Remove any foil wrapping from the hydrangea if it was a gift. Remember that hydrangeas offered for sale around the holidays might not be hardy enough to endure indoors. If you’re serious about growing hydrangeas indoors, your chances of success may be higher if you buy them from a nursery or greenhouse.
Place the hydrangea in a sizable pot filled with superior potting soil. Put the plant in an area with lots of light. Hydrangeas planted outside can take some mild shadow, but interior plants require lots of light (but not intense, direct sunlight).
When the plant is blooming, give your potted hydrangea indoor plant periodic waterings, being cautious not to overwater. After blooming, reduce watering but never let the potting soil go completely dry. If at all feasible, use distilled water or rainwater to hydrate potted hydrangea houseplants because tap water frequently contains chlorine and other pollutants.
If the air inside is dry, use a humidifier or put the plant on a humidity tray. Particularly when flowering, hydrangea thrive in a cool environment with temperatures between 50 and 60 degrees F (10 and 16 degrees C). The environment is probably too warm if the leaves start to get brown and crunchy around the edges.
Keep heat sources and drafts away from the plant. While the plant is blooming, feed it once a week with a water-soluble fertilizer that has been diluted to half strength. After that, limit feedings to to one monthly.
It is advised to give hydrangeas a time of hibernation in the fall and winter when growing them as houseplants. Place the plant in a room that isn’t heated and is about 45 degrees Fahrenheit warmer (7 C.). To keep the plant from wilting, the potting mixture should be kept on the dry side but only lightly watered when necessary.
What is the ideal location for hydrangea planting?
Plant hydrangeas close to a water source in an area with lots of light. Choose a location in the South where there is morning sun and afternoon shade. Hydrangeas can tolerate full-day sun in the north.
Can you put a hydrangea in a pot outside?
“For Mother’s Day, my daughter handed me a lovely hydrangea. It has done so wonderfully that I’m curious if I should plant it outside or keep it within as a houseplant.”
Hydrangeas with foil encircling the pot, whether they were a gift or something you bought yourself, frequently differ from those bought at a nursery. The foil-wrapped hydrangea is often grown for a single, grand performance. The plant has been specifically fed to produce a lot of huge blooms quickly, frequently at the price of the plant’s long-term health.
The hydrangeas selected for this project are exclusively grown in greenhouses and might not be winter hardy where they are purchased.
If your locale isn’t warm enough to cultivate hydrangeas outdoors, you might wonder if you can grow them indoors as a houseplant.
A. There are a variety of reasons why growing hydrangeas inside in a home environment is not particularly successful. When hydrangeas may experience a period of dormancy brought on by chilly weather, they thrive. Hydrangeas rarely blossom indoors, attract insects, and lose their leaves unless they are in a greenhouse. They frequently dry out too rapidly and wilt, which makes them weaker.
However, some gift/florist-type hydrangeas may be grown extremely well in the landscape, as you can see from the images below.
Although growing hydrangeas indoors is not the optimal answer, it is conceivable if one lives in an apartment or in an area where they cannot survive:
1) Put the hydrangea in the coolest part of your house; ideally, an unheated room.
2) Position it close to a window so that it receives the most light possible.
The third and most crucial tip is to not overwater the plant by letting it sit in water or by watering it too frequently. It’s preferable to keep it dry during the winter, but it shouldn’t ever get too dry that it wilts.
Whenever possible, it is ideal to plant the potted hydrangea outside. It should only be planted outside in the early to mid-summer because it needs time to get used to the weather before winter.
In conclusion, unless it may be planted in the garden, foil-wrapped hydrangeas are best employed as a temporary plant in a person’s home.
Can you keep hydrangeas in pots inside?
With their large, floppy blooms in springtime shades of pink or blue, those potted hydrangeas from the flower shop or the grocery store are attractive at this time of year (occasionally white). Naturally, many were turned into mother’s day gifts of gratitude.
If you keep the soil moist, potted hydrangeas, also known as florist hydrangeas, are simple to care for inside. Keep them from drying out! You’ll discover that they are thirsty plants due to their enormous leaves and large blooms.
However, avoid letting water collect at the pot’s bottom. Make a few holes in the bottom of a pot that is covered in foil and place a saucer on top. Letting a plant’s roots sit in water is the fastest way to destroy any indoor plant.
The temptation will be to place the plant on a table in the center of the space. And if you like, that’s okay at night. A hydrangea will need more light during the day, though.
The plant should be placed in a well-lit area with shadows and at least some direct sunlight. If you want to remove the flowers once they have faded, it is acceptable. But it’s not essential.
Don’t believe that, though. A hydrangea in a pot is a present that goes on giving. If you live in Zone 6 or farther south, you can plant it outside once all risk of frost has passed. (Zone 5 is also worth attempting. Simply arrange the hydrangea in a safe area.)
These vintage charmers prefer a little sun to bloom outside. Ideal location would have morning sun and afternoon shade. The same goes for a location with damp soil or one that a hose can easily access. Hydrangeas need a lot of water both inside and out.
The primary issue with these lovely shrubs is that they are extremely vulnerable to spring frost damage. When the TV weather forecaster forecasted frost, I’ve been known to store an old quilt or mattress pad by the back door so I could dash outside in the evening and throw it over my hydrangeas to prevent the flower buds from freezing!
Frost is frequently to blame when a hydrangea doesn’t bloom in the spring. Therefore, if it’s still chilly where you live, hold off on bringing your potted plant outside for a little while.
It’s not a problem, though. Both inside and outside, hydrangeas are delightful.
Can hydrangeas be grown inside?
Using Hydrangeas Indoors Hydrangeas, prized for their magnificent blossoms, have long been produced successfully as blooming indoor houseplants. Their blooms have a softball-like shape and size, measuring 5 to 6 inches in diameter. The explosion of color produced by the double-flowered variety is spectacular.
How long do hydrangeas in pots last?
In U.S. Department of Agriculture hardiness zones 5 through 9, hydrangea (Hydrangea spp.) gardens are adorned with enormous, vibrant blooms. These shrubs, which share their frothy blossoms for the most of the summer and may grow between 4 and 12 feet tall with proper care, can live for decades.
Hydrangeas are hardy shrubs that, with proper care, can survive for up to 50 years. They require frequent watering during the growing season and prefer early light but afternoon shade. After the blossoms have faded, prune them in the fall so that they will have sturdy stems for the summer after. The hydrangeas may lose their blooms for a year while the plants heal if they are pruned when they are in bloom.
Common hydrangeas, sometimes known as bigleaf hydrangeas, bloom in a variety of hues, including blue, pink, and purple. These hydrangeas typically start to bloom in May, which is sooner than some other kinds. Usually, the plants keep producing blooms until July. According to the characteristics of the soil, bigleaf hydrangeas are known to shift their bloom colors; a plant that blooms pink one year may bloom blue the following. Aluminum sulfate, which is added to the soil, promotes blue flowers, whereas hydrated lime, which is added to alkaline soils, promotes pink blossoms. Ayesha, Nikko Blue, and Preziosa are cultivars.
Longer blooming than other hydrangeas, the smooth hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens) frequently displays color from early June through September. The cultivars “Anabelle” in white and “Invincibelle Spirit” in pink are examples. Smooth hydrangeas often bloom on wood from the current year, which means you should severely prune them, in contrast to other hydrangeas that bloom best on ancient wood. Trim them to a height of 6 to 12 inches above ground.
The panicle hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata) blooms later in the year because it prefers the heat of summer to the mild weather of spring. Panicle hydrangeas often begin blooming in July and continue through September. Their blossoms are initially white, but as fall approaches, they start to turn rusty pink.
However, if you relocate the plants or transplant one from a pot to the ground, the hydrangeas may not bloom for a year or perhaps two. Hydrangeas can produce big flowers in their first year. This does not imply that their time of flowering is over. Once the roots of the plants have recovered from the shock of transplantation, they should begin to blossom. To this end, keep the plants well-watered and treat them with a balanced fertilizer throughout the spring, summer, and fall.
Shala Munroe has been writing and copy editing since 1995 from her home outside of Atlanta, Georgia. She began her career in journalism at publications like the Marietta Daily Journal and the Atlanta Business Chronicle. She most recently had managerial and communications positions for a number of charity organizations before opening a flower business in 2006. She graduated from Jacksonville State University with a BA in communications.
Do hydrangeas thrive in containers?
If you’ve ever received a hydrangea in a foil-wrapped pot, you likely loved it for a few of weeks before seeing it sadly wilt. You might conclude from it that hydrangeas are poor container plants.
Most hydrangeas that are given in pots as gifts do poorly because they are kept indoors for too long. Others perish because they were grown in a greenhouse and are not cold hardy in your region of the country, even if they are planted outside.
However, hydrangeas can make wonderful potted plants if you choose wisely. What you should know is as follows.
Potted Hydrangea
You can utilize hydrangeas in containers in your garden on stands, decks, or patios. This plant looks classy perched atop an antique column.
- Choose a location for the hydrangeas first. You may move them around, which is one of the benefits of growing them in pots. This also makes it simpler to provide hydrangeas with the ideal growing circumstances because many of them like morning sun and afternoon shade. Additionally, you can arrange them to beautify a patio or other area for a celebration or special event.
- If your pots won’t stay in the same spot all the time, search for containers with wheels on the bottom or think about durable, rolling plant stands. Don’t forget that after adding dirt and plants, containers can become rather heavy, and soaking them can make them even heavier.
- For your hydrangea, pick a large container with a diameter of at least 18 to 20 inches. The plant commonly wilts in small pots like the one your gift hydrangea arrived in since they typically dry out too quickly. Drill drainage holes into the bottom of your container if there aren’t any already. Rotting can result from water that accumulates around the roots.
- Next, pick a variety that is advised for your area. (This is a general guideline for growing any plant well.) To choose the best types for your yard, read plant tags or conduct online study. Some hydrangea varieties can grow in USDA zones 3 and 9, while the majority are hardy in zones 4 to 8.
- Although using miniature hydrangeas in pots isn’t required, you might wish to if you have a small yard. Not only do hydrangeas grow tall, but they also become bushy. If not, prepare to prune your plants as they develop. Be careful when conducting your research; see if your variety blooms on new or old wood. You’ll lose the flowers for the following year if you prune at the incorrect time of year.
- Use high-quality potting soil that contains organic materials rather than regular garden soil. If you want the hydrangea to continue growing, don’t plant it higher or deeper than it was in the pot it came in. Make sure there is space below the pot’s rim so you can water.
- To get rid of air pockets, gently compact the dirt close to the roots.
- Water your hydrangea well whenever the top inch or so of the potting soil feels dry. But being underwater is preferable to being overwatered. When they are thirsty, hydrangeas may wilt to let you know. However, this can stress them out, so check them every other day or so. You’ll eventually get a sense for how frequently to water. In times of drought or extreme heat, you might need to increase your watering.
- Although hydrangeas don’t require a lot of fertilizer, you can feed your plants once or twice a year with a commercially available composted manure, a 10-10-10 granular fertilizer, or a slow-release balanced fertilizer. If you reside in a warm environment, wait until after July or August to fertilize. Gardeners in the north can get away with applying fertilizer just once, in June or July. Feeding hydrangeas later, when they should be starting to go dormant for the winter, promotes fragile, fresh growth.
- If your plant already appears to be ill or unhealthy, don’t fertilize it—you’ll just increase its stress. Try to solve the issue instead.
How are hydrangeas maintained outside?
The slight shade that hydrangeas prefer will prevent them from withering. If your plant is in direct sunlight, it could need additional water to prevent wilting.
Early morning or late evening are the optimum times of day to water hydrangeas so that the moisture won’t quickly evaporate in the heat of the day. Because it provides water directly to the plant’s base, where the roots can quickly absorb it, hydrangea drip irrigation is an efficient method of giving the bushes an even distribution of hydration.
Hydrangeas require enough water, especially those with large, meaty leaves, but Oregon State Extension advises against giving them “wet feet.” If your hydrangea is losing leaves or if the edges of its leaves are brown, your bush is likely receiving too much water. If you water your hydrangea and then see that the wilted leaves return back to life, your hydrangea was thirsty.