Nearly nothing is as showy as a hydrangea (Hydrangea spp.) in full bloom as far as blooming shrubs go. The bushes’ enormous clusters of pink, white, or baby blue blooms and thick foliage make them highly desired. Hydrangeas will flourish, thrive, and last if they are given the proper care. Failure to thrive or even death of hydrangeas is typically caused by one or more unfavorable environmental or cultural factors, many of which may be remedied.
According to Missouri Botanical Garden, shrubs are generally hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3 through 9, depending on the species.
Tip
Problems with hydrangeas, such their inability to grow or bloom, may be caused by unfavorable weather conditions like frost or too much sun, or they may not be receiving enough water. They could potentially be harmed by ineffective pruning.
Is it difficult to grow hydrangeas?
The hydrangea plant is adaptable and simple to grow. They have no preference as to where they are planted. All they require is well-drained soil, some water, and some summertime shade.
What is the key to hydrangea growth?
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.
Why do my hydrangeas seem to be growing so slowly?
Hydrangeas are thirsty plants in all of their varieties. These plants need a lot of water, especially when they are just starting out in your garden or plant container.
One of the most frequent causes of this issue with hydrangeas is a lack of water, which can result in stunted growth in your plant. As most people are unaware of how much water these plants require to flourish and grow properly, underwatering your hydrangeas is simple to undertake.
If your hydrangeas’ soil dries out in between waterings, this could interfere with the growth of your plant and prevent your hydrangeas from blooming. Hydrangeas like their soil to be continually moist.
If you possess Hydrangeas, you need to water them based on their type and the climate you are keeping them in. If you have a bigleaf kind of hydrangea and live in a dry, hot area, for instance, you will need to water your hydrangea every other day to keep it from drying out.
To grow in your care, hydrangeas require at least two inches of water every week. Therefore, you will need to water your hydrangeas more frequently if you leave them outside and there isn’t much rain.
A rain gauge can help you monitor the amount of rain your Hydrangeas are receiving and how much additional watering is necessary.
How can you assist a hydrangea in need?
For hydrangeas, the end of June is frequently both good and bad news. On the one hand, the summer flowering shrub’s various types are in stunning bloom. However, this is also the time of year when we may notice that our plants are having issues. Here is a summary of some typical Hydrangea issues, along with solutions.
- Leaves of a hydrangea with black dots. This leaf-spot fungus appears during wet weather or after repeated irrigation of hydrangeas. Despite occasionally having a very ugly appearance, it does not harm the plant. Other plants are not infected by the fungus. The worst leaves can be removed, and if your sprinkler system (or hand watering) is regularly striking the foliage, make the necessary adjustments to water less frequently but deeply.
- either few or none at all. Why isn’t your hydrangea in bloom? Here are a few potential causes for your plant’s possible poor blooming. 1. Too much shade: For hydrangeas to flower properly, they require around three hours of sun. 2. Ineffective pruning: Big leaf hydrangeas—those with blue or pink flowers, either mop-head or lacecap—form their bloom buds the summer before. There will be fewer blossoms if the canes are trimmed off in the spring or fall. 3. Cold winter/spring winds or an exposed location: The germ of the flower bud may be destroyed by cold winter/spring winds or by winter temperatures (below five degrees Fahrenheit). 4. Too much nitrogen: Lawn fertilizer may occasionally be repeatedly sprayed or applied to nearby hydrangeas, which may encourage the growth of leaves at the expense of the flowers.
- Flowers quickly turn brown. Your hydrangea flowers can turn brown if they become too dry. Similar to this, plants that are growing in full or afternoon sun may quickly lose their color. During the summer, make sure to deeply water your bushes. Mulch will help keep the soil moist around the plants. A soaker hose wrapped around the plants tucked beneath the mulch can be a significant assistance in some cases for hydrating hydrangeas. Consider transplanting plants that are exposed to intense afternoon sun to a site where they will receive morning sun and afternoon shade.
- the leaves have holes. Different types of tiny green “fruit worms” (larvae) consume the leaves of hydrangeas. If you notice holes in the leaves, search for such larvae under the foliage. Spray Captain Jack’s Deadbug Brew (Spinosad) liberally, making sure to cover as much of the area beneath the leaves as you can.
- Too tall are the plants. This is more of a problem with the plant’s setting than the hydrangea itself. The size of a hydrangea is genetically predetermined; certain types, like Nikko Blue, can reach heights and widths of 6′ and 8′. Others remain for a shorter period. Because the plant will grow back from any growth you remove in a single season, there is no way to make a plant smaller if it is too tall for the area. A plant you remove in the fall or spring will be just as tall in July of the following year. Replace them with a type that stays shorter and move larger plants to a spot where they can grow. Notably, the Forever & Ever series and CityLine Hydrangeas remain shorter.
- I want to dye the white hydrangea flowers on my plants blue. Hydrangeas with white flowers won’t change hue. By adding sulfur or aluminum sulfate to the soil to make it more acidic, you can turn most pink-flowering plants into blue or purple varieties. You can even make blue shades of pink by liberally sprinkling lime around your plants, but you can’t modify white flowers. Age causes some white blooming hydrangeas (H. paniculata types) to turn pinkish, while it causes H. arborescens to turn green.
Here’s how to support drooping hydrangea stems on an Annabelle or other large flowered shrub when they fall into the mud. Place the stake in the middle, then wrap twine partially around a stem to pull it up (don’t wrap it completely), and then bring it back to the stake. Instead of putting a rope around the entire plant, this enables you to bring parts of the stems up straight while having others bend over slightly. It should be noted that fertilizer can lead to greater flowers and weaker stems rather than making hydrangeas more resilient.
Cityline Rio hydrangeas grow to a maximum height of three feet, but they also produce huge blue flowers. Move your blue hydrangea if it is growing too tall for its current spot. There is no such thing as pruning it to make it small again because they grow their height in a single season.