Growing Hydrangeas

How to Plant, Grow, and Prune Hydrangeas

Pixabay

Rate this Article:

With immense flower heads, hydrangeas flaunt an old-fashioned charm that is hard to resist. Colors also beguile with clear blues, vibrant pinks, frosty whites, lavender, and rose—sometimes all blooming on the same plant!

The flowers of Bigleaf hydrangeas can change color based on the soil pH, which affects relative availability of aluminum ions. Acidic soils with a pH of less than 5.5 produce blue flowers; soils with a pH greater than 5.5 produce pink flowers. White flowers are not affected by pH. See How to Change the Color of Hydrangea Flowers for more information.

Unrivaled in the shrub world, these elegant ladies are easy to cultivate, tolerate almost any soil, and produce flowers in mid-summer through fall (when little else may be in bloom). Hydrangeas are excellent for a range of garden sites from group plantings to shrub borders to containers.

Planting

Most hydrangeas thrive in rich, porous, somewhat moist soils. Add compost to enrich poor soil.
They prefer full sun in the morning, with some afternoon shade; however, many will grow and bloom in partial shade. This is especially true for the B igleaf hydrangeas (see Recommended Varieties).
Plant in spring or fall.
Dig a hole as deep as the root ball and 2 to 3 times as wide.
Set the plant in the hole and fill it half full with soil. Water. After water is drained, fill the rest of the hole with soil.
Water thoroughly.
Space multiple hydrangeas about 3 to 10 feet apart.

Pink hydrangea flowers

Care

How to Care for a Hydrangea

For the first year or two after planting and during any drought, be sure hydrangeas get plenty of water. Leaves will wilt if the soil is too dry.
If your soil is rich, you may not need to fertilize hydrangeas. If your soil is light or sandy, it’s best to feed the plants once a year in late winter or spring. Too much fertilizer encourages leafy growth at the expense of blooms. Learn more about soil amendments.
In cold regions, cover plants to a depth of at least 18 inches with bark mulch, leaves, pine needles, or straw in the fall. 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 will break down too quickly.)

How to Change the Color of Hydrangea Flowers

It is possible to change the flowers’ colors, but not instantly. Color correction takes weeks—even months. Wait until the plant is at least 2 years old to 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.

Bigleaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla)—especially Mophead and Lacecap varieties—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 5.5 produce pink flowers.
To get blue flowers, add sulfur or peat moss to the soil.
To get pink to light red flowers, add ground limestone around the plant.
White flowers are not affected by pH.
In the fall, hydrangea flowers will naturally fade and dry, often to a combination of pink and green or tan. This is simply the aging process, which cannot be reversed.
Note that hard water can affect the flower color, turning blue flowers more pinkish, so use rainwater to water your hydrangeas, when possible.

Bigleaf Hydrangea (mophead)

How to Prune a Hydrangea

Many of our readers’ questions are about pruning a hydrangea. And no wonder—it’s confusing, and all depends on the variety of hydrangea.

How to Prune Common Hydrangeas

The most common garden hydrangea shrub is the Bigleaf variety, Hydrangea macrophylla. One type of Bigleaf is the “Mophead” with big, snowball-size blooms. The other type of Bigleaf is the “Lacecap” with the pretty flowers almost hanging down from a flat center of tiny blooms.
Bigleaf (H. macrophylla), as well as Oakleaf (H. quercifolia), 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 afterwards 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 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.

How to Prune Other Hydrangeas

Panicle (H. paniculata) and Smooth (H. arborescens) hydrangeas are pruned BEFORE flower buds are formed. These varieties blossom 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 varieties.

Pests/Diseases

Click links for common pest pages:

Gray mold
Slugs
Powdery mildew
Rust
Ringspot virus
Leaf spots

Harvest/Storage

How to Cut and Store Dried Flowers

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 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.

How to Use Hydrangeas in a Bouquet

Place the freshly cut hydrangea stems immediately into cold water to avoid wilting.
Recut the woody stems at a slant under water. Remove lower leaves on the stems.
Arrange the stems in a vase and place in a cool spot.
Check the water in the vase daily and mist the blooms with water.
Soak wilting blooms in cool water for 10 to 15 minutes to revive them.

Recommended Varieties

There are two main groups of hydrangeas:

Group 1: Plants that bloom on new growth (this year’s stems)

These hydrangeas, which form their buds in early summer on new growth, will flower reliably each year, requiring no special care.

Panicle hydrangeas (H. paniculata) are hardy to Zone 3 and boast fat, cone-shaped, white or pink flower heads. They are a good choice for a beginner.
- The most common cultivar is ‘Grandiflora’, or P.G. (PeeGee after its initials), a big, old-fashioned, floppy shrub that is 10 to 15 feet tall.
Smooth hydrangeas (H. arborescens) or “snowballs” are excellent for cold climates, flowering reliably to Zone 3. The flowers look like oversized white or pinkish pom-poms.
- Look for cultivars ‘Grandiflora’ and ‘Annabelle’, which produce large blooms in late summer.

The attractive foliage of an Oakleaf hydrangea adds interest beyond its flowers.

Group 2: Plants that bloom on old growth (last year’s stems)

Oakleaf hydrangeas (H. quercifolia) exhibit incredible bud hardiness and are hardy to Zone 5. This graceful plant is noted for its spectacular fall foliage that ranges from red to purplish burgundy. In late summer, the white flower heads turn pinkish and tan in the fall.
- Try ‘Snow Queen’, ‘Snow Flake’, and ‘Alice’.
- ‘Gatsby Moon’ blooms through the summer and blossoms age to a pale green. The foliage changes to burgundy red in the fall.
Bigleaf hydrangeas (H. macrophylla) are the most common species and come in two flower shapes: Mopheads (or Hortensias) which are hardy to Zone 6 and bear large, ball-shaped flowers; and Lacecaps, which are suitable for Zones 5 to 9 and form airy, elegant, flat-topped clusters of flowers.
- We love ‘All Summer Beauty’ (Mophead), which has profuse, dark blue flowers—turning more pink in soils with near neutral pH.
- ‘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.
Climbing hydrangeas (H. anomala ssp. Petiolaris) (Lacecap) are just magnificent, lighting up the trunk of a tall tree or climbing over a fence. It blooms from late June to early July, exhibiting flagrant, flat, lacy, creamy-white flowers against glossy leaves. The blossoms turn reddish brown when fading.
- ‘Firefly’ is a newly-patented variety exhibiting variegated foliage.

Bigleaf hydrangea lacecap
A Lacecap hydrangea (H. macrophylla)

Wit & Wisdom

The name hydrangea is derived from the Greek words hydor meaning water and angeion meaning vessel, referring to the plant’s seed pods, which look like small water jugs.

In the language of flowers, hydrangeas symbolize gratitude for being understood, or frigidity and heartlessness. See more flower meanings.

Planting Times

What do you want to read next?

Peonies

Bee Balm

Daffodils

Columbine

African Violets

Lilacs

Peace Lilies

Soil pH Levels for Plants

Salvia

Carrots

How to Grow Azaleas

Hydrangea Care: Pruning Hydrangea...

Reader Comments

You must have Javascript enabled to use this form.

Hygrangeas

Can a hygrangeas that is in full bloom be planted?

Planting hydrangea

Yes, you may transplant established hydrangeas but it’s best to move specimens in the spring after the last spring frost or in the fall. It’s best to avoid the period when the hydrangea is actively growing (March through September).

There's yet another color out there

There's also a variety that blooms with very light green flowers (which eventually turn reddish-purple over time).

Repotting

I've recently been given beautiful hydrangea as a gift but it losing flowers, wilting and dying off already. Its too cold to plant outside yet. If I transfer to bigger pot for a month or more and then transplant outside should that be ok or too traumatic for plant? Otherwise I'll get big pot and leave it! Thank you for any advice☺

wilting hydrangea

The hydrangea gift was in all likelihood a forced plant—forced to flower out of its natural season by a nursery to be appealing in stores. Sometimes these can be saved, sometimes they can not. Try to keep the moisture level balanced—not too wet. Let it dry out between waterings. You could try to transplant it…but if it is weak/wilting now, the stress of transplanting may be too much for it to handle. If you lose it, consider that it was a lovely gesture—and the inspiration to purchase one that you can plant outdoors and enjoy for years.

Poison

Are hydrangea poison to animals?

toxicity

Here’s what the ASPCA has to say, “Hydrangeas do contain small amounts of cyanide but surprisingly we do not see signs consistent with cyanide (difficulty breathing, dark red gums, death). Dogs and cats frequently have vomiting and diarrhea after ingesting the hydrangea flowers. It would be best to keep the flowers outside and away from your pets.” For more information, see ASPCA Animal Poison Control.

Plan to plant hydrangaeas

Hello! I am from Philippines and I am planning to plant hydrangaeas for my thesis, but I only have six months before my thesis starts. Will hydrangaeas flower within that range of time? Is there any technique to grow the hydrangaeas faster??

hydrangea Macrophylla care? Climbing hydrangea?

1. Was given a Macrophyll late July, was potted, still has a few leaves. How do I transplant to outdoors? 2. Had a landscaper plant a "climbing" hydrangea on the NW corner of our garage. In over 5 years it has NEVER bloomed. HELP!

Plant wont grow.

I planted 2 Hydrangaes in front of our Church. One is growing and growing and is beautiful.
On the other side of the walk the other one was planted. It would not grow and would not produce leaves in the spring. So I bought another one, it is not doing anything and looks poor. I am assuming the soil is in need of fertilizer, am I correct? If I am, what kind do I need?
Thank you

The good hydrangea and the bad hydrangea...

There may be a parable here somewhere, but we’ll leave it for another day. You are possibly correct and definitely smart in considering the soil. Note we did not say fertilizer—but it also may be needed. You might consider having the soil tested. (If the plant is not thriving, delaying to get this done won’t hurt it any more.) Contact your local cooperative extension service (choose your state here: https://www.almanac.com/content/cooperative-extension-services ) and inquire at the nearest one about a soil test. While you’re at it, you might get soil from the successful side tested, too. The results indicate the condition of the soil. However, it must be said that hydrangeas are not all that picky about soil. So …

How about sunlight? Some hydrangeas like sunlight, some prefer partial, and some do best in shade. Are sunlight conditions the same in both locations?

Do both locations get about the same amount of water/rain? Does the soil retail/drain water in similar fashion? Notice, here (above) under “CARE” that these plants need a fair amount of water when planted, in order to become established: https://www.almanac.com/plant/hydrangea

Finally, did you purchase the plants from a local nursery? Sometimes vendors will stand behind their products; in the case, replacing the plant (you might need a receipt of purchase). At minimum, you might take a picture and show the two plants to the vendor and see if they have any comment.

We hope this helps!

Is it too late?

Im in western washington and recently bought a house with a hydrangea. I would say they are a common variety. Is it to late in the year to prune my hydrangeas? And if so what should I do in spring to insure a summer bloom?

Repotting My Hydrangea

I Need Help Repotting My Hydrangea Indoors Thank You.

Panicle Hydrangea starter

We just purchased Pinacle Hydrangea starters. We live in Zone 3 area. Is it advisable to winter them in the house ?

Panicle Hydrangea

Hi Lily,

Panicle Hydrangeas are hardy to zone 3, meaning they will over winter outdoors just fine. No need to bring them indoors.

Rooted cuttings - now what?

I live in Massachusetts just north of Boston. I rooted some cuttings of a beautiful hydrangea macrophylla. The roots are still quite small. I am not sure what to do next. They seem too tender to plant in the ground. CAN I winter them over indoors? Thanks in a for any advice.

Overwintering indoors

You should be fine overwintering the cuttings indoors. If these are mere shoots, you might keep them in your living space. If they are small shrubs, in pots, put them in a cool, dark place where temps remain between 40 and 50 °F. Water them one time. Come spring, ease them into the outdoor light and temps.

Endless summer hydrangeas

I have two beautiful hydrangeas that have grown too s
Big for their space and are crowding out other plants. Can I prune or shape them to contain their size and spread?

Pruning Hydrangeas

Yes, Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Endless Summer’ respond well to pruning. It is best done right after they bloom, and a good practice is to cut back to the next emerging bud. Here is some more info on pruning hydrangeas: Pruning Hydrangea Varieties

Flowers faded

I planted 2 large hydrangeas in early July. They were loaded with huge bright pink flowers. Within a week the colors had faded to a pale dirty pinkinsh greenish off white. New growth is appearing and the flowers aren't a bit dry they are just faded. What should I do?

Potted Hydrangea in Zone 5 winter

Hello, I am new to gardening and really do not know some of the terms used in planting flowers such as "crown" and other various terms, but learning as I go along. I've done well with annuals when I plant seeds and let them go! But, I'm uneducated regarding perennial plants and care. I bought a fully bloomed Hydrangea at Walmart around the 1st of May. I replanted it in a very large pot on my back patio where it bloomed beautifully all through June. When I bought them they were a beautiful blue, but due to ph imbalance in the soil they ended up bright pink, which I didn't mind. When the "mopheads" died I dead-headed them in hopes of seeing them bloom again next spring. As of the end of August they are still thriving in the pot and growing well. The plant is approximately 15-inches tall with new bright green leaves appearing at the top regularly. I'm concerned now that winter is near, what to do with the plant when it gets cold here in SE Nebraska? There is no way for me to carry the plant inside because it's very heavy. Can I keep it safe through winter? Thank you!

Protecting Hydrangeas in Winter

Hello!
The best way to protect your potted hydrangea would be to put it in a sheltered area where it will not be hit by harsh wintry winds, but will still experience some colder temperatures through the winter. It is most likely a winter hardy variety, so it can survive the colder temperatures, but keeping it sheltered from wind will help ensure that it survives. You do not want it to get too warm on your patio, or else the plant may be tricked into thinking spring has arrived and it will grow prematurely.
If it gets cold enough, the plant may die back to the ground, but do not be too alarmed if this happens, as it should re-grow in the spring. Add an inch or two of organic mulch (available at garden centers and hardware stores) to the top of the pot to insulate the roots. Good luck!

Leaves Turning Yellow

Can't You Please Tell Me Why The Leaves of My Plant Are Turning Yellow & Haven't Bloom I'am Taking Care of Them Indoors. Thank You

hydrangea has yellow leaves

Yellow leaves on a hydrangea is usually Chlorosis. This can also result from a pH that is too high (soil is too alkaline), or it may actually be a lack of iron in the soil. Apply a chelated iron or iron sulphate to correct the situation. Ammonium sulphate fertilizer also helps to lower the pH and maintain the acidity of the soil. Apply about one half teaspoon each of iron sulphate and ammonium sulphate to one quart of water. Apply this to the plants about every two to three weeks. About every third fertilization use a complete houseplant fertilizer instead of the above combination.

Which one to plant?

I live in MS and I am wanting to plant these in front of my new lake house. I am not sure when to plant or which ones to purchase to plant. Please help.

Hydrangea in the pot over the winter - PS

Thanks for your advice. Could I leave it in the large pot it's now in while keeping it on my sunny deck here in Williamsburg? I could bring it inside on cold nights and put it back out during the day. Seems a lot of work I know, but I would hate to lose the plant. I am a bit concerned it might not survive in the garage.

Hydrangea

Yes, you could bring it inside on cold nights and leave it out during the day. Keep in mind that in can be stressful on a plant to experience drastic temperature changes (cold to hot and hot to cold), so when you bring it inside keep it in a cool room.

Hydrangea in pot over the winter??

I took a beautiul hydrangea from VA to OH from my parent's yard after they passed away. It grew to be a huge plant but only bloomed once in 5 years. I learned the wrong zone may have been the cause. Now I am back in VA with the plant. The deer ate the plant down to the ground and now I have it in a pot on my deck. Once established again, can I overwinter it in my garage and bring it out each year? We are not allowed to keep fencing up around shrubs (against condo rules), so I fear trying to keep it in the ground. We are deer heaven here in Williamsburg. It is a cherished plant for me and I would hate to lose it. THANKS!

You can try overwintering it

You can try overwintering it in a garage. But a hydrangea that thrived in a winter environment might not thrive in a garage. Give it moisture throughout the season (it would get it outdoors; don’t deprive it). Or could you cover it with, say a wooden “sandwich board”? You see these protecting foundation plants from time to time—something that would deter deer. There are several reasons for lack of bloom, often too much or too little sun. We hope this helps.

Type of Hydrangea

I am moving into a home that has been in our family for at least 150 years. Early pictures of the house show hydrangeas planted all the way around the house. At present there is one plant left. It has large leaves and a huge mop head of dark blue flowers. Any idea what variety it is? Where I could find more like it or would my best bet be to start new plants from a cutting? If rooting, what is the process? I have seen my mother and grandmother take a cutting or just a leaf and grow a new plant.