How to Grow and Care for Hydrangea Bushes

How to Grow and Care for Hydrangea Bushes

Perennial Shrub

Hydrangeas are beautiful perennial bushes with huge flower heads. Deciduous bushes profusely produce huge, round flower heads in mid-summer. Native to North and South America, Himalayas, and central/eastern Asia.

Colors: white, pink, blue, lilac, purple, varying shades, and two-tones.

Flower heads have two floret types: sterile (ray) florets are male, forming large colorful sepals outside; fertile florets bear male/female parts in the cluster center.

Attractive foliage spring through fall. Most varieties grow 3–10+ feet tall; some reach 25 feet. Most prefer full sun to partial shade.

Downside: they shed leaves in fall, leaving an unattractive clump of stalks until spring.

Did You Know? Over 1,200 hydrangea species exist.

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Plant Propagation

Hydrangeas grow from cuttings. Start April–August. Select new growth, cut 6–8 inches from non-flowering stem ends. Cutting should have 2–3 leaf pairs. Remove bottom pair. Plant in sandy soil in shade. Cover with glass jar/clear cover until roots form. Keep moist.

Once rooted, transplant to garden or containers.

Can also propagate by harvesting seeds.

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How to Grow Hydrangea Bushes

Easy to grow. Prefer full sun to partial shade. In warmer climates, more shade reduces midday wilting. Like moist, rich, loam soil with good drainage.

When planting, add generous rich compost. Mulch yearly to retain moisture and replenish nutrients. Keep soil moist all season for lush growth and big blooms. Add general-purpose fertilizer monthly.

Flowers bloom mid-summer. Remove spent blooms for more flowers. Thin stems for bigger blooms.

Prune in winter to early spring. If too big or winter-damaged, cut back close to ground.

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Color Me Hydrangea

Hydrangeas can change colors based on soil! Aluminum availability affects color. pH influences aluminum uptake. Acidic soil high in aluminum = blue flowers. Higher acidity = bluer. Neutral soil = white. Alkaline soil = pink.

To change colors:
• Add lime to reduce acidity
• Add aluminum sulfate to increase acidity

No Blooms? Most common cause: winter damage (frost kills buds). Too much shade and poor soil also cause no blooms.

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Insects and Disease

Aphids, red spiders, and a few other insects occasionally problematic. Treat with mild insecticides or insecticidal soaps.

Powdery mildew, blights, and leaf spots can occur. Treat with fungicide as needed.

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