Hydrangeas have huge bloom heads and exude an old-fashioned elegance. How to plant and take care of beautiful floral bushes is explained in our hydrangea growing guide. Additionally, learn the answers to frequently asked questions like “why aren’t my hydrangeas blossoming this year?”
About Hydrangeas
These elegant plants are simple to grow, withstand nearly any sort of soil, and produce an abundance of blossoms that are unmatched in the world of shrubs for their stunning flowers. Clear blue, vivid pink, frosty white, lavender, and rose blossoms sometimes grow on the same plant, enticing us with their colors.
From container gardens to shrub borders to group plantings, hydrangeas are great for a variety of garden locations. Breeders seem to give us more possibilities every year, and gardeners have countless expectations for bloom size and color. Varieties abound. Pay attention to the species listed below to get an idea of how your hydrangea will develop as some require different maintenance. The joys you experience will be enhanced when you know what to expect.
Enjoy this tribute to hydrangea beauty and read our guide below to discover how to grow hydrangeas.
Where to Plant Hydrangeas
- The majority of hydrangeas like fertile, moisture-rich soils that drain well. Compost can help improve bad soil.
- Hydrangeas typically prefer some sun. In an ideal world, they would receive full sun in the morning and then some afternoon shade to avoid the intense midday sun. The Bigleaf Hydrangea (H. macrophylla), with its huge, prone-to-wilting leaves, is a prime example of this. Some kinds can withstand more direct sunlight.
- Depending on the kind, place hydrangeas anywhere between 3 and 10 feet apart. Plants should always be spaced according to their anticipated mature size!
When to Plant Hydrangeas
- The optimum season to plant hydrangeas is in the fall, followed by spring. The cooler shoulder seasons are the ideal times to plant shrubs because they will have plenty of time to build a strong root system before the intense heat of summer or the bitter cold of winter.
- In the early morning or late afternoon, plant the shrubs. The plant is less prone to experience heat stress from direct sunshine because it is typically cooler.
How to Plant Hydrangeas
- Gently remove the hydrangea from its container and examine the root ball. Snip off any rotten or dead sections, and if the plant is very root-bound, pry the roots free.
- Make a hole that is two to three times as big and as deep as the root ball. The top of the planting hole should be level with the base of the plant, which is where the stem joins the earth.
- After placing the plant in the hole, add enough soil to fill it halfway. generously hydrate. Fill the remaining space in the hole with soil once the water has been absorbed.
- once more, thoroughly rinse.
How to Grow Hydrangeas from Cuttings
Cuttings of hydrangeas can be easily grown. They easily take root, and the process is a wonderful teaching tool for propagation. This is how you do it:
- Find a branch on a mature hydrangea that is fresh growth and has not flowered. In comparison to older growth, new growth will appear lighter in color, and the stem won’t be as firm.
- Make a horizontal incision 4 to 5 inches down from the branch’s tip. Make sure your cutting has at least three to four pairs of leaves.
- Trim the cutting’s lowest pair of leaves so that they are flush with the stem. If you can afford to remove more than one pair of leaves, do so. Roots develop more readily from these leaf nodes. But make sure to leave at least two pairs of leaves at the cutting’s tip.
- Remove the tip half of any leaves that are still pretty large by cutting them in half. This keeps the leaves from slamming into the sides of the plastic bag you’ll later use to cover the cutting (to keep the humidity up).
- (Optional) Sprinkle rooting hormone and a plant antifungal powder on the stem’s leafless area (both available at a local hardware or garden store). This will promote roots and deter decay.
- Prepare a small pot and put moistened potting soil inside. The cutting should be planted in the ground, buried down to the first remaining pair of leaves. Lightly water the area surrounding the stem to close any air spaces.
- Wrap a plastic bag loosely around the entire pot. To prevent the cutting’s leaves from rotting, make sure the bag is not touching them. The bag can be supported by chopsticks or other such objects to keep it off the leaves.
- Put the pot in a warm location that is protected from the wind and sun.
- Only rewater your cutting after the top layer of soil is dry after checking on it every few days to make sure it isn’t decaying. In a few weeks, hopefully, the cutting will start to root! If you feel resistance when you gently tug on the cutting, roots have grown.
Watering
- Make sure hydrangeas get enough water for the first year or two after planting and throughout any droughts.
- Over the course of the growing season, water at a rate of 1 inch per week. Three times a week of heavy watering is preferable to shallow watering. Root growth is promoted by this.
- All varieties of hydrangeas benefit from constant moisture, but bigleaf and smooth hydrangeas need more water.
- If the soil is too dry, the leaves will wilt, and there won’t be enough moisture for the flowers to bloom.
- To water thoroughly while keeping moisture off the flowers and leaves, use a soaker hose.
- The best time to water hydrangeas is in the morning to protect them from disease and get them ready for the heat of the day.
- Under your hydrangeas, spread organic mulch to help keep the soil cool and moist, gradually add nutrients, and enhance soil texture.
Fertilizing
You might not need to fertilize hydrangeas if your soil is rich. When fertilizer is applied in excess, blossoms are sacrificed in favor of green growth. A soil test is the most effective tool for determining your fertility requirements.
Apply fertilizer according to the type of hydrangeas you have. Every variety has varied requirements and will profit from applying fertilizer at various times.
- Several mild fertilizer applications in March, May, and June are beneficial for bigleaf hydrangeas.
- Two applications in April and June work best for oakleaf and panicle hydrangeas.
- The only time smooth hydrangea plants require fertilizing is in the late winter.
Winter Protection
- Cover plants with bark mulch, leaves, pine needles, or straw in the fall, at least 18 inches deep. If at all feasible, create cages out of chicken wire or snow fencing and cover the entire plant, including the tip, with the cages. (Avoid using maple leaves; they have a tendency to mat after becoming wet and may suffocate the plant.)
How to Prune a Hydrangea
Many of the queries from readers concern hydrangea trimming. It makes sense that it’s unclear because it relies on the hydrangea kind. Fortunately, identifying which type you have makes determining the best pruning strategy simple. Discover the fundamentals below, then read more about pruning different varieties of hydrangea here.
Pruning Common Hydrangeas
The Bigleaf cultivar of Hydrangea macrophylla is the most popular garden hydrangea shrub. (For more, see below.)
Hydrangeas with large leaves, such as Bigleaf (H. macrophylla), Oakleaf (H. quercifolia), Mountain (H. serrata), and Climbing (H. anomala subsp. petiolaris), are pruned AFTER the summer blooms have passed. On stems from the previous season, these kinds bloom (“old wood).
- Avoid pruning after August 1 since flower buds actually grow in the late summer and bloom the next season.
- Dead wood should only be removed in the fall or very early spring.
- To stimulate branching and fullness, trim one or two of the oldest stems by cutting them all the way to the ground.
- Pruning the stems all the way to the base is necessary if the plant is old, neglected, or injured. For the following season, you’ll lose the flowers, but you’ll also revive the plant for subsequent ones.
- The huge Mopheads should not be deadheaded (faded flowers removed); instead, you should leave them over the winter and trim them back in the early spring (to the first healthy pair of buds). Deadheading Lacecaps is OK; simply trim down to the second set of leaves below the bloom head.
- Avoid pruning unless it is absolutely required while growing H. macrophylla (and H. serrata) cultivars in Zones 4 and 5, and then only after blooming. If not, merely remove dead stems in the spring.
Pruning Other Hydrangeas
Hydrangeas called Panicle (H. paniculata) and Smooth (H. arborescens) are clipped BEFORE flower buds develop. On stems from the current season, these kinds blossom (“new wood).
- When the plant is dormant in the late winter, prune. The plant will therefore grow new buds in the spring that will result in blossoms even if the winter kills the buds.
- In general, avoid pruning to “shape the bush” and just remove dead branches.
When should hydrangeas be planted?
Learning the fundamentals of how to plant hydrangeas can help you save time and money, just like with most other items in your garden. You’ll improve your chances of enjoying big, vibrant hydrangea flowers for years to come by picking the appropriate site, getting the soil just right, and planting correctly.
When should I plant hydrangeas?
The best time to grow hydrangeas is in the fall, followed by early spring. The goal is to provide the shrub lots of time to develop a strong root system before it blooms. Early in the day or late in the day are the ideal times to plant. The day’s cooler hours provide relief from heat exhaustion. Water new plants frequently until they get established.
Locations to plant hydrangeas
The first step is knowing where to grow hydrangea plants. Hydrangeas are frequently grown in beds adjacent to houses or fences. This is so because hydrangeas prefer the mild early sun to the hot afternoon sun. A protected area with sunny mornings and shaded afternoons is the ideal spot to plant hydrangeas. This is frequently found on the north or south side of a house. Avoid planting underneath trees since it could cause competition for nutrients and water. Flowers and leaves can both be destroyed by strong winds.
hydrangea-friendly soil
The soil needs to be rich in organic matter for hydrangeas to thrive. Drainage is important. Although hydrangeas prefer damp soil, they cannot stand standing water. Root rot can be brought on by wet, poorly draining soils. Your hydrangeas could pass away in a matter of weeks. Consider adding a lot of compost to your heavy soil before planting to increase the soil’s quality.
Methods for planting hydrangeas
Simply dig planting holes that are 2 feet wider than the root ball for planting hydrangeas. So that your plant lies level with or just higher than the surrounding soil, match the depth of the hole to the size of the root ball. You can improve water drainage away from the plant’s base by making a small mound.
The best way to grow hydrangeas
Simple propagation methods can multiply a single hydrangea into several more. The optimal time to layer bigleaf and panicle hydrangeas is in the early to mid-summer. You only need to:
- Close to your hydrangea plant, make a tiny trench.
- Bend a branch such that the middle of the branch meets the earth in the trench (six to 12 inches of branch should extend past the trench).
- Where the branch meets the trench soil, make scuff marks on the bark.
- After the trench is filled, cover it with a paver, brick, or stone.
- The branch can be transplanted to a different area once it has established its own root system over time.
Hydrangeas with smooth or oakleaf leaves produce new growth from underground stems. Simply separate the baby plant from the main plant by digging it up. After then, it can be moved to a new spot.
When should a snowball shrub be planted?
Snowball bushes benefit from well-drained soil and are best planted in the fall or spring. Pick a location for planting where the snowball has lots of room to flourish. Some snowballs can reach a height of 15 feet and enjoy spreading their roots. The optimum location will receive six to eight hours of bright sunlight daily.
How is a snowball hydrangea planted?
Consider carefully where to plant a snowball hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens), also known as a smooth hydrangea, if you recently bought one. Make careful to plant this hydrangea where it will have enough space to grow to its full size as it will reach a height of three to five feet. Although it may grow in a wide range of soil types, this plant thrives in rich, well-drained soil that is kept constantly moist. Keep your newly planted snowball hydrangea thoroughly watered for the duration of the first year while it establishes itself. This shrub flowers most effectively in dappled shade throughout the day or early sun and afternoon shade. It blooms better the more morning sunlight it receives. The leaves, however, can be scorched by a strong afternoon sun.
How Fast Do Snowball Bushes Grow?
Viburnum’s tallest cultivars can grow up to two feet a year. Slower growth can be found in shorter dwarf types. The Snowball Bush can reach heights of up to 12 feet and a width of 15 feet when completely grown.
Where should a snowball shrub be planted?
Not your typical shrub, the Common Snowball Bush is unique. When you want your landscape to be seen, you choose a flashy plant for your home! There are other bushes that are comparable to the gorgeous Common Snowball Viburnum, but you can’t go wrong with it.
There are no messy fruits to stomp on or invasive spreading with the Viburnum opulus ‘Roseum’. This shrub blooms profusely and for a longer period of time than comparable kinds because it doesn’t yield fruit. The Common Snowball shrub is substantially more hardy than comparable plants, and has a far higher resilience to disease. The Common Snowball is as durable as it is attractive, and it can withstand freezing temperatures as low as zone 3.
In the spring, a profusion of breathtaking hydrangea-like pom-pom flowers bloom. These flowers begin as green and over several weeks turn completely white. Summer blossoms continue from spring! This Snowball Viburnum will produce a ton of blooms! Take pleasure in your cut flowers at home or offer them as gifts!
Use the Common Snowball Bush to demonstrate your gardening prowess! Nobody will ever find out how simple it was to maintain this low-maintenance beauty! Place your order now!
To mature at a height of 10-15 feet, it can grow up to 24″ every year. For a thick screen, leave 8 to 9 feet between each.
Plant this versatile Viburnum in grow zones 3–8 with exposure to full sun to part shade. When planted with these bushes, hydrangeas and azaleas look beautiful together.
There are several different Viburnum species, including, to name a few, European, Chinese, and Japanese Snowball bushes.
Planting
In full sun to partial shade, plant. Although the Common Snowball Bush can tolerate moderate shade, about six hours of direct sunlight each day is optimum for blooming. Although a well-draining, slightly acidic soil is excellent, this resistant viburnum may grow in a variety of soil types.
Watering
When a plant is newly planted and during establishment, water deeply two to three times each week. The Snowball Bush can tolerate drought, but if the soil gets too dry, watering will improve its performance.
Maintenance
Although this viburnum tolerates pruning well, it does not need it to grow successfully. This substantial shrub is heat- and deer-tolerant, disease- and pest-resistant, and simple to maintain.
The Common Snowball Bush looks great as a center piece in cottage gardens and mixed plantings. Consider using this sturdy, cool viburnum as a formal hedge or screen. For a dense screen, space plants 8 or 9 feet apart. A dramatic anchor plant to soften your home’s corners is the Common Snowball. Instead of a tree, this huge shrub makes the ideal focus point for small yards. In fact, this Snowball bush can be pruned to resemble a tree. Go ahead and experiment with hedges, shaped shrubs, and treeforms because it tolerates harsh pruning! This bush’s gorgeous, luxuriant blossoms will soften any scene.