How To Plant Hydrangea

Today I planted some Hydrangea plants along the front of the farmers porch. Hydrangeas are a great perennial flowering shrub that blooms from late spring to late summer. The flowers are defined as a type of flower head (sometimes called mop heads) that contains many small flowers.

The flowers can be white, blue, shades of pink and purple. The colors depend on the species and the acidity of the soil. My wife happens to love the blue ones and she’s in luck because blue ones require acidic soil and we have plenty of that! Hydrangeas like a mixture of sun and shade. They do best with morning to early afternoon sun with some shade in the late afternoon. Hydrangeas also like plenty of water especially in the first couple of years.

One of the best ways to layout plant locations is to place them around in their pots. You can try different locations and then mark your favorite spot before you dig the hole. You’ll want to dig the hole approximately twice the diameter of the pot that it’s in. Also dig the hole about twice the depth of the root ball. Once you’ve dug the hole I like to partially fill the hole with some really good potting soil. I happen to like the pre-bagged potting soils that have fertilizer in them already.

Next remove the plant from the pot and loosen the root ball. It’s easiest to just use your fingers to loosen up the roots so they will take in the new soil. When you place the plant into the hole make sure the top of the root ball is slightly above the surrounding grade. Next fill the remaining void around the root ball with additional potting soil. Make sure you pack it in to remove any voids. Finally water the plant liberally for a few days until the plant has a chance to take hold.

Hydrangeas make a great decorative border plant and they give flowers most of the summer season.