If you’ve always wanted to grow beautiful hydrangeas in your yard, try these 5 easy tips.
For tips on how to make your hydrangeas last, check this post on hydrangea care as well my FB live video.
Let me preface this post by saying, I’m no garden expert. HOWEVER, I have been trying to grow hydrangeas in my yard for 15 years now and I can finally say that I have beautiful, thriving hydrangeas. Once upon a time, I was a serial hydrangea killer. I have murdered many due to improper planting mistakes and so I wanted to share some easy tips on what to do and what NOT to do. Hydrangeas not only make your yard look more beautiful, but the best part is cutting them and having fresh free flowers in the house all summer long. Ready to read my 5 easy tips for growing hydrangeas?
5 Easy Tips For Growing Hydrangeas
1. SHADE
- Find a spot in your yard that has a good amount of shade. This is probably my number 1 tip because if you plant the hydrangea in an area with full sun, that sucker is most likely not going to last. Trust me, I did this way too many times and finally learned. They love shade and too much sun can dry them out quickly. Now, if you have to plant in full sun area, be sure to read my last tip. If you currently have a plant that’s not doing well, I suggest replanting it another spot that has more shade.
2. GOOD SOIL
- Follow the directions on how to plant your hydrangea by reading the tag that’s attached. Make sure to dig a hole that’s as deep as the root ball and make the hole 2-3 times as wide. Here in GA, the red clay is difficult to dig up so if you’re working with similar dirt, I recommend digging deeper and wider. This way, you can add more soil. Compost is also a great idea as it enriches the soil and has a lot more nutrients. After digging the dirt, place your hydrangea plant and fill the dirt halfway with soil. Add water and after it’s drained, fill the hole with more soil. Water again.
3. FERTILIZER
- Use Hollytone fertilizer every Spring and Fall. Follow the directions as it’s really simple to use. Caution: It smells like poop because it is poop. 😀 This awesome tip was from my next door neighbor, Toni who is a gardening extraordinaire. She told me to add this and it has completely changed my azaleas too. Hollytone is used for rhododendrons and azaleas but she uses it for her hydrangeas. When we first moved in, my azaleas looked terrible. Now, every Spring they bloom beautifully.
4. HYDRATE
- Give plenty of water. Here in GA, we typically receive a good amount of rain in the Spring and Summer so I don’t have to water it as frequently. Both the roots and blooms of hydrangeas looove water so make sure the plants stay well hydrated especially after they’ve endured a lot of heat during the day. The best time to water is early morning before sunrise but if that’s hard to do, then do it at night.
5. LIMELIGHTS
- For guaranteed hydrangeas, plant limelights. Limelights are the easiest hydrangeas to grow and I have them growing on three sides of my home. This photo above shows one of my hydrangeas that’s about 2-3 years old now and it’s crazy big! It’s over 6 feet tall and the blooms are bigger than my head. Limelights have a cone shape and typically bloom in July here in Georgia. They are the lowest maintenance of all the hydrangeas I’ve planted and they get bigger each summer. They start off with an off white, slightly green color and change to a lime color in August. It’s really cool to watch the color transformation take place!
If you have issues with deer eating your hydrangeas, I recommend using Bobex as I’ve heard great things about it. I heard it smells awful but it’s supposed to work really well.
Look how pretty!
This is Emmy in front of Toni’s hydrangea. Do you see why I listen to Toni now? Look at her bush!! And don’t ask me why Emmy is posing like that. I didn’t even ask her to do that. #confident
One last thing I’ll add is to have patience. Every summer, it’s so fun to watch my plants grow bigger and healthier each year.
Good luck!
xoxo,
Let all that you do be done in Love. 1 Corinthians 16:14
*I have included affiliate links for your convenience in this post.
Great post! Thanks for the tips!
You got it! Thanks to you too for your tips, Adrienne and letting me cut some of the ones outside my window. 🙂
My hydrangeas could not bloom for 3 years and I wanted to remove them from my yard, but I read your tips and change my mind. Thank you very much for your tips!
Yes, I hope you try replanting them and see how they do next summer. I’ve had to replant a few of mine too.
What about pruning? Don’t?
I don’t prune. I only cut stems to put in my home and they seem to grow bigger each summer. Sorry, I can’t offer much advice on that!
Hydrangeas are my fav, but the ones in my front yard are pitiful! I’m digging them up and finding some shade! Your blog is beautiful 🙂 We met on the flight from Atlanta to Charleston. Hope you had a great time at Haven & keep up the good work.
Hi there, Judy! It was so nice meeting you on the plane! I hope you’ll try replanting them as I’ve done the same. Haven was a blast. I hope you had a wonderful much needed vacation! Thank you for the sweet comment.
Good tips! We have some that are in partial shade/partial sun, and it is even almost too much sun for them. They seem to be thriving though in the last 3 years.
Hey Bruce! Yeah sometimes these hydrangeas are really fickle and it’s tricky figuring out where they love to be planted. Glad that yours seem to be thriving though! It was great meeting you at Haven!