Spring Hydrangea Care - 5 Tips for Happy Hydrangeas

whether you have one or 100 hydrangeas in your landscape a bit of spring maintenance will go a long way to produce healthy plants filled with beautiful blooms year after year hello fellow gardeners my name is amy from gardening know-how and we are going to talk spring care of my favorite flowering shrub so grab your garden gloves and a few other supplies while you follow our top 5 tips for happy hydrangeas [Music] all types of hydrangeas would benefit from several applications of fertilizer per season starting early in the spring once new growth begins to emerge a general all-purpose fertilizer works well but i prefer to use a granular organic fertilizer specifically for acid-loving plants as it breaks down slowly providing an even feed following the application instructions on the bag broadcast the fertilizer within the drip line of the plant scratching or raking the fertilizer into the top inch of the soil water in as directed [Music] once new growth begins to emerge you may want to adjust the bloom color of your mop head or lace cap hydrangeas a soil acidifier such as aluminum sulfate will turn blue hydrangeas darker and turn pink hydrangeas to more of a purple hue the addition of lime to the soil will lighten the pink color of hydrangeas and possibly revert blue varieties back to pink so be sure to choose the correct amendment depending on the desired flower color apply the product as directed on the package early in the spring once new growth emerges a second application can be given one to two months later while there are around five main types of hydrangeas available on the market these soil amendments will only modify the flower color on macrophylla and serrata species of hydrangeas in spring there are only a few hydrangea types that require trimming to keep the plant neat and tidy plus trimming will produce a fuller and healthier shrub panicle types known for their large cone-shaped flowers usually in white fading to shades of pink would benefit from the top one-third to one half of the shrub cut off the best time to prune is in early to mid spring once the first new green growth emerges they bloom on new growth assuring you flowers this season even if you make a few mistake cuts however i do recommend cutting right above a set of buds the other hydrangea type that would benefit from spring pruning is hydrangea arborescens commonly known as the smooth hydrangea you may be familiar with varieties such as annabelle or incredible this species can be pruned hard down to one foot tall pruning in early spring can help benefit a top-heavy plant that may flop to the ground by mid-summer as for oak leaf hydrangea types these can be left alone completely as they bloom on old wood and have an attractive large spreading habit that is desired in the landscape mop head types the hydrangeas with rounded ball shaped flowers commonly found in shades of pink and blue are a bit more complicated mostly they bloom on buds formed the previous season but some newer varieties will boom on both old wood and new growth so cutting any of these branches off in early spring will remove the flower buds for the first set of blooms if you do need to tidy up this species of hydrangea you can cut above the topmost healthy set of buds some branches that are a few years old that will not produce blooms can be removed completely these branches that can and should be removed will be very woody possibly hollow stemmed and lighter in color but just as with oak leaf types this type of hydrangea does not require pruning at all [Music] the last step for spring hydrangea care is to apply a layer of mulch mulching will reduce weeds retain moisture and provide for a fresh clean look to your beds after the leaf buds begin to open apply a two inch layer of mulch i prefer to use pine bark mulch in my area but shredded mulch compost and pine needles are other good choices depending on availability in your region [Music] our fifth and final tip is optional whether your plant is getting a bit too much sun or if the shrub has overgrown its spot you may want to consider transplanting it to a new area early spring is an excellent time to move your plant before the heat of the summer arrives be sure to dig a hole in the new location first and if the plant is too big and too cumbersome you may want to prune it back a bit before moving if needed amend the soil in the new planting bed with compost or peat moss depending on your soil composition be sure to water thoroughly after planting repeating frequently while the roots establish in its new environment [Music] if you are looking for more information on the types of hydrangeas discussed in this video please check for links in the description don't forget to hit the subscribe button for more content from us and be sure to sign up for our free weekly gardening newsletter with the link below well thanks for watching and happy gardening [Music]

Channel: Gardening Know How

Views: 40,657

Keywords: garden, gardening, plants, vegetables, organic

Id: fCR-x5nrAMc

Length: 5min 33sec (333 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 07 2022