Growing Hydrangeas

How to Plant, Grow, and Prune Hydrangeas

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With immense flower heads, hydrangeas flaunt an old-fashioned charm in summertime that’s hard to resist. While these flowering shrubs are low-maintenance, proper care will keep them blooming. Our Hydrangea Guide provides summer plant care tips for all you need to know about growing hydrangeas—from watering to fertilizing to pruning to winter care.

About Hydrangeas

Unrivaled in the shrub world for beautiful flowers, these elegant plants are easy to cultivate, tolerate almost any soil, and produce abundant blooms. Colors beguile with clear blue, vibrant pink, frosty white, lavender, and rose blossoms—sometimes all blooming on the same plant!

Hydrangeas are excellent for a range of garden sites from group plantings to shrub borders to containers. Varieties abound (every year, it seems, breeders present us with more options!), and gardeners’ expectations of bloom size and color are boundless. To know how your hydrangea will grow, pay attention to the types, defined below. When you know what to expect, delights will be magnified.

Enjoy this ode to the beautiful of hydrangeas and learn how to grow hydrangeas in our guide below.

Planting

When to Plant Hydrangeas

Plant in spring after the last spring frost or in fall before the first fall frost. See local frost dates.
Plant before the heat of summer arrives.

Where to Plant Hydrangeas

Most hydrangeas will thrive in fertile, well-draining soils that receive plenty of moisture. Add compost to enrich poor soil.
Generally, hydrangeas prefer partial sun. Ideally, they will be given full sun in the morning, with some afternoon shade to protect from the hot midday sun. This is especially true for the Bigleaf hydrangea (H. macrophylla), which is prone to wilting. Some varieties are more tolerant of full sun.
Space hydrangeas anywhere from 3 to 10 feet apart, depending on type.

How to Plant Hydrangeas

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 absorbed, fill the rest of the hole with soil.
Water thoroughly again.

Pink hydrangea flowers

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:

On a well-established hydrangea, find a branch that is new growth and that has not flowered. New growth will appear lighter in color than old growth, and the stem will not be as rigid.
From the tip of the branch, move 4 to 5 inches down and make a horizontal cut. Make sure that there are at least 3 to 4 pairs of leaves on your cutting.
Remove the lowest pair of leaves from the cutting, trimming them flush to the stem. Roots grow more easily from these leaf nodes, so if you can afford to remove more than one pair of leaves, do so. Be sure to keep at least 2 pairs of leaves at the tip end of the cutting, though.
If the remaining leaves are quite large, cut them in half, removing the tip-half. This prevents the leaves from hitting the sides of the plastic bag you will place over the cutting later on (to keep the humidity up).
(Optional) Dust the leafless part of the stem with rooting hormone and an anti-fungal powder for plants (both available at a local hardware or garden store). This will encourage rooting and discourage rotting.
Prepare a small pot and fill it with moistened potting mix. Plant the cutting in the soil, sinking it down to the first pair of remaining leaves. Water lightly to get rid of any air gaps around the stem.
Cover the entire pot loosely with a plastic bag. Make sure the bag isn’t touching the leaves of the cutting, otherwise the leaves can rot. (Chopsticks or something similar can be used to prop up the bag and keep it off the leaves.)
Place the pot in a warm area that’s sheltered from direct sunlight and wind.
Check on your cutting every few days to make sure that it isn’t rotting and only water again once the top layer of soil is dry. With luck, the cutting should root in a few weeks! (Check by gently pulling on the cutting; if you feel resistance, roots have formed.)

Care

Hydrangea Care

Watering

For the first year or two after planting and during any drought, be sure hydrangeas get plenty of water.
Water at a rate of 1 inch per week throughout the growing season. It’s better to deeply water 3 times a week than sprinkle water in a shallow manner. This encourages root growth.
Bigleaf and smooth hydrangeas require more water, but all varieties benefit from consistent moisture.
Leaves will wilt if the soil is too dry, and flowering will be hampered by a lack of water.
Use a soaker hose to water deeply and keep moisture off the flowers and leaves.
It’s best to water in the morning to prepare hydrangeas for the the heat of the day and to avoid disease.
Add organic mulch underneath your hydrangeas to help keep the soil moist and cool, add nutrients over time, and improve soil texture.

Fertilizing

If your soil is rich, you may not need to fertilize hydrangeas. Too much fertilizer encourages leafy growth at the expense of 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, 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 tend to mat when wet and can suffocate the plant.)

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.

It’s not every hydrangea that changes color. The color of some Bigleaf hydrangeas (H. macrophylla)—especially Mophead and Lacecap types—and H. serrata 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 5.5 produce pink flowers. White flowers are not affected by pH.

See How to Change the Color of Hydrangea Flowers for more information.

Hydrangea colors

How to Prune a Hydrangea

Many of our readers’ questions involve pruning hydrangeas. And no wonder—it’s confusing, and all 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.

Learn the essentials below, then read more about how to prune hydrangea varieties here.

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 subsp. petiolaris)	Summer, after flowering	On old growth

Pruning Common Hydrangeas

The most common garden hydrangea shrub is the Bigleaf variety, Hydrangea macrophylla. (See more below.)

Bigleaf (H. macrophylla), Oakleaf (H. quercifolia), Mountain (H. serrata), and Climbing hydrangeas (H. anomala subsp. 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 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.
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 dead stem in the spring.

Other Hydrangeas

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.

Pests/Diseases

Protect against pests and disease by choosing resistant cultivars.

Powdery mildew, leaf spot, wilt, and bight can all appear on hydrangeas.
Pests are rare, but can appear when plants become stressed. Common pests include aphids and red spider mites.

Properly caring for hydrangeas is your best defense. (See above tips on watering and hydrangea care.)

Harvest/Storage

How to Cut and Store Dried Hydrangea 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.

Bigleaf Hydrangea (mophead)

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

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’ is a big, old-fashioned, floppy variety, ‘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.

Bigleaf hydrangea lacecap
Image: Lacecap hydrangea

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 flowering or no flowering at all.

Oakleaf hydrangeas (H. quercifolia)
- You can expect 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—turning more pink in soils with near neutral pH. If its 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)
- Examples are ‘Bluebird’ and ‘Diadem’. 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’ is a newly-patented variety exhibiting variegated foliage.

For more about hydrangea varieties, see Hydrangea Varieties for Every Garden.

Wit & Wisdom

The word “hydrangea” is derived from Greek 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.

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Reader Comments

I have a hydrangea (not sure

I have a hydrangea (not sure what type) that I planted three years ago. When I planted it, it had full, beautiful blooms. The first year it didn't bloom at all, which I expected. Last year and this year it has big blooms, but they only open around the edges. What can I do to get the blooms to be fuller again, like they were when I bought the plant?

I got a plant for Mothers

I got a plant for Mothers Day, since then it's lost almost all of its leaves and all the blooms died. It was poted in a larger pot in good soil and watered 2-3 times per week. Why is it in so much distress? I do see new growth on it now, but not sure what else to do for it. Can you help?

Florist hydrangeas (the kind

Florist hydrangeas (the kind they sell for mother's day) are much more delicate than shrubs you would buy at a garden center. They are really bred for short-term beauty and most people throw them out when they wilt. If you water it well (not soggy, but don't let it dry out) and keep it in a partly sunny spot (not too hot, protect from full afternoon sun) you might be able to keep it alive and next year get more flowers. Eventually you should plant it in the ground.

I have a hydrangea that is 13

I have a hydrangea that is 13 - 14 years old. My bush has never flowared. It is in 3/4 shade, red clay mixed with potting soil, and I have added lime two years ago. What else can I do?

Too much shade reduces

Too much shade reduces blooms. You may need to transplant your hydrangea to a sunnier spot. Morning sun is best. Add compost to the soil and add mulch around the plant to keep the soil moist.

I have lacecap hygrangea and

I have lacecap hygrangea and they produce large buds, but they turn brown before the buds open. Why?

Hydrangea flower buds and

Hydrangea flower buds and blossoms turn brown if the plant becomes stressed. It can be caused by not enough water or too much sun. If the buds are exposed to full sun for many hours, the plant cannot provide enough moisture to the buds and they dry out. About 4 hours of morning sun is perfect.

I have (2) endless summer

I have (2) endless summer hydrangeas, which were just planted March 2013. I live in zone 8. Both are nearing the end of their first flowering. Should I deadhead these? I've read mixed things about deadheading the first growing season.

Also, I have a Nantucket Blue hydrangea, planted the same time as the endless summers. Do I deadhead this one as well? Some of the leaves are brown; should I cut these off? What could be the cause of this?

Thank you!

Do deadhead the spent

Do deadhead the spent flowers. It will encourage new blooms. Don't prune the stems or branches this year. Let the plants get bigger and more established first.
Brown leaves is a sign that the plant isn't getting enough water. Hydrangeas need lots of water. Add some mulch around your plants to keep the moisture in the soil. It's OK to remove the brown leaves.

I was given a Hydrangea in a

I was given a Hydrangea in a pot for mothers day, as I didn't know anything about the plant I looked it up online and discovered it's a shrub. I live in an apartment with a balcony, how do I take care of this plant???

Many hydrangeas will grow

Many hydrangeas will grow well in pots. Choose a pot that is about 2 to 4 inches bigger than the pot the plant came in. Follow the planting advice above and put the container in a sunny or semi-sunny spot on your balcony. Depending on where you live you need to protect it with mulch or other coverings over the winter months.

I do so much appreciate this

I do so much appreciate this page i have learned the things that i needed to know for my plant thank you so much

I planted a hydrangea in my

I planted a hydrangea in my backyard. it gets morning sun and afternoon shade. it had blooms on it when i bought it. they are gone now. will it bloom again this year?

Most hydrangea varieties will

Most hydrangea varieties will not rebloom. Endless Summer is a new collection of hydrangeas that will rebloom.

I bought a Blue Heaven

I bought a Blue Heaven Hydrangea. I planted it with moisture retention soil from Miracle Grow. The plant get some shade but mostly sun. I watered the plant with aqua feed from miracle grow. Now, the plant has some dark spots on its leaves. I also sprayed it with some pesticide that they recommended at Lowes. The dark tiny spots appeared later. Does anyone have an idea what could it be?

My hydrangeas bloomed

My hydrangeas bloomed fruitfully for countless years then just stopped blooming, but produced a very large healthy bush--without flowers. I live in NJ (not sure what zone)...after 4 years with no blooms I saw ONE flower this year :( about to give up and dig it up...any ideas?? We are well watered and it is in the perfect sun exposure....Just noticed my smaller bushes that bloomed for 3 yrs. have ZERO buds now too--but also have a very healthy bush growing...very frustrating....

It looks your plant needs to

It looks your plant needs to treated with Holly Tone. You should feed the plant with Holly tone in spring and fall, then you will see the plant bloom. You can buy it at Home Depot or Lowes

I live in zone 7 and every

I live in zone 7 and every year my plants get such a beautiful deep green color on the leaves and they are really full... but they never bloom. I do not understand why they are not blooming. I have had them about five years and last year there was one bloom and quickly faded away. I make sure they have plenty of water and they only have morning sun and then in the afternoon they have lots of shade. Any ideas???

My colleagues bought me a

My colleagues bought me a beautiful hydrangea last year. This spring, it was starting to leaf again when landscapers mistakenly chopped off the leaves. Will this come back, ever? Thank you!

First, you need to know what

First, you need to know what type of hydrangea you have. For mophead, lacecaps, and oaklead varieties, the best time to prune is actually in the summer before August. They form their buds on "old wood" in Aug/Sept/Fall for the following season's bloom. If it's cut back in June or July, it won't harm the next year's bloom.
However, PeeGee hydrangeas can be pruned any time except for the spring/summer when they are preparing to bloom. You can prune them in the fall, winter, or spring. If you prune at the wrong time, you may harm the next season's blooms but it's not forever!

I planted a hydrangea last

I planted a hydrangea last year (don't remember what kind) and we live in zone 5. Everything above ground looks dead but I see some green sprouts right underneath. Could this be my hydrangea coming back?

Yes, it is the hydrangea

Yes, it is the hydrangea growing from the ground. Prune the dead branches and the new growth should fill in.

My hydrangea is about 5 years

My hydrangea is about 5 years old and grows beautifully every year, but doesn't bloom.
Any ideas?

If you have late spring

If you have late spring frosts the new buds could have been damaged. Sometimes improper pruning causes no blooms. And, make sure that your hydrangea variety is suitable for your climate. Some varieties are not cold hardy.

What is the best fertilizer

What is the best fertilizer for hydrangeas? I have very sandy soil.

We have sandy soil and we

We have sandy soil and we have never fertilized our hydrangeas. We have so many blooms on all of our bushes right now. We have pink, blue and lavender. We just cut off dead branches as needed.

Just discovered this site and

Just discovered this site and love the great questions and helpful insights. Being new to site, I accidentally pressed the first star in the rating box, above. This is a 5-star site and am sorry that my inadvertent vote will be used to calculate the average rating. Thank you!

I just bought a house that

I just bought a house that has 2 hydrangea plants out front I planted one this year and its doing amazing but the old ones are more hard grey brown stems with little green leaf new stems how would I get these to bloom? Or take care of them and prune them thanks!

I live in Zone 4b. I have

I live in Zone 4b. I have several Annabelle & PG bushes, all white, which do well. I want to plant some blue and pink varieties but when I went to my local nursery, the owner said that they won't do well here. Are there any blue or pink varieties that will do well in this zone?

Endless Summer hydrangeas

Endless Summer hydrangeas will grow in Zone 4. They come in different shades of pink and blue.
Good luck!