Experts: Polar Vortex Has Crippled This Summers Hydrangea Bloom

Vibrant Blues, Pinks And Purples Not Expected Back In These Parts Until 2015 August 15, 2014 6:23 PM

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OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) You know summer is in full swing when you see those gorgeous blue hydrangea flowers arguably the most popular shrubs in our area.

But, as CBS 2s Carolyn Gusoff reported Friday, this year, the most common of the beloved hydrangea is missing from our landscape.

Daniel Kubovicks front yard is bursting with color all but his 70-year-old hydrangea plant, which never disappointed before this summer.

This is all new growth but no buds no flowers, Kubovick said.

No big leaf hydrangea flowers across our region. Those ubiquitous mop-head flowers, usually a mid-summer garden staple, have been a no-show.

The perennial favorites that usually bloom to softball size in vibrant blues, pinks and purple have been yet another victim of the polar vortex, Gusoff reported.

Because that winter was so harsh those buds got killed, unfortunately, said landscape designer Rich Abate of Hicks Nurseries.

Abate said hydrangea flower buds form the year before they bloom, on old wood. But this year they were zapped by the extended winter, leaving many wonder where have all the hydrangeas have gone.

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Experts: Polar Vortex Has Crippled This Summers Hydrangea Bloom