Hydrangea Leaftiers
Hi! We’re getting after the hydrangea leaftiers this time of year, so I thought I’d share this pest with you.
Hydrangea leaftiers go after arborescens varieties of hydrangea.
If you are new to hydrangea growing, note that there are 3 different kinds of hydrangeas:
Macrophylla are the very large petaled varieties, commonly grown in a range of colors from white to blue to pink and purple. These are the most common florist hydrangeas.
Arborescens are the large hydrangeas we often see in landscaping that have many-petalled round domes of flowers. Annabelle hydrangea is an arborescens variety.
Paniculata hydrangeas produce cone-shaped flowers and come in a variety of sizes. Some “mini” varieties are the size of a small shrub. Others can grow to be towering hedges.
Macrophylla hydrangeas bloom only on old wood. They are more difficult to grow in cold climates because the previous season’s wood can die back during the winter, preventing flowering the next season.
Macrophylla hydrangea
Paniculatas and arborescens both handle cold climates well. We grow a number of varieties from each of these categories here. They are great additions to wedding/event work in the late summer and early fall, adding effortless impact to installations and large arrangements.
Unfortunately, arborescens (smooth-leafed) hydrangeas can fall prey to leaftier caterpillars. Leaftiers lay their eggs at the base of the plant, where they over winter. In the spring, the eggs hatch and the larvae make their way up the stems to the tips of the plant. There, they form a tent by glue the top most leaves together. Inside their ingenious little houses, they get to work eating the flower buds.
Arborescens hydrangea ‘Annabelle’
There are a few things you can do to slow them down. A good, organic practice if you have a manageable number of plants, is to look for the webbed leaves, open the tents, and squish the worms. It’s also good practice to cut these plants to the ground each fall or early spring and maintain a clean and clear growing area around the plants. Arborescens (and paniculatas) can bloom on new wood, so cutting them back before your season is ok!