Hydrangea blossoms never fully bloom

[archiemo]

Help! I have really healthy looking hydrangeas (nice pretty leaves, no spots, etc) with lots of buds but they never fully bloom. Plants are three years old and this has happened every year. Any suggestions?

[Phoenix61]

1. Seems it's a complicated question.

https://www.homesandgardens.com/gardens/hydrangeas-not-blooming#:~:text=There%20are%20two%20common%2C%20basic,sun%2C%20and%20lack%20of%20time.

[archiemo]

2. Thank you. I have read this but don't think it quite addresses

My problem. My plants have buds and do bloom. It’s just that the ‘bud’ doesn’t open up all the way. It only partially fills out.

[Phoenix61]

3. That does sound odd. A local nursery might be able to

figure it out. I finally broke down and paid the $35 to have my soil analyzed to figure out why my blueberry bushes were so unhappy.

[archiemo]

4. Thank you! Good idea!

[Hestia]

5. When the same happened to our hydrangeas, found out I was fertilizing them too much

Lightly in the spring is all that is needed here. Deadheading too helps.