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.

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.
Reader Comments
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When is the best time to
When is the best time to begin fertilizing Hydrangea plants in the spring to encourage blue flowers? I have the Espoma fertilizer. My plants are several years old (~5) and range from 2.5 to 3.5 feet high. I live in Zone 5.
Also, what is the best way to protect them from a late spring frost. I only got a few blooms last year. Admittedly, I was not good about fertilizing them, but I think our sometimes late spring freezes were the major culprit.
Alkaline soil...
I am so grateful for this site!
I live in Indiana and just bought 2 hydrangea's. A Forever and Ever blue heaven and a forever and ever peppermint hydrangea. I planted one next to the house where it gets about 7 hours of sun and then shade in the afternoon. Anyway, I had tested the soil with a store soil test kit and according to the color it turned dark green which means alkaline (I tested it with a gallon of water that said spring water). Then I tested it 3 ft away but used the bottled water I drink and it was a lighter green which means 7.0 to 8.0. I have well water that comes out of my faucets and didn't use that. Should I try again with my well water to see exactly how much pH?
I read that compost can help and grass clippings and peat moss and coffee grounds. I don't know since I just planted it if I should use sulphur or sulphate or just coffee grounds and peat moss?
Thanks for the help. (I also have about 20 rose bushes and the plants are doing ok it seems, but I still need to lower the hP for them also...)
Me again...
I wrote that comment. One more thing... I don't think I have that good of drainage. I planted the hydrangea so it is slightly higher than the ground around, kind of like a small hill and put some tiny pebbles in the soil when I planted it. I also tried to pack some of the soil down so to not have any air pockets. Is there anything I should change for the next hydrangea?
Thanks again.
~Christina
Indiana
To lower the pH quickly add
To lower the pH quickly add sphagnum peat. It is also a good source of organic matter and helps drainage. (The pH of Canadian sphagnum peat generally ranges from 3.0 to 4.5.) Add a 1 to 2-inch layer of sphagnum peat and work it into the top 8 to 12 inches of soil before planting (work as much peat into the soil around your established hydrangeas as you can). Keep adding your coffee grounds too. Soil with pH level of about 5.2-5.5 will produce blue flowers, soil with pH level above 6.0 will produce pink flowers.
The hydrangeas need an evenly moist well-drained soil for best growth and benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location with morning sun and afternoon shade. Apply organic mulch around the plants to conserve soil moisture and protect them from temperature extremes. All the best!
Thanks for the kind words! We
Thanks for the kind words! We replied to your questions below your other comment below. --The Old Farmer's Almanac staff
alkaline soil
When you test your soil, you should NOT use bottled spring water, bottled drinking water, or well water. All may have high levels of dissolved minerals that can skew your test. Invest in a gallon of distilled or reverse osmosis purified water, and use only that water for your pH testing.
map zone
I live in red deer alberta and want to grow a hydrangea is it possible?
Peegee hydrangea is hard to
Peegee hydrangea is hardy to your zone. Other readers say they've had some success with 'Pinky Winky' and 'Annabelle' and 'Quick Fire' varieties. They'll all very different. Have fun exploring!
hydrangea
what is causing my hydrangea's new growths to dry up and fall off??
Did you prune? Most
Did you prune? Most hydrangeas bloom on old wood and if you cut in the spring, you won’t get any blooms. Prune after blooming is done.
Do you know which variety you
Do you know which variety you have? And where do you live? It's possible that spring came early and your hydrangea was leafing out while still covered for winter protection. So it lacked the sunlight needed. They might recover so leave it until mid to late May.
There are several
There are several possibilities. Perhaps the hydrangea needed to be uncovered earlier from the winter? Once mulch and winter protection is removed, I hope you started to see normal growth. Or, did you have warm temps and then a freeze? If so, the shrub may be fine but it's hard to say what will happen this year. Also, avoid overfertilizing.
blue moon hydrangea
if you don't have acidic soil what do you do or put in it to get it
adding acid to soil
Adding ammonium sulfate will lower soil pH immediately. Adding granulated sulfur will also lower soil pH, but the process is much slower. If you don't want to use chemicals, add coffee grounds and pine needles. They are slow acting but a good source--and free! No matter what you do, check your soil pH periodically in order to control the process.
No flowers
I recently moved into a house that has hydrangeas. The owner has said they have had them for three years and they only flowered in the first year. What can I do to get them to flower again?
How to get hydrangeas to bloom
Do they get enough sun and water? Hydrangeas thrive on morning sun and light afternoon shade. The prior owners may have planted them in a poor location. If your plants continue to grow but don't bloom, try moving them in the fall after the leaves drop. Are you keeping them extremely well watered? Hydrangeas want to be watered often! Also, mulch them to maintain moisture.
Moving Hydrangeas
I would like to move 2 3-year old hydrangea bushes. When is the best time to do that?
Fall is the best time to
Fall is the best time to move hydrangeas
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