With ten hydrangeas running in an arc across my garden, the care of hydrangeas has been rather a priority for me. I was very conscious that if I got it wrong, and one of them died or didn’t flower, the effect would be ruined!
Luckily for me, I seem to have got it right, and the hydrangeas (or ‘girls’ as I call them) have thrived, and if I do say so myself, look lovely.
So I thought I’d share the things I’ve gleaned to keep them in tip top condition, so that you too can have a feast of these glorious flowers.
Care of Hydrangeas – at a Glance
- Right position
- Plenty of moisture
- Right pruning regime
- Mulch
- Don’t feed
All Hail the Hydrangea!
Hydrangeas with their balls, mopheads or cones of lovely flowers, in pink, white or blue, are a garden classic. As deciduous, hardy shrubs they lose their leaves in Winter, but will come back year after year rewarding you with structure and impact.
If you’ve yet to buy your hydrangea, it’s worth bearing in mind that there are different types. Some such as Hydrangea Petiolaris climb. There are smaller hydrangeas which are good for pots – such as the gloriously named varieties Runaway Bride and multi-coloured Glam Rock ‘Horwack.’ Or you can get fabulous whoppers such as Skyfall, which grows 4ft tall if grown in a border. You can get hydrangeas with scent. While some flower on both old and new wood – so they flower twice. Others have eyecatching leaves in Autumn.
In short, there’s a hydrangea for everyone and for every situation. Despite being a versatile performer, hydrangeas are not prima donnas! They are not complicated creatures. Indeed, the care of hydrangeas is pretty straightforward.
Care of Hydrangeas – Right Position
Hydrangeas like dappled shade – that means not too sunny and not too shady. The experts say avoid south-facing positions, especially if the soil is very dry. However, I’ve got round this problem in my garden by growing mine under a line of small trees. So while my hydrangeas are south-facing, in the Summer the trees provide a bit of shade.
If you’ve a spot in deep shade such as a north-facing wall, and are stuck for planting inspiration, the wonderful climber Hydrangea Petiolaris is a real contender for you. Unlike other hydrangeas, it thrives in deep shade. It will take a couple of years to get going (mine certainly is) but when it does, it apparently romps away (30-40ft tall and 4-5ft wide). Its glorious creamy flowers will really ‘pop’ in the gloom.
Hydrangeas can be prone to frost damage in the Spring when newly planted. So avoid somewhere you know always gets frosty. Also they won’t thank you for a spot that is exposed to strong winds.
They’re fine in acid or alkaline soil. But the pH of your soil may affect the colour of your blue or pink hydrangea. For instance, if you are mad keen on having a pink colour scheme in your garden, bear in mind that if your soil is acidic, a pink flowered hydrangea may well turn blue! Similarly a blue variety may change in more alkaline conditions. In a pot you can control the soil quite easily, for instance use ericaceous compost for a blue hydrangea. Not all blue or pink varieties change colour so check this out when buying. Also note, white hydrangeas always stay white no matter what.
Moisture
Not surprisingly, given their name, hydrangeas like hydration! They do best in moist soil. But I don’t mean a bog! They like well-drained conditions.
When newly planting a hydrangea you need to therefore take extra care on the water front. Perhaps bulk up your soil with well rotted manure or compost before you plant – especially if your soil is light. This will really help with moisture retention. Also water the plant really really well before planting and keep it well watered throughout its first year – especially in the Spring and Summer.
Even now that my hydrangeas are well established I keep a firm eye on them. During hot times, if their flower heads start drooping, I give them a good water – at least a bucketful at the base of each plant. It’s amazing how quickly the heads bounce back. I then continue to monitor, to head off the problem again, as I don’t like to see my plants get stressed like that.
Quick tip on the colour front – if you’ve a blue hydrangea it’s best to water with rainwater to keep it blue.
Care of Hydrangeas – The Right Pruning Regime
Care of hydrangeas becomes a little more complicated when it comes to pruning. That’s because how you prune your hydrangea will really vary according to the type of hydrangea you have.
Hydrangea paniculata and Hydrangea arborescens
My ten ‘girls’ are Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’. With arborescens and paniculata varieties they produce flowers on new wood. So the good news is you’ve less chance of pruning them in the wrong way and therefore losing this year’s flowers.
I leave my old flowerheads all through the Winter. I feel doing this not only leaves a bit of shape and interest in the garden during the drearier months but it also provides an environment for over Wintering creatures to shelter in. (The number of ladybirds I find in the old stems come the Spring is amazing.) Also leaving the heads, I think, provides a bit of protection to the young shoots.
Then, come early March, I prune last year’s growth back to a nice tidy framework that’s about 30-60cm tall. I cut to just above a pair of healthy buds on each stem.
I don’t want my plants to be too huge as I want to avoid having to support them too much. Also I think if they’re shorter they produce slightly bigger flowers. So I tend to cut to 30cm if I can. But if there’s not a pair of healthy buds that low, I’ll leave the stems slightly longer. In other words, don’t think you’ve got to cut them stems to an identical length!
Quick Tip
Like pruning clematis, I will often do my Annabelles in two bursts as it feels nerve-wracking, and I don’t want to get it wrong. I’ll prune down to 60cm, then go back and look to see if I can go a bit lower. I often find I can!
Hydrangea macrophylla (lacecap and mophead hydrangeas) and Hydrangea serrata
With the lacecap and mophead varieties you need to do your pruning in mid-Spring. These hydrangeas are a little more tricky as they produce their flowers on old wood. So don’t prune them back hard, or you’ll find you’ve pruned away this Summer’s flowers – disaster!
If I had this variety I’d still leave on the old flowers over Winter for the same reasons as before. Then when it comes to the middle of Spring, cut back the flower head to just above the top set of lovely plump buds that are forming – you will see them under the dead flower head. This is where the new flowers will form so you do not want to cut off these lovely buds!
Hydrangea aspera and Hydrangea quercifolia
Give these varieties a light prune in the Spring. All you’re really aiming to do is remove old or criss-crossing stems and old flower heads. Do nothing more complicated or invasive than that.
Climbing hydrangea, Hydrangea petiolaris
For the climber, leave any pruning to the Summer, after flowering. Then you want to cut back the flowered shoots to a pair of new buds. Voila!
Care of Hydrangeas – Mulching & Feeding
I mulch my hydrangeas every year in the Spring after pruning them, using home-made leaf mould. This is ideal as I’m not trying to provide nutrition. I’m just trying to condition the soil and help retain its moisture – important for my thirsty old hydrangeas!
Leaf mould is brilliant on both these fronts. Its lovely crumbly nature adds fantastic structure to your soil and provides a great home for earthworms and benefical bacteria. And it’s fantastic at retaining water. Apparently some studies have found that adding leaf mould increases water retention in soils by over 50%.
If you don’t have leaf mould, well-rotted manure or compost will also do the trick. The important take away is to mulch. Mulching is brilliant!
While you definitely want to mulch, there’s no need to feed your hydrangeas. If you do, you may find yourself encouraging lots of lovely leaves but with poorer flowers!
Care of Hydrangeas – The Common Problems
As you can see, care of hydrangeas is pretty straight-forward. The secret is to know the type of hydrangea you have got. However, occasionally your hydrangea may have a problem. Here are the common ones.
- No flowers
- Brown/blackened leaves or buds
- Vine Weevil
- Hydrangea Scale
- Purple leaves
No flowers
You don’t need to be Sherlock Holmes to know that no flowers most probably means you’ve pruned it incorrectly. Don’t panic. The damage is done for this year but the plant won’t suffer for going a year without blooms. Simply check what type you have and next time prune correctly. Normal flowering will resume next year.
Black/Brown Leaves or Buds
Black or brown leaves or buds is typically a sign of frost damage. Planting in a sheltered spot and leaving the flowerheads on over Winter will help prevent such damage. But if your plant still gets struck by a nasty frost and goes a bit black, again don’t panic. Your hydrangea is probably ok, and will bounce back. You could prune out damaged or dead areas but not until late Spring. (I personally wouldn’t bother, I’d wait to sort it when it’s pruning time next year).
Vine Weevil
Vine Weevil tends to love certain plants – especially heucheras. My friend Denise has given up trying to grow heucheras in pots because she’s always struck by weevils! And while a hydrangea may not be their first choice of a meal, if you are growing a hydrangea in a pot, the pesky vine weevil may make a bee-line for it!
The first sign may be bitten leaves, but the little pests do much more damage at root level. They will munch away at the roots and you won’t know it until your poor old hydrangea collapses and dies.
As you will know, I love attracting insects into my garden, but no one wants this weevil. Vine weevil larvae are creamy-white with brown heads, ‘C’ shaped, and up to 10mm long. Uggghhh they’re horrid! The adults are beetles and are almost the same length as the larvae. However, as they’re a dull black colour and are mainly active at night you may not see them! If you see signs of a weevil attack you will need to act. You can read about different techniques here
But I feel the best solution lies with nature. If you encourage wildlife into your garden, nature (birds and toads) will often keep things like vine weevils in check!
Hydrangea Scale
Hydrangea Scale is a sap sucking insect. The signs of this problem are white waxy eggs in the Summer. The adult insects look like brown patches. A little scale isn’t a problem. I think if your plant is otherwise happy and well cared for, it will withstand the Scale fine without any intervention from you. Once again, nature will often help – some ladybirds, wasps and birds love to eat them.
But if you have a severely afflicted hydrangea – growing really poorly and losing its leaves some argue that you could spray in July with an organic insecticide based on plant oils or fatty acids. Such products are less likely to affect larger insects such as adult ladybirds. But I still don’t like them. So if it were me, I’d remove the plant instead and replace it in the Autumn. I’d rather lose the plant than risk the ladybirds with any kind of spraying.
Purple Leaves
A sudden plummeting of temperatures in the Spring may turn leaves purple. Again don’t panic. Normal service will be resumed and your hydrangea’s leaves will go back to normal once the temperatures get back to normal.
Some hydrangeas’ leaves go purple later in the season too – as the plant gets ready for dormancy. So again, don’t worry about that – it’s natural.
Care of Hydrangeas – Conclusion
Hydrangeas can be a glorious statement plant, and provide interest in your garden long after other plants have finished. So they’re well worth having. And as you can see, surprisingly for such a plant with so much potential oomph and star power – they’re really not that complicated!
Beautiful and uncomplicated…rather like me…ha ha I wish! Happy gardening x