Learn how plant experts grow hydrangeas in pots and outside.
As with any flower, keeping up with hydrangea care is important.
These flowers certainly need their fair share of TLC.
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So pick up sometrusty gardening toolsand get ready to get your hands dirtyyour hydrangeas will thank you.
How to Plant and Grow Hydrangeas
First, start digging!
Be sure to select a spotwhere your hydrangea will thrive.
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After you put the hydrangeas in the ground, cover them with soil and water.
The best time to plant hydrangeas is when temperatures are mild in spring and fall.
In fall, be sure not to wait until late, when a frost could damage the plant.
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These blooms are at their peak in mid-summer through fall.
Planting in Pots
Growingpotted plantsis slightly different than doing so in a large garden bed.
Use pre-mixed, baggedpotting soil.
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“Place the hydrangea in the center of the container and fill with soil.”
These bushes are a cinch as long as they get suitable soil, water, and sun.
Light
Hydrangeas grow best inpartial shade areas.
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Water
Hydrangeas generally need a weekly deep watering, supplementing rainfall.
Increase watering during hot, dry periodsyou may need to do so every other day in very hot weather.
In the first growing season, water deeply and consistently to establish strong roots.
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Afterward, water when the top inch of soil is dry.
Like in-ground hydrangeas, the ones in plantersneed a lot of water.
Soil
Hydrangeas prefer moist but well-draining soil (not wet soil).
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Changing the pH of your soil (the acidity or alkalinity) can change the color of your hydrangeas.
you might find soil pH testing kits at your local nursery.
To increase the acidity of your soil and achieve blue blooms, use sulfur or aluminum sulfate.
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Add dolomitic lime to increase the alkalinity of your soil and get pinker blooms.
Hydrangeas have shallow roots, so this will provide their whole root system with nutrients from the fertilizer.
Avoidpruning in the fallso you don’t encourage new growth just before winter!
Regardless of hydrangea variety, always remove dead or unhealthy branches throughout the growing season.
Always use clean pruning shears to help protect the plant from disease.
Keep in mind that deadheading your hydrangeas is not crucial to their health.
How much you should deadhead depends on your plant typedon’t deadhead bigleaf or oakleaf more than absolutely necessary.
you’re free to deadhead panicle and smooth hydrangea plants a bit more extensively.
How to Overwinter Hydrangeas
In the winter, hydrangeas need protection.
Pots should be moved indoors (like a garage) if you live in an area with freezing temperatures.
you’ve got the option to alsowrap them in burlap.
Here are some of the most common ones.
They’re naturally fast-growing and need very little (if any) fertilizer.
Some common varieties are Berry White and Vanilla Strawberry.
They also have a reddish-brown bark that naturally peels away.
They bloom in purples and blues but also whites, pinks, and reds.
Leaf Spot
The first is cercospora leaf spot.
Oak leaf and panicle hydrangeas are particularly susceptible to this bacterial infection.
Leaf spot appears as wet-looking dark brown spots on both sides of the leaf.
To prevent leaf spot, avoid getting the hydrangeas too wet and prune them back as necessary.
Powdery Mildew
Another issue: Powdery mildew.
This is especially common in bigleaf hydrangeas.
Shade and overcrowding are the most common reasons powdery mildew manifests.
Spider Mites
Spider mitescan cause damage to hydrangeas (it happens!).
Spider mites weave a sort of web around the flowers and suck nutrients out of the plant.
you might spot spider mites because they leave tiny holes resembling freckles when feeding on leaves.
In most cases, natural predators control spider mites, but insecticide works if you have an issue.
Aphids
Aphids feed on the leaves and can cause yellowing and withering.
Beetles
Japanese and rose chafer beetles are the most common adversaries of hydrangea plants.
Japanese beetles are metallic green and eat the leaf tissue, leaving behind the veins.
Rose chafer beetles are tan and about 1/3 inch in length.
They will skeletonize leaves like Japanese beetles and eat the flowers.
you’re free to prevent these beetles by spraying the plants withNeem oilor using a preventative insecticide.
You want a flowering hydrangea that feels sturdy and not soft or spongy."
If you choose a healthy bouquet, it should last up to two weeks.
Here’s what else you should probably do to keep hydrangea bouquets looking great.
“Choose the most mature and full-looking blooms and leave the others to keep blooming.
Fully-bloomed hydrangeas will look more ‘papery’ than the young-budded blooms.”
Also, remove the leaves from the stem since they’ll hog all the water in the vase.
“I love using glass apothecary jars that have larger bases and small vase necks,” Bladow says.
“The other way that we love designing with hydrangeas is to use them as grids for other flowers.
verify to keep your arrangement out of direct sunlight.
Shake them off, cut the bottom of the stem, and place them in water with flower food.
It might help revive your hydrangeas and increase their shelf life.
It also allows you to shape your plant.
Without pruning, your shrub can look tangled and messy.
Plus, stems can become heavy and woody, which produces fewer buds than newer growth.
Ensure your plants are not in direct sunlight while ensuring they are adequately watered and fertilized during the season.
Mulch regularly to keep weeds at bay and cut off dead blooms to encourage new growth.
To deadhead hydrangeas correctly, cut the dead flower off the stem before the first set of leaves.
How to change hydrangea color.
Hydrangeas & fungal leaf spots.
Shannon L.Hydrangea diseases and pests| home and garden education center.
When to prune hydrangeas for best bloom.
Accessed March 4, 2024.
Jun 6, Print 2019 |.Repeat blooming hydrangeas.
Home & Garden Information Center | Clemson University, South Carolina.
Accessed March 4, 2024.
