(post saved from 2021 Mr. Backyard. LLC website)
Hydreangea care and what I have learned
The Nextdoor website has been a big part in my business since the first gardening help-for-hire post I made in 2013. I wanted to find a way to help everyone by sharing some insight from what I have learned since that first post, to now, after years tending to Hydreangeas. I can go into Hydranga types and prunning basics in another post but the support stand advice can be used for all or most over grown medium-large Hydreangeas. You most likely won't find these couple tips and tricks in basic tutorials. The tips about prunning are specific to the types of Hydrangas that you prune late winter, early spring in which new growth is budding from last seasons left over stalks. I notice a lot of intrest with Hydrangas on the nextdoor.com/Okemos area, so I'm excited about this post and I hope it will either help you, or maybe you have something to add or some input.
Reading information online, watching turtorials and even reading books that are highly respected in the gardeneing book section, gives a great start in learning these beautiful perennials. Im jumping right into some things that are not covered or to my knowledge are not covered anyway. The nomal pruning reccomendations for these type of Hydrangas often say that you prune them back in the winter or early spring to a height of 18 to 24 inches.
PROBLEM:
Often times I'm seeing Hydrangas that have been pruned to the suggested heights still have problems with the blooms getting top heavy in the mid-late summer and they droop down. Trick! So the first part of this trick, if you're having this problem with hydrangas that cannot support their blooms you most like seeing it now. Also your most likely seeing this on older, bigger hydrangas you have had for some time. You'll need measuring tape, and perhaps bamboo stakes and garden twine to support the Hydranga stalks for now. If you skip that step, that's fine, but I want you to meaure where it is they start to bend and droop. Go from the ground up and find a close guess, since they do bend, so its tricky and take a guess. Let's say you measure your stalks and you see them bending around the 24 inch mark. Well thats funny you were taught to prune them that height so why are they beginning to bend at the exact same height as they were pruned and some you pruned at 19 or 24 in and they are bending in that area as well. As hydrangas get older and bigger as they fill out, its no longer addequet to just prune these well established hydrangas at the originial suggested prunning height you're used to. After you measured where that bend starts at, I want you to write that down and then below it, write prune this hydranga 4 inches past the point or measurement they started to bend last year. This may verywell be 28 to 30 inches. Remember, if dont prune the hydrangas that bloom from last years stalks you can always prune later when you dead head the dying blooms. There is no reason you cannot cut a little lower if the plant seems a bit over grown.
PROBLEM SOLVED
So what this does is it gives you a way to prune not just by a suggested height, this gives you a better idea of your specific Hydranga and where it needs to be pruned so it has the most support. If your Hydrangas are bending even at the suggested 24 inch height, you want to shoot for punning not lower than than 28 to 30 inches.
NEXT TIP
Okay, so your Hydrangas are big and you're not prunning as far down next year, but you are going to make sure this year's blooms are beautiful, upright, and perfect the way you want them to. These are not sold at Home Depot but I'm providing a link below to order it. What you may need is an actual hydranga (cage) specific to hydrangas the way peoniey cages are made for them and the way tomato cages are made for tomatoes. The reason I put cage in parentheses, is becasuse thats just the way I describe them so you know what I'm talking about. They are more decorative and they dont stick out like a peoiny cage or a tomatoe cage. They are a cute, green, mental enclosure that almost looks like a fancy privacy fence. These support systems are the right height to support hydrangas, they are green and decorative to accent your plant, not look gauty and they are 100% worth it! You'll thank me for this later. Pruning your Hydrangas not by a suggestion but based on the age, the size and 4 to 5 inches highter than the bending starts, is a much more accurate way to manage larger, mature, and more established ones in your garden. Then with a beautiful extra support decritive system your hydrangas will be looking better and you will now never have that drooping Hydranga look in your garden. Below is the links for premium Hydranga / Plant supports
This plant support system is very decrotive and will showcase as well as prodive support. Cheaply made plant supports work well for some plants but larger mature plants neee a bit extra, This is perfect for your favorite in the garen, the one outside your bedroom winow or the main focus of your perennial garden. When the support needed isnt the center piece as well there are other options or if you need several of themWhat I like about these is that even though they look like a peony support, they sell the xl size at $84. You will have to select which size is best for your plant but the smallest ones are $44. Both the large and small options are nice because there not just one size available for a still custom looking study plant support that is sutible for supportng several other types of perennials
You may see these often when shpping for Hydrangea Plant supports. These may work for some plants but not large Hydrangas. Im not attaching a link to this for you to buy because well, dont do it they lean as the plant grows, they are to short to provide needed support and personally, I dont like the look of them.(You may have some of these supports all I am saying is they arnt the best for larger Hydrangeas, they do work well for other plants.)
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