First, add a 1/4 cup of sugar to the room temperature water in the vase. The sugar helps feed the stems and increases the life of the cut flowers.
Make a vertical slit in the incision and hold the stem upright in the boiling water for about 60 seconds. Place the hydrangeas back in your floral arrangement and they should revive themselves in an hour or so. Don't forget to check out our pro tips for arranging flowers!
Best Fertilizer For Hydrangeas
Organic, slow-release fertilizers for roses (such as a 15-10-10, or 10-5-5 formula) work well on hydrangeas, giving the plants the nutrients they need to increase the size and quantity of their blooms.
Put Hydrangeas In Water Immediately After Cutting
And adding a little bit of flower food to it would be a great idea too. Use a sharp knife or clippers to cut each stem on a diagonal and submerge! Cut hydrangeas in the morning and choose only the most mature blooms. They will look a little more papery than others.
I leave them in the water until it gets Luke warm (30-45 minutes) and then I transfer the stems back into the vase with fresh (also lukewarm) water. Within an hour or so, your lifeless limp hydrangeas blossoms will be back to their full glory.
Re-cut the stems of the wilted hydrangeas by removing a portion at the bottom. Use the Boiling Water Method: Boil water and pour it into a cup. Stand the stems of the wilted hydrangeas in this water for 30 seconds. Immediately put into room temperature water (this usually means back into the arrangement).
Miracle-Gro Performance Organics Blooms Nutrition
This is an all-purpose blossom booster that's suitable for use on a wide variety of perennial and annual blooming plants, including hydrangeas. It provides various minerals, including copper, calcium, and iron, to supplement common nutrient deficiencies.
It's best to start adding coffee grounds to the soil months before the blooming season begins, ideally in the late fall. You can repeat the process with your typical fertilizing schedule. With a little caffeine and a lot of patience, your hydrangeas should reward your efforts come spring with the boldest blue globes.
You can use vinegar to lower the pH of your soil, but be aware that in order to achieve blue blooms, you will need both an acidic environment and aluminum ions. The acidic environment will also need to be a sustained over a period of time, which could be hard if rainwater is washing the vinegar away.
Some gardeners report success in turning their hydrangeas blue by applying coffee grounds to the soil. The coffee grounds make the soil more acidic, allowing the hydrangea to more easily absorb aluminum. In addition, fruit peels, lawn clippings, peat moss and pine needles, are thought to have a similar effect.
Hydrangeas can be grown in full sun but too much direct sunlight, especially during the afternoon hours when the sun is most intense, can cause wilt. When exposed to excessive sun, the plant's internal temperature increases, which causes the leaves to transpire and leads to moisture loss in the cells.
Cut the stems at an angle.
Hydrangea (just like lilacs) love to drink a LOT a water and they need as much surface area to do that. So give it a good cut to help it out!
It is suggested that Hydrangea wilt so soon after being cut because their stems contain a sticky substance that clogs the stems preventing moisture reaching the top of the stem to the head. Top Tip - Cut 10 cm off the stem and place in boiling water and leave for 24 hours.
You really want to make sure you are buying the freshest Hydrangeas available (1-3 days old) as they only tend to last 5-9 days depending on how you care for them.
Hydrangeas produce a “sap” that clogs their stems and blocks water from traveling up it to those gorgeous blooms. The boiling water helps to do away with the sap.
Once you've established your vinegar solution, pour it around the base of your hydrangea, thoroughly soaking the soil while avoiding the stalk, stems, and leaves. Repeat these steps every two weeks, and within a few months, you should notice the blooms start to blue!
Homemade compost is a great source of slow release nutrients for hydrangeas. Either top dress the soil beneath your plants with your compost and water well or brew up a batch of compost tea and give your plants a deep drink of it. You can repeat your application of compost tea in 2 to 3 weeks.
Banana peels also make a great fertilizer for hydrangeas. Use the peels from two or three bananas per plant. Chop the peels into small pieces and bury them around the base of each plant.
Standard Miracle-Gro “all purpose plant food” fertilizers are synthetic and should not be used in organic gardens.
1) Place the hydrangea in the coolest room in your home; an unheated room is ideal. 2) Place it next to a window where it can get as much light as possible. 3) Most important: do not overwater it by allowing it to stand in water or by watering it too often.
However, if your Hydrangeas look wilted in the morning before it's hot outside or in the evening once the temperature starts to drop, then this is a sign that your Hydrangeas need water. Brown leaves can be a sign for underwatered and overwatered Hydrangeas, so rely on checking the soil to tell the difference.
Removing spent flowers will ensure your hydrangeas produce healthier, more bountiful blooms later on.