Planting, Growing, and Pruning Hydrangea
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Planting
Most hydrangeas prefer partial sun with full sun in the morning, followed by some afternoon shade. This is especially true for the Bigleaf hydrangea (H. macrophylla). Some varieties are more tolerant of full sun. Most hydrangeas will thrive in fertile, well-draining soils that receive plenty of moisture. PennState suggests adding mulch to the soil if your soil drains too quickly. Add compost or aged manure to enrich poor soil.
When to Plant Hydrangeas
Autumn is the best time to plant hydrangeas, followed by spring. Plan to plant in the fall before the first frost or in the spring after the last frost. This shrub should have plenty of time to establish a healthy root system before the heat of summer or the extreme chill of winter, which makes the cooler shoulder seasons the best times to plant.
Plant the shrubs in the early morning or late afternoon. It’s generally cooler then, and the plant is less likely to wilt due to extreme heat.
How to Plant Hydrangeas
- Space hydrangeas anywhere from 3 to 10 feet apart, depending on the type. Always space plants based on their expected size at maturity!
- Gently remove the hydrangea from its container and inspect the root ball, snipping off any dead or rotting parts. Roberta Clark of the UMass Amherst suggests, “Before planting, check the root quality of container-grown plants and loosen the roots if they appear pot bound or to be circling the container.”
- Dig a hole as deep as the root ball and 2 to 3 times as wide. The base of the plant (where the stem meets the soil) should be level with the top of the planting hole.
- Set the plant in the hole and half-fill it with soil. Water generously. After the water is absorbed, fill the rest of the hole with soil and water again.
How to Grow Hydrangeas from Cuttings
Hydrangeas can easily be grown from cuttings. They root readily, and the process makes for a great lesson in propagation. Here’s how to do it:
- Find a new branch on a well-established hydrangea—a branch that has not flowered and bears three or more pairs of leaves. (New growth will appear lighter in color than old, and the branch will not be as rigid.)
- Cut 5 to 6 inches from the tip of the branch. Discard the bottom piece.
- If the tip cutting has at least two pairs of leaves, remove the lowest pair of leaves flush to the stem or at the node. If the remaining leaves are large, cut them in half, removing the tip half. Dust the cutting’s end with rooting hormone and, if desired, an antifungal plant powder. This will encourage rooting and discourage rotting.
- Fill a small pot with moistened potting mix. Plant the cutting, sinking it up to the first pair of remaining leaves. Water lightly to eliminate any air gaps around the stem. Cover the pot and the cutting loosely with a plastic bag (to maintain humidity). If necessary, use chopsticks or kebab skewers to prop up the bag so that it does not touch the leaves; if it touches the leaves, they might rot. Place in a warm area, sheltered from direct sunlight and wind. Water when the top layer of soil is dry.
- After a week or so, gently pull on the cutting. If you feel resistance, roots have formed. If there is no resistance, check for rotting.
Layering Hydrangeas
For bigleaf hydrangeas, in summer, dig a trench next to the plant, near a branch that easily reaches beyond the trench. Where the branch contacts the soil, remove an inch of the outer bark all around it. Bury the bared portion, pinning it with a florist’s pin or a gentle weight, leaving 6 to 12 inches of the end of the branch tip uncovered. Water regularly. In early spring, the branch should be ready to be removed from the mother plant and transplanted!
Growing
Watering Hydrangeas
- For the first 2 years after planting and during any drought, be sure your hydrangeas get plenty of water. If possible, water in the morning to prepare hydrangeas for the heat of the day and to avoid disease.
- Water at a rate of 1 inch per week throughout the growing season. Deep soaks 3 times a week (with a soaker hose or the like that keeps moisture off flowers and leaves) encourage root growth more than frequent sprinkles.
- All varieties benefit from consistent moisture, but bigleaf and smooth hydrangeas require more water. If the soil is too dry, leaves will wilt and flowering will be hampered.
- Add organic mulch underneath your hydrangeas; this will help keep the soil moist and cool, add nutrients over time, and improve soil texture.
Fertilizing Hydrangeas
Hydrangeas in rich soil seldom need fertilizer: Too much encourages leafy growth over blooms. The best way to determine your fertility needs is by using a soil test.
Apply fertilizer based on your specific hydrangeas. Each variety has different needs and will benefit from different application timing.
- Bigleaf hydrangeas can benefit from several light fertilizer applications in March, May, and June.
- Oakleaf and panicle hydrangeas do best with two applications in April and June.
- Smooth hydrangea plants only need fertilization once, in late winter.
Winter Protection
- In the fall, cover plants to a depth of at least 18 inches with bark mulch, leaves (not maple), pine needles, or straw. If at all possible, cover the entire plant, tip included, by making cages out of snow fencing or chicken wire and loosely filling the cages with leaves. (Do not use maple leaves, as they tend to mat when wet and can suffocate the plant.)
Pruning Hydrangeas
Many of our readers’ questions involve pruning hydrangeas. And no wonder—it’s confusing and depends on the variety of hydrangea. Luckily, as long as you know which type you’ve got, it’s easy to figure out what sort of pruning technique to employ. (The more common garden hydrangea shrub is the bigleaf variety) Learn the essentials below.
| Hydrangea Type | When to Prune | Where Flowers Appear |
|---|---|---|
| Bigleaf (H. macrophylla) | Summer, after flowering | On old growth |
| Oakleaf (H. quercifolia) | Summer, after flowering | On old growth |
| Panicle (H. paniculata) | Late winter, before spring growth | On new growth |
| Smooth (H. arborescens) | Late winter, before spring growth | On new growth |
| Mountain (H. serrata) | Summer, after flowering | On old growth |
| Climbing (H. anomala ssp. petiolaris) | Summer, after flowering | On old growth |
Bigleaf (H. macrophylla), oakleaf (H. quercifolia), mountain (H. serrata), and climbing hydrangeas (H. anomala spp. petiolaris) are pruned AFTER the flowers fade in the summer. These varieties bloom on the previous season’s stems (“old wood”).
- Flower buds actually form in the late summer and flower afterward in the following season, so avoid pruning after August 1.
- Only cut away dead wood in the fall or very early spring.
- To prune, cut one or two of the oldest stems down to the base to encourage branching and fullness.
- If the plant is old, neglected, or damaged, prune all of the stems down to the base. You’ll lose the flowers for the upcoming season but also rejuvenate the plant for future years.
- It’s best not to deadhead (remove faded blooms) on the big mopheads; leave them over the winter and cut them back in early spring (to the first healthy pair of buds). It’s fine to deadhead the lacecaps; cut down to the second pair of leaves below the flower head.
- When growing H. macrophylla (and H. serrata) varieties in Zones 4 and 5, do not prune unless absolutely necessary, and then do so immediately after blooming. Otherwise, remove only the dead stems in the spring.
Panicle (H. paniculata) and smooth (H. arborescens) hydrangeas are pruned BEFORE flower buds are formed. These varieties bloom on the current season’s stems (“new wood”).
- Prune in the late winter when the plant is dormant. This means that if the buds are killed during the winter, the plant will produce new buds in the spring, which will produce blooms.
- In general, prune only dead branches and do not prune to “shape” the bush.
Read more about how to prune hydrangea types.
How to Change the Color of Hydrangea Flowers
The colors of hydrangea flowers can be changed, but not instantly. Color correction takes weeks or more, and not every cultivar is changeable: White flowers are not affected by soil pH, the condition that imparts the blue and pink hues. Some bigleaf hydrangeas—especially mophead and lacecap types—and mountain hydrangea cultivars change color based on the soil pH.
Acidic soils with a pH of less than 5.5 produce blue flowers; soils with a pH greater than 6.0 produce pink flowers. Do a soil test to determine the existing pH and amend as indicated to change it.
A plant should be at least 2 years old before undergoing a pH change; this will give it time to recover from the shock of its original planting. Also, note that it’s easier to change blue flowers to pink than pink to blue.
See How to Change the Color of Hydrangea Flowers for more information.
Types
For a more detailed overview of the many types of hydrangeas, check out Hydrangea Varieties for Every Garden.
There are two main groups of hydrangeas:
Group 1: Plants that Bloom on New Growth (This Year’s Stems)
The following hydrangeas, which form their buds in early summer on new growth, will flower reliably each year, requiring no special care.
- Panicle hydrangeas (Hydrangea paniculata)
- ‘Grandiflora’ and ‘PeeGee’ are large old-fashioned, floppy varieties; ‘Tardiva’, ‘White Moth’, and ‘Pee Wee’ fit the scale of small gardens. ‘Limelight’ produces cool-green flowers and grows to a height of 6 to 8 feet.
- Smooth hydrangeas (H. arborescens)
- Look for the cultivars H. arborescens ‘Grandiflora’ and ‘Annabelle’, which produce many large (up to 14 inches across), tight, symmetrical blooms in late summer.
Group 2: Plants that Bloom on Old Growth (Last Year’s Stems)
If you live in Zone 8 or warmer, choose plants from this group. Gardeners in cool climate zones will find many of them a challenge, because they set flower buds in the fall. Although hardy to Zones 4 and 5, the buds are prone to damage by an early frost in fall, a late frost in spring, or excessively cold temperatures when dormant in winter. This, along with untimely pruning, can result in inconsistent or no flowering.
- Oakleaf hydrangeas (H. quercifolia)
- You can expect an exceptional fall color from ‘Snow Queen’, ‘Snow Flake’, and ‘Alice’.
- Bigleaf hydrangeas (H. macrophylla)
- We love ‘All Summer Beauty’ (mophead), which has profuse, dark blue flowers that turn pinker in soils with near-neutral pH. If buds are winter-killed, the plant will form new ones in spring and still bloom.
- ‘Nikko Blue’ (mophead) is vigorous, with large, rounded, blue flowers.
- ‘Blue Wave’ (lacecap) produces rich blue to mauve or lilac-blue to pink flowers.
- ‘Color Fantasy’ (mophead) has reddish or deep purple flowers and shiny, dark green leaves. It grows to about 3 feet tall.
- Mountain hydrangeas (H. serrata)
- ‘Bluebird’ and ‘Diadem’ are early bloomers. In acidic soil, ‘Preziosa’ produces blossoms of an extraordinary blend of pale shades of blue, mauve, violet, and green.
- Climbing hydrangeas (H. anomala ssp. Petiolaris)
- ‘Firefly’ boasts variegated foliage.
Harvesting
Cut fully mature hydrangea flowers in the morning after you have watered the plant.
Immediately place fresh stems in cold water to prevent wilting.
- Recut the woody stems at a slant underwater.
- Remove the lower leaves on the stems.
- Arrange them in a vase and place them in a cool location, out of direct sunlight.
- Check the water level and quality daily. Change the water if it becomes cloudy.
- Mist the blooms with water. Soak wilting blooms in cool water for 10 to 15 minutes to revive them.
Use dried hydrangea flowers to create a wreath or other decorations around the house:
- Cut the flower heads when the flowers have matured and developed a papery consistency.
- Remove leaves from stems, and hang them upside down in a warm, dry, dark, airy room.
- When completely dry (usually a couple of weeks), store in a dry location out of direct sunlight.
- To enhance flower color, spritz dry flowers with diluted fabric dye.
Here are four alternative ways to dry and preserve your flowers.
Catherine Boeckmann
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My husband bought me a beautiful pot with a Hydrangea. It is sitting in our kitchen on the counter, out of any direct sunlight. The card said to water it often, so we have done that, but my blooms have all turned brown and are falling off. Is it too late to plant it outside? Will it recover, and bloom again?
Hi, Vickie: Assuming that your plant does not have some sort of disease or pest (inspect carefully; if so, do online research) and you have not just totally drowned your hydrangea (it should be moist, not swamped), it would seem that heat might be a possible culprit as the cause of your brownout. Sometimes folks equate heat with sun, but the two aren’t the same. Perhaps your kitchen has just been too warm for it. In any event, sure, go ahead and plant it outside as long as you are not in the far north (find your last frost date here: http://www.almanac.com/gardening/frostdates). Snip off the brown blooms and go for it. Be sure to read all the advice above. Good luck and thanks for asking!
What is the correct way to do this?
The planting and care information at the top of this page should be helpful. Hydrangeas need full sun in the morning and some shade in the afternoon. They grow best in rich moist soil. You can plant your hydrangea in a big pot with fresh potting mix. Place the pot in a sunny spot outdoors and don’t let the soil dry out.
is it ok to put white marble rock around the hydrangea. i put film down and then the rock.will hydrangeas be ok in this setting.thanks for your advice
Hi, we live on Zakynthos in Greece the temperature in the summer regularly exceeds 40 degrees C (104 F) and in the winter we do get some mild ground frosts. We often go 5 or even 6 months with no rain in the summer and in the winter we have very heavy rainfall. The average annual temperature is 18.5 °C. (65.3 F) rainfall averages 937 mm 170 mm in December alone, often leading to our garden flooding. My questions are: Will Hydrangeas tolerate this much sunshine or will they need shade? Will they survive flooding for 1 or 2 days, 4 or 5 times each winter? Will they survive and flower long term if grown in a pot?
Thank you.
Hi, I bought a house last fall. There are two small Hydrangeas on the North side of the house. Both seem to have been in place for at least a couple of years, as the grass is completely filled in around the base, with no signs of disturbed earth. They are both small, and one seems to be really struggling. They are a beautiful blue color, so I would like to save them and get them healthy. Should I peel off the sod around them, fertilize, and mulch? Or should I dig them up and move them to a sunnier spot? If I dig, how far out should I dig from the stems so I don't cut roots?
Thank you!
There is an old rule of thumb that advises when you move into a new home you should not do attempt to alter the plantings/property until you have been there for a year—a full cycle of seasons. The idea is that you will see what comes up, blooms, etc. and know better what’s there and how it’s doing. In today’s world, a year might seem like a lifetime but we tend to favor this idea. With spring upon us, you can watch the progress of the plants and see how they do in their show-off season. (A lot of hydrangeas look weak in the off season.) Another reason we like it is that there are so many types of hydrangeas … unless you know what this is, you do not know what you’re dealing with. They might like a north side. There is the idea that you inquire of the buyer what type/variety they are, and/or how they do in that spot … but again we advise giving the plant time to reveal itself to you.
PS... They both have live buds, but the smaller one only has buds around the base, and not the branch tips like the other. Also, I'm worried about compacted soil as they are planted in the lawn up against the foundation, and not in any type of a bed. How can I amend their environment, or should I dig up and start over? There are spruce trees 10 feet away, so I think they are acidic enough.
I purchased a flowering beautiful hydrangea Pink diamond is Sept 2016, (I live in NJ) I planted it and it was fine for about a month and a half. Then the deer came and ate almost all the leaves off of it, so we put netting around it. Now, April of 2017 it appears to be just dead branches. Will it still start to get buds and new growth or is it dead, How can I tell? Please advise me of your opinion. Thank you so much
