How to Plant and Care for Hydrangea Bushes
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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. Add compost or aged manure to enrich poor soil.
When to Plant Hydrangeas
Autumn is the best time to plant hydrangeas, followed by spring planting. Plan to plant in the spring after the last frost or in the fall before the first frost. The idea is to give this shrub 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 and the plant is less likely to wilt with the 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 and teasing free the roots if the plant is especially root bound.
- 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 anti-fungal 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 cutting loosely with a plastic bag (to maintain humidity). If necessary, use chop- or kebab sticks 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 remove from the mother plant and transplant!
Watering Hydrangea
- For the first two years after planting and during any drought, be sure 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 three 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. Leaves wilt, and flowering will be hampered if the soil is too dry.
- Add organic mulch underneath your hydrangeas to help keep the soil moist and cool, add nutrients over time, and improve soil texture.
Fertilizing Hydrangea
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 Hydrangea
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 big leaf 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 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
Hydrangea flowers’ colors 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 (I) 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.
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—which 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.
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 under water.
- 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.
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My plant has black spots on the leaves what do I need to do.
Black spots on hydrangea leaves may be caused by a number of diseases by fungal, bacterial, and viral pathogens. Common diseases include the Cercospora leaf spot (a fungal disease common in moist conditions) and Anthracnose (a fungal disease which also favors high humidity or precipitation). Remove infected leaves and all plant debris, including fallen leaves, regularly throughout the growing season. Remove any nearby weeds. Prune out any dead/diseased branches, and be sure to disinfect any tools that you use to prune, etc. Provide good air circulation and drainage and avoid overhead watering. Fungicides may help as an early application in spring when symptoms first appear, but would not help this late in the season. Check with your local Cooperative Extension https://www.almanac.com/cooperative-extension-services for advice for the best fungicides to use for your area and purpose. Here’s an article on anthracnose, in case it helps: https://www.almanac.com/pest/anthracnose.
We planted 3 macrophylla, may not be spelled right, lol with big green leaves. The nursery & tag says shade. I set up a sun shade and water every other day making sure the soil is wet to depth off one inch but not soaking wet. My problem is the leaves are curling or spotting a light tan color. It still has a lot of green but I fear it's spreading. What is the problem and how can I take care of it?
I bought a hydrangea plant that was obviously a rooted cutting (it was very inexpensive!) and had 2 stems coming off of it. Within a week one stem withered and died, but the other is doing fine, so I have a flourishing single stem hydrangea plant. Is there a way to persuade it to branch out horizontally?
Marci-
After your hydrangea has flowered, you can prune the stem back about halfway. This will encourage new growth and for the bush to branch out.
Hello, I live in Western Canada and my hydrangeas are wilting. For the first month, they were awesome but then they started to wilt. We give them water, fertilizer. They don't get too much sun however it's been very windy for the past weeks plus now it's raining hard. Could that be the cause of them not doing well? Should I move them? Please help as I don't want to lose them
There are several reasons why your hydrangeas are wilting. Hydrangeas require consistent moisture and excess wind can cause them to lose water through their leaves at a faster rate. That will lead to your plant drying out much quicker. Depending on how much you have been watering them, too much water coupled with soil that does not drain well can lead to root rot. Wilt can be a sign of root rot. As far as moving them, if they are planted in the ground this is not the time to be transplanting them, but if they are in containers, you can certainly move them to a location that is more protected from the wind and gets the correct amount of sun. Also, depending on the variety you have, be careful not to over-fertilize your hydrangeas as too much nitrogen can lead to some wilting and affect blooms.
The leaves on my hydrangea are dying. They look liked they are burnt. I live in Florida and was surprised to even see them here. I had them in CT and never had a problem. They get morning sun and shade in the afternoon. Is it just to hot for them?
Leaf scorch happens because hydrangeas get too hot. The placement doesn’t sound unusual; morning sun is all they need. But the temperatures are probably too lot for this plant that enjoys the cooler side of life. Also, water management can be a challenge. The “hydra” in hydrangea means they need to be watered consistently. They have a very large leaf surface area which results in higher water loss. In addition, hydrangeas lack the ability to regulate water loss under drought stress conditions. This can readily lead to wilting and the resulting leaf scorch.
They look so beautiful.
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