Along with planting them in the right place, properly watering your hydrangeas is essential to bigger and better blooms. "Hydrangeas should be watered deeply several times per week to encourage deep root growth," says Enfield. "Water should be applied at the base of the plant to keep the leaves and flowers dry.
If you're growing hydrangeas, use coffee grounds to affect their color. Coffee grounds add extra acidity to the soil around hydrangeas. On a chemical level, this increased acidity makes it easier for the plant to absorb naturally occurring aluminum in the dirt. The effect is pretty blue clusters of flowers.
Hydrangeas need regular water to thrive. Too little water can result in stunted growth and failure to develop flower buds. A drought in the previous growing season can also affect flowering the following year. Plants need consistent moisture, about 2 inches of water per week.
THE BEST FERTILIZER FOR HYDRANGEAS Rose food is ideal as is any granulated shrub fertilizer, either organic or a time release product. I don't recommend products like 10-10-10.
Heading Cut This simple but effective method involves trimming the branches to redirect growth or shorten branches. You trim just above the next bud or node below the existing dried hydrangea blossom. This will promote fresh growth and create a more compact and bushy plant.
Along with planting them in the right place, properly watering your hydrangeas is essential to bigger and better blooms. "Hydrangeas should be watered deeply several times per week to encourage deep root growth," says Enfield. "Water should be applied at the base of the plant to keep the leaves and flowers dry.
If a soil test reveals your soil is deficient in magnesium, applying Epsom salts may help temporarily improve conditions to boost flowering. However, if there is no deficiency, Epsom salt will have no effect on flowering.
Water soluble fertilizers can be also used on your hydrangeas, especially on new plantings or those recovering from stress. MiracleGro®, the most widely used liquid product on the market, has an N-P-K ratio of 15-30-15.
For hydrangeas planted in ground.
For optimal growth, bloom production, and quality, fertilize three times: In early spring when plants are just leafing out. In early May to boost their flower production for summer. In late June/early July to help your plants finish the summer strong.
As a young plant, it is best to prune or pinch your plant in order to build a full bodied, well-branched plant. Every time you cut off the growing tip of a plant, you get twice as many branches and thus in the long-run, more flowers.
Lavender is a sun-loving perennial that performs best in dry conditions and leaner soil, so will not thrive near hydrangeas. Rosemary is a shrubby perennial herb that prefers sunny, dry conditions and lean soil. Roses bloom best in full sun, which is too much light for many hydrangea bushes.
If you don't prune hydrangeas then they can eventually resemble a tangled mass of woody stems, and the flowers will become smaller and less showy. Regular pruning of hydrangeas helps to maintain their shape and also encourages new growth and a better display of blooms.
Some gardeners may add vinegar to their watering can to change the acidity of their soil and turn their hydrangeas blue. However, vinegar can be harmful to local wildlife and is not a long-term solution for blue hydrangeas, so we don't readily recommend this technique.
Using eggshells for fertiliser
For fertiliser, Craig suggests using a mortar and pestle for crushing and sprinkling crumbled shells directly into planting holes, which he says particularly benefits vegetables such as tomatoes and peppers, as well as roses and hydrangeas.
The boiling water has two purposes, one, hydrangea stems produce a sap that can clog the stem, the boiling water clears that up- and two, the boiling water takes care of any bacteria that might be there.
A slow-release, granular fertiliser with an N-P-K ratio of 10-10-10 is ideal for most hydrangeas. This will provide a balanced supply of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium to support healthy growth and flowering.
You should deadhead throughout the blooming season to keep your hydrangeas looking their beast and encourage new flower growth. However, stop deadheading hydrangea shrubs in mid to late fall, leaving any spent blooms in place.
Water your hydrangeas in the morning before the heat of the sun is strong enough to quickly evaporate soil moisture. Try to avoid watering at night, which can encourage mold and mildew as the moisture sits through the cool night. Water your hydrangeas through the growing season as well as in late fall.
In a clean container, combine 1 gallon of water with 1 tablespoon of Epsom salt. Add 1 teaspoon of baking soda to the mixture and stir until dissolved. Gently mix in 1/2 teaspoon of ammonia-free liquid dish soap. Transfer the homemade fertilizer solution to a watering can or spray bottle for easy application.
Which plants like coffee grounds? Especially plants that like acidic soil are very happy with coffee grounds. For example, your beautiful hydrangeas, your radiant roses, the lawn or the lavender bushes, but also the gardenia, chamomile and rhododendrons.
Avoid too much shade and too much nitrogen
The high shade created by deciduous trees or evergreens is perfect for bigleaf hydrangeas in the East, Midwest, and Northwest. In California, any shade you can find, as long as it is not too dense, seems to work.
Can I Just Sprinkle Epsom Salt on Plants? Never apply Epsom salt straight from the package. Always dilute the granules in water first, and either drench your plants' roots or spray it on the foliage. Don't spray on hot or sunny days, however, to avoid scorching the foliage.