How to Care For New Hydrangeas

Hydrangea shrubs, with their showy, spherical or lace-top blue or pink flowers, are ornamental staples of the summer landscape. As potted plants forced into bloom, hydrangeas are also staples of the Easter and Mother's Day florist trade. If you've received a blooming, potted hydrangea, knowing how to care for it properly will extend its indoor blooming. The right care will also prepare your new hydrangea for a permanent place in your landscape, providing you live where it won't succumb to low winter temperatures.

Clear plastic bag
Pine bark-based potting mix (optional)

Instructions

- 1
  Place your new hydrangea near a window with direct sunlight. Placing it too close to a window may expose it to too much sun and damage its blooms. If that happens, move it further from the window.
- 2
  Check the hydrangea's soil for moisture daily. As soon as the top 1 inch feels dry to the touch, add water.
- 3
  Move your hydrangea, if necessary, to a spot with nighttime temperatures between 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Return it to the sunny window in the morning.
- 4
  Keep your hydrangea adequately moist when you're away overnight. Water it and place the clear plastic bag over the pot. Plants bagged frequently -- or for more than 48 consecutive hours -- are at greater risk of disease.
- 5
  Remove your new hydrangea's spent blooms. If your hydrangea is hardy in your United States Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zone, you can transplant it to a wind-sheltered garden spot with morning sun and afternoon shade. Otherwise, treat it as a houseplant.

How to Transplant Laceleaf Maple Trees in the Fall

How to Transplant Althea

Shrubs