How to keep hydrangeas alive over winter?
Wrap or Cover: In particularly cold climates, consider wrapping the base of the plants with burlap or using plant covers to protect them from harsh winds and freezing temperatures. If your hydrangeas are in pots, move them to a sheltered location (like a garage or shed) to protect them from extreme cold. But NEVER prune these hydrangeas to the ground, otherwise you’ll cut off all of next year’s blooms. If your hydrangeas bloom on “new wood” you can deadhead them if you’d like…but then in late fall or early spring you can more aggressively prune them back.Prune hydrangea plants lightly for a more prodigious bloom the next season. Add a thick layer of mulch. At the beginning of winter, place several inches of mulch—organic material like shredded leaves, sawdust, straw, and wood chips—around the base of the plant.Once the shrub is established and has a couple of growing seasons under its belt, prune these hydrangeas in the spring down to the ground, or not at all if you want a larger shrub. Flower buds will grow on this season’s growth or new wood.Old wood hydrangeas (mophead and oakleaf) should only be pruned immediately after flowering in the spring and summer. Most horticulturists recommend stopping pruning after August; pruning in the fall will reduce the number of flowers you get next spring.After your oakleaf hydrangea finishes blooming, it’s time to prune if needed. If not, you can leave the flowers to dry or snip them off as soon as they fade, and keep them for dried arrangements. If you leave them over the winter, they’ll slowly drop on their own.
Should I cover my hydrangea for the winter?
Generally, hardier hydrangeas such as the paniculata and arborescens types don’t need extra winter protection. However, extreme cold can cause die-back of their branches. If a colder than normal winter in predicted, consider covering. Those new buds need to be protected in areas that experience freezing winter temperatures so they can bloom when summer arrives. Even if you live in a mild climate, you should still protect these hydrangeas on days or nights that you expect temperatures to dip below the freezing point.The summer months require no pruning for your hydrangeas, but they will eventually require you to deadhead. As the summer progresses, your hydrangea blooms will start to fade. Once this happens, feel free to remove the spent blooms by using a process called deadheading.Autumn is an ideal season for pruning a number of plants. It’s the perfect time to tidy up trees, shrubs and fruit bushes to encourage healthy spring growth. However, when it comes to hydrangeas, there’s one rule every gardener should follow: leave them alone.Hydrangeas are perennial, so they come back every year. These are Endless summer, so they continue to bloom all summer where others only bloom once.
Do hydrangeas need to be cut back for winter in the fall?
Avoid pruning Hydrangeas in the Autumn or winter! The flower buds protect the hydrangea in winter from freezing temperatures and add winter interest in your garden. One reason the Soto team love Hydrangeas so much is for their beautiful skeletal form in the winter. Mophead and Bigleaf Hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla) ‘Endless Summer’ hydrangeas thrive with sun in the morning and shade in the afternoon. You do not have to prune your ‘Endless Summer’ since they bloom on both old and new growth, but if you need to cut back, do so immediately after blooming.Prized for its intense, deep coloration, Hydrangea macrophylla Endless Summer® Summer Crush® is a compact, deciduous shrub boasting a profusion of rounded flower heads densely packed with big raspberry red or neon purple florets.What Happens If You Don’t Prune Hydrangeas in the Fall? Nothing. Your hydrangea may thank you with prolific blooms next year because you didn’t prune it. This season’s flowers will slowly dry up and, throughout the winter, blow off and away.Make sure you water your plants enough when hot weather strikes and use the right fertilizer. Avoid pruning your Summer Crush® hydrangeas after fall since doing so can decimate next year’s bloom. Instead, you should deadhead your hydrangeas to make room for the next bloom.What is the ideal planting and spacing for Summerhill Hydrangeas? These hydrangeas should be planted in shade or part sun, spaced 30-36 inches (75-90 cm) apart. They can reach a height of approximately 36 inches (90 cm).
Can you leave hydrangeas in pots over winter?
Hydrangeas in pots can often overwinter in place, but you can move yours if you’re worried it might get blasted by harsh wind or suffer under piles of snow. The perfect spot would be next to your home, out of the wind, but still exposed to sun and able to receive precipitation. Move faded hydrangeas to a shadier spot or add shade cloth to protect them from harsh sun. They often perk up by evening, so wilting during the day isn’t always a problem. Heat, sun, and dryness are the main culprits, so give them the right spot and deep watering.Hydrangeas lose their leaves in autumn or early winter and grow best in temperate and cool climates with warm dry summers and cool winters.If you are growing a hydrangea that is not cold hardy at all, like a Cascade hydrangea, you can put them in an unheated garage, basement, or breezeway for the winter. Just be sure to water them periodically to mimic the precipitation the outdoors gets.Smooth hydrangeas should be left to grow for several seasons then can take a hard pruning down to the ground in the spring, says Dillon. Old wood hydrangeas can be cut back by one third. Don’t prune these hydrangeas down to the ground, but, if you’re trying to reduce the size of the plant, trim it down by one third.
How to bring hydrangeas back to life outside?
The Trick to Bring Back Faded Hydrangeas To bring your faded hydrangea back to life, set up a shade cloth or move or replant them in a more covered spot to give the plant some relief. Hydrangea are shade plants, and this also helps with water retention, says plant expert Amy McCord. Benefits of Deadheading Hydrangeas Deadheading allows the energy produced by the plant to go into producing new flower heads, rather than producing seeds. This extends the flowering season and encourages plant growth.However, stop deadheading hydrangea shrubs in mid to late fall, leaving any spent blooms in place. This not only provides winter interest, but also ensures you don’t remove the buds that will become flowers next spring.When Should You Deadhead? Endless Summer® hydrangea’s first bloom cycle lasts until about mid-July. That’s about when the blooms start to fade, and you know that it’s time to get deadheading! While deadheading can be done throughout the summer, you should make sure to stop in mid to late fall.Hydrangeas that bloom on new wood can be safely pruned in late fall once the plants have gone dormant or in early spring. Next year’s flower buds won’t be formed until late spring the same year they bloom, so there is no risk of removing the buds if you prune in fall or spring.Hydrangeas thrive in moist soils, and your shrub must be kept hydrated through the cold and dry winter months. Adding mulch to your hydrangea after thoroughly watering helps retain moisture (and warmth) at the shrub’s crown when temperatures drop.
Which hydrangeas should not be cut back in the fall?
Mountain Hydrangeas Like bigleaf hydrangeas, leave your mountain hydrangea’s (hydrangea serrata) blooms on the plant until spring. Doing this will help protect young shoots and buds. It won’t kill your plant, and it might not even affect it at all. Of course, there are some plants you don’t need to deadhead, and many species of hydrangea fall into that category, especially if you’re looking to increase architectural interest in the garden.Deadheading during dormancy, however, isn’t absolutely necessary. Leaving spent flowers on the plant means they can act as mini umbrellas through the cold weather, providing protection for the lower part of the stem where the new buds are “sleeping,” Ballato explains. Plus, dead hydrangeas are still beautiful.When to Deadhead Hydrangeas. You should deadhead throughout the blooming season to keep your hydrangeas looking their beast and encourage new flower growth. However, stop deadheading hydrangea shrubs in mid to late fall, leaving any spent blooms in place.Deadheading is a great way to easily help support the health and happiness of your hydrangeas, plus the gorgeous rebloom that happens each summer.Avoid pruning your Summer Crush® hydrangeas after fall since doing so can decimate next year’s bloom. Instead, you should deadhead your hydrangeas to make room for the next bloom.