~hydrangea love & care~

Hydrangeas are one of my favorite flowers and I have found them so easy to grow. 

They get big blooms and are so colorful and they fill in spaces nicely. 

I think the only thing I don't love about them, is how spindly they look in the winter.

Here are some tips and tricks and facts to care for your hydrangeas.

CHANGING THE COLOR

If you would like to turn your pink hydrangeas blue, or to keep your blue ones from turning pink, increase the acidity of the soil. 

PRUNING BASICS

Pruning is key to hydrangea health and appearance.

You'll want to prune after the flowers start to fade in late summer.

To determine if your hydrangea blooms on old wood, think about it when it flowers. Shrubs with this characteristic generally begin blooming in early summer and peter out by mid summer. These shrubs form next year's flower buds in late summer or early fall as the days get shorter and the temperatures cool down. Prune just as the flowers begin to fade to reduce the risk of removing these buds. Often, the earlier you get it done after blooming, the quicker the shrub can recover, producing more and larger blooms next season.

DIFFERENT VARIETIES

We have several different varieties and colors in our yard. 

Limelight hydrangeas are one of my favorites.

These have huge football shaped celadon green blooms.

They require part sun to sun and are very hardy.

We also have endless summer hydrangeas that have large blueish pink flower heads.

Let's dance blue jangles have that traditional beautiful blue flower. One of my favorites.

White smooth hydrangeas have to be one of my favorites because, well because they 

are white! Look for "Annabelle" on the label when you are buying these. They are very low maintenance and can tolerate shade to sun.

CUT FLOWERS

Hydrangeas make amazing cut flowers.

They last a long time, fill up a vase very nicely, and go with almost any style.

To prolong the life even further there is 2 things you can do.

1- After cutting your blooms, immediately dip the bottom 1/2" of the stem into alum powder.

Then place immediately in your vase filled with water.

2- Cut your blooms and immediately put them in room temp water. 

Then stand the stems in boiling hot water for 30 seconds. Immediately put back into your room temp water.

I hope you found this helpful!

If you have photos of your hydrangeas, please tag me on instagram for a chance to be featured on my account. I would love to see them!

xoxo

from
http://www.mysweetsavannahblog.com/2018/07/hydrangea-love-care.html