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<p>afternoon shade is best. Full shade and you will get a leggy plant and low bud count.</p>
<p>Yes, some of the newer varieties, IE-Endless Summer will bloom on new wood, but most of the older varieties, IE Nikko Blue will not and you have to be careful when you prune.</p>
<p>Not sure why you are cutting back every spring, if canes are alive after the winter, let them be and you will get even more blooms.</p>
<p>My Annabelles (not a new variety) are planted directly under a huge tree and do wonderfully. I have tons of flowers on them. I am in upstate NY and the canes are dead. </p>
<p>My pinky winky (an oakleaf) is also in full shade. This types never gets cut back. </p>
<p>It all depends on what variety of hydrangea you have as to when or even if you should cut back.</p>
<p>OK…I’m mostly taking about the mopheads…macrophyllas.</p>
<p>Lake Washington - they may have bacterial wilt. Snip off the bad parts and enjoy whatever cucumbers you get from the rest of the plant since it will likely affect the whole plant in the next few weeks.</p>
<p>A few years back (4-5) I read that I shouldn’t cut the hydrangeas back, so I haven’t since then. The bush gets full morning sun and shade after about 3. I don’t know what variety it is…but it’s supposed to be a blue flower?</p>
<p>^ is the old growth alive after the winter or is it all new growth from the base? If it’s all new growth, the problem is your winter’s are too cold for that particular variety. I would suggest buying an Endless Summer, blooms on new wood.</p>
<p>mini - I planted two! You said that just one purple tomatillo would be enough and it was such a cold spring, and my seedlings were in the same pot, and so tiny, and frost damaged, and so I abandoned your advice and planted two. </p>
<p>If you never hear from me again, I’ll be strangled in the vines trying desperately to get to the poor tomato plant that is stuck between them!</p>
<p>Just harvested the first vegetables from the container garden.</p>
<p>The taste of gretel eggplant was a wonderful surprise, as was the pinstripe eggplant. Good flavor also from the straightneck squash. The taste the Lemon Boy tomatoes and the Jubilee tomatoes were a bit underwhelming. Cherry tomatoes are plentiful but not very sweet.</p>
<p>Strangest thing this year. I bought 4 zucchini plants and 4 summer squash plants. Neither one are bearing fruit! There are plenty of “male” flowers, but no females, no bably squashes…(well the summer squash gave me ONE)…</p>
<p>I’ve never had any trouble with squash, in fact that’s the one thing that feels like you can ALWAYS plan on getting too many!</p>