Growing a garden can be challenging, but it is worth all the time and effort when you see your newfound creations in full bloom. Shrubs like these make for beautiful additions to any landscape!
Hydrangeas are plants that anyone can grow, but they’re especially attractive to those new to gardening. The large colorful florets make them an eye-catching addition in your garden or on any table!
Hydrangeas can be super easy to grow for the home gardener, but there are still some mistakes that you might make.
Here’s how to avoid them and correct any problems with your hydrangea plants!
Not planting hydrangeas in well-drained soil
When it comes to planting your hydrangea, you’ll want the soil in which they’re grown and cared for heavily. They prefer well-drained soils that offer rich nutrients but cannot tolerate heavier clays or sandy soil.
We recommend adding gypsum to clay soil (which aids with water retention), as well as peat moss.
Providing hydrangeas too much sun
Hydrangeas love morning sun and afternoon shade, but the farther south you go the more shade they need.
If your in zone 4 or less you can get away with almost full sun exposure; however if 7-9 are the zones where you live, then you would want to cut the sun exposure to only a few hours a day (preferably early in the morning).
Pruning your hydrangeas in the fall
Hydrangeas should never be pruned in the fall. This is because they set flower buds for next season, so if you cut it back then all of your blooms will go away too!
It’s best to wait until spring, somewhere around Father’s Day before cutting anything at all. It may not be ideal to keep the leafless stems up in a garden, but you want to ensure that your flowers aren’t being cut off too early and leaving behind old wood.
You’ll miss out on blooms for this season if they’re left with dead stalks.
Over-fertilizing your hydrangeas
Hydrangeas are so beautiful, but they don’t like to be fertilized too often. If you’re adding fertilizer every week, it can slow down their growth and even stop blooming altogether!
Instead, use a weekly application in the springtime or mid summer when plants first wake up from winter rest periods โ this will energize them and they will produce even more blooms.
Watering your hydrangeas too much
Hydrangeas don’t like their roots to be too wet. Limit the amount of water you give them when they’re young and in a nutrient-rich environment, but once established hydrangea plants do best with less maintenance.
The easiest way is just get your fingers dirty – Stick your fingers in the soil, if it’s dry, give hydrangea a good soak and if its moist or wet leave them alone.
So, depending on natural rainfall of summer temperatures this could mean watering every day or two, or simply once a week.