I need help. I moved to a new house 2 yrs. ago. When I first saw this house there was a beautiful Japenese Snow Bell Tree in the yard in full bloom during April. After purchasing the house my husband pruned the tree to much. It has not bloomed the last 2 springs. It is growing great but now blooms. Please help.
May I suggest that you consider taking away the pruning equipment and invest in a pruning course. It's a pet peeve of mine that people prune too much, at the wrong time and improperly. I think that plants are for growing and don't necessarily need pruning all the time. I've seen many pruning jobs remove the stems from red-twig dogwoods and eliminate winter interest or trim off the flowers from fruit trees. I also hate seeing rhododendron 'boxes' that have been attacked with hedging shears. The remanent stubs are unsightly and dangerous!
bthomas, If it's "growing great" because you're feeding I suggest letting it go for a year without fertilization.
Whether or not a specimen needs fertilizer is a matter independent of other considerations. The best means available to homeowners for assessing need for fertilizer and results of fertilizing is sampling soil and having it analyzed. The beauty of the Japanese snowdrop tree is the layers of long branches slathered beneath with pendent flowers, like snow on the bottom instead of the top. What it needs is a place where it can be seen from beneath when in bloom, and where (like other deciduous specimen trees) the line pattern formed by its bare branches can be viewed and studied in winter. What it does not need is to be sheared into a congested stubby blob.
I agree with Ron that it is crafty to site this plant where the blooms can be admired from below. but "Whether or not a specimen needs fertilizer is a matter independent of other considerations". Huh? Too much nitrogen will adversely affect flower production on Styrax. It's good advice to stop fertilizing (if you are) and observe any changes.
You can't know in Philadelphia what their tree in Huntington might need unless they send you a soil test report. A tree can need to be fertilized just like any other type of plant. Either their tree has enough nutrients available to it or it doesn't. Period.
Ron, Agree the soil in Huntingdon is an unknown. But it's a fact that excess nitrogen will thwart flower production in many plants. Another fact is that you compulsively lord over these threads. I respect your knowledge and soil testing message but that cranky rebuke highlights your limitations. Gil
That was one of the first questions that came to mind for me too ... Is it being fertilized? I don't fertilize my trees much at all.
