This Is How To Care For Hydrangea Plants & Bushes

Jun 15, 2019

Hydrangeas are stunning and unique beauties with bold petal dimensions and color schemes. Did you know you can even play around with a hydrangea’s color?

While they make robust plants and bushes, very simple mistakes can prevent them from living and blossoming. Are you ready to learn how to properly plant and care for your hydrangeas?

Depending on your geographical area, your hydrangeas will bloom in either fall or early summer. Your geographical area is very important to a hydrangea being able to survive the climate to thrive and bloom.

Hardiness zones three through nine are ideal for hydrangeas, which actually covers most of the country aside from extreme cold and heat areas. Enter your zip code on the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map to determine your own zone. Are you in the right hardiness zone? If so, you have a green light to plant your hydrangea.

Plants are living matter requiring nutrients to feed upon and water. So, ensure that the soil you’ll be planting your hydrangea is moist, porous, and nutrient-rich. It’s also best to do your planting in spring or early fall when temperatures are mildest.

Pick a planting location with some afternoon shade and full daytime sunlight. Now, it’s time to dig a hole. The size of the hole should be based on your plant’s bulb size. Depth should be just enough to provide full coverage of the bulb, and width should be a little more than twice the size of the bulb. Note that each plant should be spaced three to 10 feet apart if you’re planting multiples. Before covering the bulb with soil, go ahead and fill the hole halfway with water. Add your bulb and soil, and top it off with enough water to moisten the top soil bed.

Hydrangeas are not drought-resistant plants. It’s best to water them routinely as they mature over the next couple of years, particularly if you live in a dry area. You probably won’t need to feed your plant if your soil is dark, loose, moist, and free of sand and clay. Otherwise, you may want to add some fertilizer every year in late winter or spring.

You’ll need to do some fall maintenance each year as temperatures begin to drop in your area. Cover the base (at least 18-19 inches) of the plant with bark mulch. If you’re in a snowy area, use snow fencing or chicken wire to surround the plant and dry, non-matting leaves as filler. Pruning isn’t a big chore with hydrangeas. Cut a couple of the oldest stems and any damaged ones down to the base after the plant has fully bloomed. Pruning simply helps ensure fullness and robustness for next season’s bloom.

Once your bush is at least two-years-old, you can actually change its color using the pH levels of its soil. Acidic soil with a pH of 5.5 or less will yield blue flowers, and pHs of 5.6 or more will yield pink flowers. The pH doesn’t influence white flowers. Always give your plant several weeks of rest time between color changes.

Are you planning to plant a hydrangea, or do you already have a success story? Maybe, you have questions or tips to offer? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comment section, and don’t forget to pass this hydrangea knowledge on for others to enjoy.