AUTUMN HYDRANGEA CARE

Collage of different types of hydrangeas

For gardeners in the Northern hemisphere, we are coming into the home stretch for considering autumn hydrangea care. Where I garden in US Zone 5b, we are almost out of time by mid-August. But if you garden where it is warmer, you have a few more weeks. Here’s what to keep in mind.

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LATER SEASON HYDRANGEA CARE

Collage of different types of hydrangeas

We are coming into the home stretch for what to do w/your hydrangeas in the later part of the season. Where I garden in US Zone 5b, we are almost out of time by mid-August. But if you garden where it is warmer, you have a few more weeks.

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HYDRANGEA WINTER PROTECTION

Big Leaf Hydrangea being wrapped for winter

I woke up to a very dark 44 degrees F this morning, a stark reminder that I need to get organized to do some hydrangea winter protection. Those that aren’t planted in protected locations as I described in an earlier blog post need a little help if I want to give them their best chance…

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AUGUST: TAKE A BREAK FROM MOST HYDRANGEA WORK

Think Before Pruning Old Wood Hydrangeas

TAKE A BREAK FROM HYDRANGEA WORK If you are in the northern hemisphere and in zone 6 and colder, the beginning of August is the time to take a break from working on hydrangeas that flower on old wood. That translates into big leaf (macrophylla), mountain (serrata), oak leaf (quercifolia), and climbing (petiolaris) varieties.

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FERTILIZING HYDRANGEAS

Blooming Bigleaf Hydrangea

Now that it is July, it’s time to fertilize your hydrangeas, especially for next year. You should be having a fabulous hydrangea year. The relatively mild winter and forgiving spring is giving all of us a fantastic show. Just about every big leaf hydrangea (macrophylla) is flowering. But don’t be lulled into thinking you can…

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HYDRANGEA SCALE

Climbing hydrangea on arbor

I was horrified this past weekend to spot an extensive case of hydrangea scale on my climbing hydrangea (hydrangea ssp. petiolaris). It was an accidental discovery as my original mission was to prune it back. As covered in my book, Success with Hydrangeas, climbing hydrangeas flower on old wood so I knew it had to…

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