Hydrangeas can flourish if you avoid one common mistake people often make in the autumn. The flowers, which are native to the Americas and Asia, are loved for their vibrant b,right blue hue, normally with shades of pink, blue, white, and sometimes even green.
Around this time of year the plants go into dormancy to protect themselves against the increasingly cold conditions. But if they’re properly looked after they can spring back to life in the new year when temperatures rise.
Ideal Home spoke to various experts to get the lowdown on what gardeners should do to ensure that their hydrangeas make it through the winter months.
Julian Palphramand, head of plants at British Garden Centres, recommended avoiding the impulse to deadhead the plants once they’ve started to fade.
The term refers to the process of removing fading or dead blooms to encourage more growth. Julian says this isn’t necessary with hydrangeas. The garden centre group recommends “retaining faded hydrangea flower heads through winter, as these offer valuable frost protection for the young buds below.”
Julian says if you have a variety of plant species that bloom on old wood, deadheading them in mid- to late autumn can prevent them from flowering.
“Instead, pruning should be postponed until mid-to-late spring, when the stems can be cut back to the first or second pair of healthy buds to ensure optimal flowering,” he added.
Meanwhile, a gardening expert behind Hydrangea Love says fallen leaves are a cheap way to protect the plants from weeds and the cold weather as the mercury plummets.
“If you’ve got a backyard full of trees, composted leaves can be an excellent, eco-friendly mulch option for hydrangeas,” she said.
Mulching is adding organic matter to the soil. Hydrangeas need this because their shallow roots make them more vulnerable to frost.
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