or go all the way and set up a cage of chicken wire, fill it with leaves and then wrap the whole thing with burlap to protect the plant... don't unwrap it till all your frosts are done and over...... of course, plenty of water thru the warm months and a little sun in the morning is helpful, too....

this is a great site to read up on the plant...

http://www.hydrangeashydrangeas.com/

What looks good with a hydrangea tattoo? or What looks good with a swallow tattoo?, My mother and I are getting mother-daughter tattoos for my 18th birthday and she has put me in charge of coming up with a tattoo. I have a couple of ideas floating around, one of which involves a hydrangea flower, the other involves a swallow so I'm looking for a good combination for the two. I thought of putting them together, but I'm not sure. Any advice or ideas?

How about a hydrangea and a hummingbird?
Here's Google Images 1st page:
http://images.google.com/images?um=1&hl=...
They definitely go together well! Look through the pages and copy anything that appeals to you. You can take it all to your tattooist for a custom design.
Here's a good design:
http://69.90.174.250/photos/display_pic_...
here's a hydrangea and Swallow by Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760 – 1849) was a master of Japanese Ukiyo-e woodblock printing:
http://www.washacadsci.org/Flowers/hydra...
here' Swallow among the cherry blossoms:
http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images...
here's two birds on branch of cherry blossoms (you can't get the sparkle of course!):
http://images.paraorkut.com/img/pics/gli...
good luck~

Our hydrangea has brown leaves. What could be wrong, and what should I do to help it?, We went on vacation for 3 weeks, and returned to see our hydrangea, which we have in a pot inside, have brown leaves.

Do you know what could be wrong with it, and what we should do to help it?

If it needs a special food, what can I give it that you do not buy at a garden center?

The brown leaves are definitely a result of not watering. Right now the best thing you can do is water, water, water. When and if it shows signs of recovery you will give it plant food. I use miracle grow or any other similar brand of Flower food. Hydrangea can be fed differently depending on whether you want pink or blue flowers.

If I buy a potted blue hydrangea, can I keep it alive in a pot, or must it be planted?, I saw a beautiful potted blue hydrangea, and was wondering if I bought it, could I keep it alive in a pot, or must it be planted? If it can be kept alive in a pot, how? I live in an apartment (with a cat) and very little light. Do they need to be outside/inside? When it is winter, do they die, or will they come back?
Thanks!

you can keep it in the pot. i suggest getting a new plater for it that is a few inches larger than what the store sold it in.
they tend to get root bound in the pot... when you replant them give the roots a lil kneeding and pulling to loosen the roots up. put it in the new pot and put potting soil in the pot up to the top of the plant.
water it and presto new home happy plant.

What is the white stuff on my hydrangea?, I have two hydrangea bushes with white, almost looks like bird poop, on the underside of the leaves and some on the stems.
I wasn't sure if it was a fungus and what to do about it.
I don't want my bushes to be damaged.

Could be spittlebugs - they leave a white foamy stuff, but don't do harm. Or butterfly/moth larvae. Keep an eye on it and if it doesn't seem to be hurting the plant (lots of leaves curling up, stems dying) I'd leave it alone.

Why is my hydrangea not blooming this season?, Last year I got a hydrangea and it bloomed very nicely all season long. I fertilized it according to directions, and it almost doubled in size, has really nice leaves, but there are no blooms...any suggestions/answers?

Some varieties don't bloom year after year. The Mophead (rounded) varieties are notorious for not blooming year after year.
Also, a lack of blooms could be due to pruning at the wrong time.
Or...sometimes hydrangea will leaf out early in the spring during a warm spell and then get caught in a late spring freeze. If the new growth came only from the ground, then types of hydrange that blooms only on old wood will not bloom this year. In frost zones, winter protection & planting in an area away from drying winter winds helps.

The smooth hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens), bloom on new wood. Others, like some mopheads and many big-leaf hydrangeas (H. macrophylla) bloom on old wood, so any late-season (or fall or winter) pruning you do erases next year's flowers. The safest time to prune is right after flowering. Cut the spent blooms to the ground; then prune out any old, dead or weak shoots.

Phosphate encourages flowering. It's ideal to use a fertilizer low in Nitrogen and with a Phosphorus content over 30. (An N-P-K ratio of 10-40-10 is ideal) & fertilize them regularly. Organic soil enriched with compost is best. If you're using store-bought fertilizers & you don't want to fuss with a scheduled feeding of fertilizer, you can also use a slow-release fertilizer like osmacote or use manure around your plants. Water on a consistent basis. Morning sun and afternoon shade is ideal. Too much shade will retard the development of flowers. Full sun can scorch the leaves so part sun to shade is best.

Here's a forum discussing why Hydrangeas weren't blooming:
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/...
Good luck! Hope this helps.

How do you take care of a hydrangea?, I just purchased a hydrangea for my mom for Mothers Day. Also is it an annual and if so can I plant it in my yard? I live in zone 6.

Hydrangea bushes are easy to grow. They prefer full sun to partial shade. In warmer climates, put them in a more shaded area, to reduce wilting in the midday sun. They prefer moist, rich, loam soil that drains well.

When planting, add generous amounts of rich compost. Add mulch yearly to help retain soil moisture, and to replenish nutrients for the plants. Keep the soil moist the entire season to promote lush growth and big blooms. Add a general purpose fertilizer monthly.

Flowers will begin to bloom in mid summer. Remove spent blooms. This will promote more blooms. To grow bigger blooms, thin some of the stems.

Prune bushes back in winter to early spring. If the bushes become too big or winter damaged, they can be cut back close to the ground.