The Secret to Long-Lasting Hydrangeas
How to keep cut hydrangeas from wilting-the simple florist’s trick that can prevent and reverse wilting in hydrangea bouquets!

I love hydrangeas. Seriously, LOVE them. The first thing I did last year when we moved in our house was plant five hydrangea bushes so I could have my own. They haven’t bloomed yet this year but I was super excited to see cut hydrangeas in my grocery store last week and snapped some up for my kitchen table.

How to Keep Hydrangeas from Wilting
Keeping cut hydrangeas used to be hit or miss for me-they’d either do great or wilt almost immediately in the vase. I didn’t know what was causing it or how to prevent it until I was given a helpful tip from the flower vendor at our local farmer’s market last year.
She told me that sometimes when you cut hydrangeas they form a sticky substance over the cut that prevents the flower from sucking water up through the stem (that’s scientific terminology by the way, “sticky stuff” and “sucking water up,” can’t tell I was a Bio major can you?)
To prevent that “sticky stuff” from forming you need the secret ingredient-alum! (A common ingredient used for pickling, find it in the spice aisle.)
When you are arranging your hydrangeas re-cut the stem about an inch above the previous cut and immediately stick the bottom 1/2″ of the stem in the alum to coat it, then arrange as usual. It’s easy and works! No more wilted hydrangea blooms!
Repeat the process any time you see them beginning to wilt and you can keep the hydrangeas from wilting for weeks!

Do you love hydrangeas as much as I do? What are your favorite flowers?
Be sure to check out these other flower posts:
No way!!!!! Just added alum to the grocery list for this week. I’ve always wondered why sometimes they stay poofy and dry out nicely and other times they just flop. Now I know! I think you just changed my life!
OMG I often wondered why I couldn’t keep them for more than a couple days! Me and my 40 hydrangea Thank you!
Hello, what a wonderful answer to a miserable situation. I grow huuuuge hydrangeas and each time I cut some….disaster! Thanks to all of you, I’m off to cut some for my table….
I have another tip that I found online. If your hydrangeas start to droop, boil 3-4 inches of water, recut the flower stem and put the flower into the hot water-they rehydrate and I’ve even had it work on the same flower multiple times!
Great tip Suzi, thanks!! I’ll be sure to try that!
Also you can soak and submersible the entire stem in water to rehydrate if they wilt. Been doing it for years and years as a special event florist.
Can you eventually dry them this way?
Wendy Is that the bloom & all in cold water? The entire stem and flower head? Submerge in cold h20?
I have seen florist submerge the entire bloom and stem in a bathtub for 30-45 minutes and it perks them back up!
I’ll have to try that!
How long do you keep stem in boiling water cup?
As a Florist of 35 + years..just immerse the entire stem to rehydrate them. It could take a couple of hours. If too far gone though, there is no rescuing it. L Boiling water, if not done correctly will not have your desired effect. Also always use alum. ?
Brenna can you tell me- once I pick up my order of hydrangeas- what do you recommend to do? I am nervous about the hydrangeas. Have an event I’m doing in Atlanta, picking up flowers Thursday and event is Saturday. Hydrangea will be in Mason jars. Can you tell me what steps you take to cut and care for them. And do you recommend designing them day of event or can I do it Thursday? (They will not be kept in a floral cooler either) I REALLY appreciate your help.
We have done that for years. I also lightly crush the stem.
I have never heard of using Alum but will try that.
where do you buy ALUM which part of the grocery store
Hi Sandra, I’m not sure I ever bought alum in England when we lived there but it should be in the spice aisle. (I was so confused the year we were there because so many things had different names!) The chemical name is Potassium Aluminum Sulfate and it’s used in the pickling process here in the US. Hope that helps a little! ~Melissa
How do I dry hydrangeas?
Haven’t tried it myself but my friend told me to place it in water and leave in a dark room like a basement and never allow the water to dry… And the hydrangeas will dry beautifully and last a long time
I’ve never tried the alum, but I have always mashed the cut ends, it helps suck up water.
Great tip Rhoni! Thanks!
OH MY GOODNESS… I am a 67 year old grandma and have never known how to keep cut hydrangeas! And 90% of the time they just wilt! GOD BLESS YOU MELISSA…. My 36 year old daughter is getting married the end of June…. we might just have to use this to help us decorate! WOW….. I hope to stumble upon more suggestions like yours!! Have a wonderufl and very beautiful summer…. a lot more of us will because of you!
This is one ole Norwegian MorMor that is happier! Claudia Jacobson
Yay!!! I’m so so glad it helped Claudia! Sometimes if it doesn’t work the first time you can do it again also so don’t give up if they try to wilt anyways, usually you can recover them!
I love them too, but unfortunately mine got run over w/ the mower when my neighbor mowed for me. First he forgot to water my bamboo and it died, now it’s the hydrangeas. I can’t say anything though, as he was doing me a favor and forgot that is where we planted a couple last year. Oh well….
There’s always this year Terri!
Got a neighbor like that my answer big rocks around stuff I want to keep!
Well if your bamboo died, you may want to rent him out…lol.
I can’t get them to grow in flower in kansas. Is it the soil, heard need acid soil. I’m not a good Gardner and I love flowers ..
Put coffee grounds around the base and water
I love them too!!!!!! Just planted 3 more and thank you for the tip about the Alum!!
Oh fun! I’m resisting buying any more this year but hoping the ones I put in last year get a lot bigger, I’m so excited for them to start blooming!
I have not had blooms for 2 years HELP
Don’t cut back in the winter. They bloom from the old shoots from the previous year. It looks like dead sticks, but don’t cut them off.
Great tip Lisa, we recently sold our old house and I realized our renters had mowed right over the ones we put it last winter-it was so sad!
Where do you live Lisa? It’s true some bloom on old wood but not all of them.. I live where the buds on old wood freezes and they won’t bloom then. Still haven’t figured out how to protect them over winter as they get 4-5 feet high. Anyone have a solution for my problem?
Any ideas on how to keep them from wilting in a Bridal bouquet? My niece wants them and I’m terrified! Any suggestion would be appreciated. Thank you.
Hi Marsha, I would be really nervous to try this with a wedding without doing at least a few practice run throughs, hydrangeas can be so finicky and quick to wilt. I might also have an artificial backup on standby. I’m sorry not to be more help, when I made my stepsister’s bouquet I used artificial for this reason.
Oooo, one of my favorite flowers! Totally pinned this tip for when the hubby brings me hydrangeas!!
I’m smitten with hydrangeas! They are such a gorgeous flower…
Thanks for the tip, girlie! I will so have to remember this one.
woah, i had no clue. i need all the gardening tips i can get! i am currently trying to keep the herbs i just planted 3 days ago from dying. lol!
This could not have come at a better time…just bought hydrangeas! Perfect tip…pinned!!!
Thanks Jessica, don’t you love the spring flowers everywhere finally?!
They are my very favorite flower, I grew up with beauties on Tybee Island GA. Thanks for this info, I never knew, I do remember my Grandmother poured beer on them and they turned the most beautiful colors.
Cool tip! I’ll have to try that and see how it works, thanks!
? beer! Really? Any particular kind of beer?
Will this work for all flowers or hydrangeas only? I loove peonies and mine are blooming now, I might try it!
I’m not sure Marie, if you try it let me know how it goes! I’m totally jealous of your peonies!
As a apprentice florist many many years ago we always did the hot water treatment after we bashed the hydrangeas and also put the dahlias in hot water for 30 sec. I think we did it for scabioas as well love all the other hints
Great tip Carmel, thank you!!
hydrangeas like to be well watered, kept cool (hence they wilt VERY easily in the hot summer months when cut), with partial sun (usually do well in semi shady places when planting)…. i usually stick mine in the fridge if they start to wilt and check the stems. Alum is something that is used in the pickling process so it would make sense that they help preserve flowers 🙂 thanks for the tip!
also, changing the acidity/pH levels of the soil can also change the colors you have…my grandma always used her leftover coffee grounds to do this.
Great tips Jamie, thanks!
Thanks for a great tip. I have alum already. I will be putting this idea to use.
Glad it can help! I was so thankful when I was given the tip too!
I just did this. I cut a flower off my hrdrangea plant, stuck the end of the stem into alum, stuck it in the vase and saw the alum fall off to the bottom of the water. Is that supposed to happen?
Yes! That’s okay, it’s just that initial coating immediately after you cut it that does the trick!
I have 2 hydrangea plants that are beautiful – green and lush leaves..but have not bloomed AT ALL for 3 years. Any udea how to get them bloiming? I’d aporeciate any tips!
It may be the zone you live in and the type of hydrangea you have. I live in zone 5 and here some varieties are hardy enough to live though the winter but their flower buds are not. Hydrangeas produce the bud before winter and bloom the following year. They are like lilacs and weigelias. That’s also the reason you have to prune them immediately after blooming. Otherwise you cut off the buds that produce the flower for the following year. Check with your county extension office for more information on your zone and to try to identify your type of hydrangea (unless you still have the tag from when you bought it)
Thank you for teaching old dog new tricks. Now if I can keep my poinsettias from wilting and kicking the bucket in couple of weeks.
(Forgot to check for replies). Needed to write something else to check the box below.
when I cut my hydrangeas, I make sure the bush has been watered very well the day before I cut. I cut them early in the morning before it gets hot. I go out with a bucket of clean icy water to put them in as soon as they are cut from the bush. If you cut your branch to a section of the stem that is brown and woody, instead of green, make a vertical cut up the center of the stem. Then I take them to my coolest darkest room and let them sit for a couple of hours or so before showing them off. I have put them in my fridge too. icy water works just as well. If I do have the occasional bloom to wilt, I just take those out, hang them upside down to dry for a wreath or arrangement. The old fashioned hydrangeas will be blue if your soil is acidic and pinkish if your soil is alkaline. add lime for pink, and Mir acid for the blue.
Thanks for the tips!! I love learning about hydrangeas!
I love my hydrangeas, but they don’t keep long once cut. I am going to give your tip a try.
Thanks for sharing,
Suzanne
Pieced Pastimes
I hope it helps! Thanks for stopping by!
Wow! Who would have known?! I love these flowers too – so beautiful. I’ll have to pass this tip on to my sis-in-law who loves them too!
Is there an easy way to propagate hydrangeas? Purty Pleeze. Thank you.
I wish I knew Josephine but I’ve bought all mine at the garden center.
You can propagate Hydrangeas by putting a stem from a plant down to the ground put a little soil on it and a rock over it and it will root in about a month or two. Then cut it off from the mother plant and you will have a new plant!
Great tip Patricia, thanks so much! ~Melissa
U tube has a lot of great videos on how to propagate hydrangeas.
Yes cut the stems that don’t have flowers. Pull off the leaves at bottom of stem wet and put rooting powder on. Plant in potting soil and put a top of a cut soda bottle over plant to create a greenhouse. Make sure they get water and in two or three months they should be ready to transplant . Waren
My husband just sticks a cutting in the ground and keeps it watered. Presto! A new plant!
I LOVE hydrangeas… we have 2 bushes that I think my hubby killed. 🙁 I have a black thumb, so I can’t pass judgment, although I know enough not to mess with the landscaping lol. I think he was trying to trim them to make them fuller or something, I have no idea. But its been 2 years and I don’t think they’re coming back, at least not to the full potential they could be. I am deeply saddened!
That is such a cool tip! Hydrangeas are some of my favorite flowers (love all the colors!) but my luck is about 50/50 with keeping them looking good for longer than a day or so. So I’m definitely trying this next time! Also, pinning this and sharing it on my Facebook page this week! Thanks so much for linking it up to my party!
Thanks for this tip. I love hydrangeas too!
Hydrangeas are definitely my favorite! My wedding bouquet was made of them. Thanks SO much for the tip!! Do you know how much extra life you get by using the alum? Thanks again.
Oh what a great tip Melissa! I do love those and daylilies too! 😉 Bonnie
Thanks Bonnie! I hope you’re having a great weekend!
I didn’t see this and have never had this flower before. Now that the flowers died what do I do ? Do I plant it outside and just keep watering it.?? The leaves are also have a gold tint to them. No clue. HELP
Is it cut flowers or a potted plant? If they are cut I don’t think you can bring them back.
Thank You SO much for the info.! Will definitely share this tip! BTW I was a bio major too, & “sticky stuff” sounds right to me! ÷) Thanx Again, AmyLee
Lol thanks AmyLee!!
My hydrangeas last weeks all I do Is get the water as hot as possible. Snip every few days and change the water.
Great tip Christine, thanks!!
Do you use hot water every time you change the water out?
Hi!
I love hydrangeas, but I need translation. In Norway we don’t have anything called alum. Can you tell me what Alum is, so I can try to figure out what the Norwegian name for it is? 🙂
Thanks a bunch!
I have no idea Christina but I do know it’s used in pickling sometimes…it’s short for aluminum something or other! Sorry not to be more help!
Alum is also found in baking powder (not baking soda) but I don’t know if it can substitute for the alum that is used on hydrangeas. Some of the other ingredients in baking powder might interfere but it could be worth a try if you don’t have alum by itself.
Awesome info Mel! I’ll have to try it next time I buy hydrangeas!!
hydrated potassium aluminium sulfate (potassium alum)
Love hydrangeas
Tried everything from smashing ends to dipping ends in boiling water…..always hit or miss with me too…the only thing that worked for me was keeping them in the fridge and rotating two or three vases I
also enjoy drying them and pressing the individual flowers for crafts …Im so trying the alum…hope all
works out ….will let you know
Thanx robin
Thanks Robin!
Please help me with hints (easy) for propagating hydrangeas. Thank you.
Oh I wish I was more help Janis-we are military and move every few years so I haven’t had much experience with that yet. So sorry! Thanks for stopping by! ~Melissa
Thanks for the great tip about the Alum. Used coffee grounds makes good fertilizer for Hydrangeas helps promote blooming.
I just found this on Pinterest. I have never heard of Alum, and have never seen it in the spice aisle, but then again I’ve never looked specifically for it before. Thanks for this tip!
You’re welcome! I had to hunt for it too, apparently it’s used in pickling.
Hi thanks for the tip. I have 3 big plants but they don’t get many flowers. Do you know why? I would appreciate any advice.
I had the same issue with the first ones I planted…and it was because I was trimming/pruning them incorrectly. Never prune/trim them in the spring…because you will cut off all the buds. Hydrangeas bloom on old wood, which are stems that have been on the plant since the summer before the current season…not new wood, which are stems that developed on the plant during the current season. They set their buds in the fall…so, never prune/trim them after October…preferably not after August.
Some hydrangeas do not bloom on old wood. I have some right now that the growth is coming straight from the ground, while the bush looks very dead.
I always cut the old bloomed stems off in march. Leave all tbe other the stems on from last season. I have done tbis for years and always have very large and numerous blooms . Hope this tip helps…..?
How far down do you prune? I too have pruned at the wrong time and probably too far down and did not get flowers this year. I love white hydrangeas and don’t want to make the same mistake next year.
Hi, we live in New Zealand, and I have a border of white hydrangeas in my all-white front garden. They grow great here, my MIL from Mississippi is always jealous! I find if I pick them with a long stalk they literally last months – last summer I had one that lasted honestly 6months, it started pure white then slowly turned green, but still pretty. We dont have Alum here – do you think you could check to see what the active ingredient is? Or perhaps the other secret is really long stalks (>4″)?
That’s amazing Jacqui! We just moved into our home (new construction) last year and I planted 5 hydrangeas as soon as we moved in.. they didn’t flower that well this year though, they got some sort of fungus. Hoping next year is better!
Oops, forgot to answer you about the alum-there is no active ingredient listed on the container but it’s some form of aluminum I think and it’s used in pickling things if that helps.
hydrated potassium aluminium sulfate (potassium alum)
I love them too. We recently moved into our new construction house and the first thing I planted were hydrangea bushes too. Ours also got fungus. Hopefully next year they will be less spotty! Thanks for the alum tip!
Ours had a fungus this year too, in the past mine have come back pretty nicely in years past after getting it so I have high hopes for next year!
I’m thinking the Alum is the same as aluminum sulfate – for those who can’t buy alum
in the grocery store. It MIGHT also be sold with “canning” supplies.
I appreciate this tip for I too love hydrangeas.
I just bought some cut hydrangeas that looked great at the store stuck in their water containers. By next day they had the droop and wilt look. Thanks for the hint of using Alum. Can’t wait to have another bouquet of these beauties and have them stay perky.
You’re welcome! Sometimes you can bring them back when they first start to wilt be cutting them and adding the alum if they aren’t too far gone!
Choose blooms that feel like a cabbage’ mature booms not fresh soft ones. Just cup the head in your hand and you will feel the difference It always works. Enjoy your blooms. ?Adelaide
Great advice Adelaide! ~Melissa
Thanks for the tip! Who knew? I put your tip on my blog post today!! I linked back to you!!
https://goodlifeofdesign.blogspot.com/2014/03/designer-tricks-of-trade.html
Thanks so much for the feature, I really appreciate it!
Just last month I learned that if you have droopy cut hydrangea you can fill the sink with water and put them in head first to soak. These were perked up over and over by resoaking. This may work because the stems are blocked.
Wow! What an awesome tip Stefani!! I can’t wait to try it for myself, thank you!!
This is the way that hydrangeas drink from the head down. When you buy them fill a big sink or bath with cold water and put the stems in upside down make sure the head is completely covered and leave them in a cool place for about an hour or so.. I am a florist and sometimes have hydrangeas shipped from the Netherlands in boxes (not the ideal method to ship) and envariably they are quite flat when they arrive. Using this method ‘puffs’ them up again. Take them out when you’re ready shaking off the water, cut an inch or so off the bottom and leave them in a cool place the right way up in water until you want them.
I’ve never heard of Alum but sounds like a good idea to prolong the life, crushing the stems is not such a good idea
That’s a fantastic tip Mags, thanks so much! I’ll try that next time and see how it works for me! ~Melissa
How much Alum should one use? Want to be careful they don’t over dose as not certain if any negative affects.
Why are you so happy? At about year 25…you won’t be…so suck up all the happy today…thanks for the tip…I too have those issues…do you think the alum would work on perking up an aging spouse?
I’m so happy because I decide to be. I have three little boys under 8 and a hubby that works a ton in the military, including year long deployments. I see so many fellow military wives in the same situation as me that focus on the negative-long days with young kids, being left to parent alone. The way I see it I can focus on the bad or I can focus and make more good, no matter how hard it can be at times. I hope you have some good come into your day when you read this, I’ll be thinking about you!
Those are beautiful, and you are so foauntrte to have those in your possession! I don’t have good luck with growing roses – probably too much shade in my yard. My tomatoes suffer, as well. Thanks for sharing the color from your yard today.
To add color naturally to your hydrangea’s you can spread evergreen clippings around the bottom and the next year they will turn from pink to blue or you can push rusty nails into the the ground. they both add that special PH that they need for the color combo. It works because I’ve done it and it is less expensive than pricey fertilizers. Makes them Beautiful.
Great tip Gayla!
Coffee grounds make them blue also. I grab a bag from.starbucks for free coloring.
I have hydrangeas and am wondering if they like full sun or shade. The one in the shade seem to do much better than the ones in half sun half shade…. Some get black spots on them . Do you know what that might be and how do I get rid of this. I fertilize them to change color. Love these plants and want to give them the correct care.
Awesome tip!!! I know my gma used Alum to change the color of the her hydrangeas…
I’ve heard of that Sue but never tried it myself!
Hi all, I also SERIOUSLY LOVE THEM! I have giant bushes at the back of my house, for the last 17 years. I found out the following, and it works: 1. At end of winter, I dont cut them down, only up to about hip height. 2. Pick flowers and put them in deep water IMMEDIATELY 3. I cut them again when I arrange them in the house in the proper vase – they don’t wilt. 4. Dont pick flowers where the petals are not mature. These wilt whatever you try. Happy gardening!
yay… it works perfectly for balloon flowers too… the platycodon… it’s my favorite flowers… sure I love hydrangeas too… got lots of them in my garden… It flowers for me all year long in tropical Indonesia… thank you so much… now all my balloon flower can be happy in my vase for days….
Great to know Tofi, thanks for sharing!
Thank you for this tip, I too love Hydrangeas.
Jilly oxo
Thank you so much for this tip. I love Hydrangeas but they would always wilt when I put them in the vase. Can’t wait to try this 🙂
I, too love hydrangeas. They grew in my grandmother’s backyard. Cable guys decimated my small purchased bush. A survivor, the bush now struggles for light among giant Hostas. But, I’m hard pressed to decide if my favorite flower is hydrangea or azalea or the understated elegance of tulips.
Thank you for this
I have loved these flowers for so many years and now I own my own home I would love to plant some. Are there any tips you can give me for the whole planting process, I want them to turn out as full and beautiful as my great grandmother had when I was a child.
Thank you so much,
Michele
I have a tip also. I planted my bush under the air conditioner (located in wall of living room) and all summer long it is watered by the drip of the air conditioner. My husband intended to get the pink one and instead got the cream green and every year it gets more beautiful… thanks for the alum tip,,,,billie
great idea! I always plant mint by my air conditioners-it also loves that damp soil!
This is great news.my daughter grows them and is always looking at new ways to change the colors. I will pass this on to her to share with neighbors and friends. Thank you
I think in reading your hints, that after dipping the hydrangeas in to the alum, that it is okay to then put them in vases of water. Am I correct? Or do you just arrange them dry?
Thanks so much!!!
Diane from Michigan
Hi Diane, I’m sorry it took me a few days to respond. Yes, after you cut the stem and add the alum put it in water as usual. If they start to droop repeat the cut and alum routine-I can usually get mine to last at least 3 weeks by doing that! Hope that helps, Melissa
I love hydrangeas also however I can’t get mine to bloom. The one bush bloomed last year but neither of them bloomed this year. I don’t know what to do. Have any tips?
I’ve been told NOT to cut them back, or they won’t bloom, did that and now. They bloom a lot of flowers, I also put Epsom salt all around the root area! Better flowers
Do not trim them back, must leave the stalks and the will bloom the next season.
As a florist I tried many things to keep cut hydrangeas fresh – found one of the best ways was to invert the flower upside down in a bucket of cold water, and leave in a dark place for several hours. Hydrangeas drink from both the stem and from the flowerettes. You can revive a wilting hydrangea many times using this method. The slitting of the stem after it is recut also helps. Make sure the whole head is submerged – the stem can stay out of the water during that period of time. After several hours, remove and recut letting the flowerettes dry on their own.
AND you need to dunk flower part itself in water for at least 30 minutes before dipping the stems in the alum. Better if you do it before they wilt.
My hydrangeas lasted eight days, even surviving a 108° heat wave here in SoCal last week. Usually in the summer here, they wilt in less than a day. This replicates the rain they get in cool places like England every day or two.
It’s shocking – and it works miracles, just as he alum does. I do both.
k
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Hydrangea cutting do well if you put in 4or 5 together in a radius of 6 inches use a green stem with leaf buds along its length have at least half the stem in the ground. Don’t plant in summer its hard ,to keep the soil damp I only have experience of growing in South Africa bu,t think early spring would be best. I have even planted the stem of cut hydrangeas I have had in the vases for a week a week and they grow too..just cut off the flower first and float it in a shallow glass dish. It looks lovely that way. There is no mistique Give it a try. ? Adelaide
I do the same as you Adelaide and I live in sunny Queensland (Australia). I moved house recently and brought all my pots of hydrangeas with me to plant out in new gardens. I have big pots of them as well and just move them to the best spot. I have to be careful that they don’t get too much sun. I fell in love with hydrangeas about 50 years ago, the old varieties, but I’m amazed at some of the newer colours and varieties. If I see a big display in the nursery I always take photos and get my hydrangea hit!
As a floral designer i have never used alum. Ive always submersed the whole stem in water, then shake and they come out good as new. I also shave vertically along (about halfway througg the stem) the bottom of the stem and stick them in water…they will take up the water fairly quickly this way and they are then as good as new.
I use Crowning Glory Flower Spray on the blooms themselves as the final step. It dries clear, leaves no scent and slows evaporation from the flower. The spray and alum work for me.
In addition to adding the Alum to your water with your hydrangea arrangement is to keep your vases and containers clean and germ pest free, by washing them out with a simple solution of water and Clorox. Just swish it around or use a brush to clean the sides, dump the mixture out, give it a quick rinse and you are ready to arrange your hydrangeas or any other mixture of cut fresh flowers. Be sure to nip the stems about an inch or so as you arrange the flowers.
Hello! What type of hydrangea are the flowers you have in your pictures above? I love the pale blue/white color of them!! I have a lot of hydrangeas (Nikko blue, some endless summer, etc) but none of them have that color blooms, so I would love to get some like that 🙂
Thanks so much!
Jenna
I’m not exactly sure Jenna, this was years ago and I bought them at a farmers market, sorry not to be more helpful!
If you feed them Miracle Grow you will get blue flowers.
White hydrangeas will not change colour. Depending on your soil acid conditions will produce blue flowers and alkaline condition pink. Feed or mulch with acid compost pine needles or camellia feed for blue and Epsom salts for pink. Planting in pots is easier to control conditions. You can buy a proprietary feed.
To turn flowers when cut you can put food colouring in the water which will be taken up. Works well when flowers are in buds as it will take a while to develop colour. Have tried it with chrysanthemums and carnations. It will dye the leaves as well.
You can spray flowers if you wish.
Hope this helps
I live in zone 5 in the United States. My daughter is going getting married in January and wants dried hydrangeas for centerpieces at reception. When should I pick mine and how should I dry them? Using white and lime green ones. Thanks
Havr blue rangeas near north wall. Also pink in a sunnier spot.with shade. What I love is that they bloom for long period.
Stupid question but do you put them in water after or Whit no water
Do you put them in water after dipping in alum or not?
Yes, after the alum put the stems in water as normal.
Do you keep hydrangea in water after dipping in alum?
How do you change the color
you have to change the pH of the soil: acidic soil, with a pH lower than 6.0, makes blue or lavender-blue hydrangea blooms. Alkaline soil, with a pH above 7.0, promotes pinks and reds. With a pH between 6 and 7, the blooms turn purple or bluish-pink. To lower your pH, add garden sulfur or aluminum sulfate to your soil. To raise the pH, use ground lime.
This works so well, I cut hydrangeas for my daughters wedding. I cut them off of friends bushes and my own and dipped them in alum and put them in buckets of water. I took ten buckets of hydrangeas to my floris, which she used in boquets and arrangements and they all stayed beautiful for the wedding and reception. It saved me a whole lot of money!!
Oh that makes me so happy to hear Shelly! So glad it was useful!
Hi I have 2 hydrangeas that I planted 7 years ago they have never bloomed again since planting them I get big beautiful foliage but no flowers what do I do to get them to flower
do you cut them each year or leave them? do you know what kind they are? Certain types won’t bloom if they are cut down in the winter. You can also try bone meal in the soil, or take your soil to get tested at your local extension office.
Blooming is tied to Sunlight. It is nature’s food. Also, when you see green coming onto the hydrangea start fertilizing.
Many Hydrangeas, those that bloom on old wood, set their buds in fall. If you trim them back too late in fall, or in the spring you risk trimming off the buds. I have noticed many more blooms since I became aware of this.
Check your soil levels for nitrogen. A high nitrogen content will make beautiful green foliage but keep hydrangeas from blooming.
I have heard that you can use coffee granules to boost your hydrangea acid level. Do I scratch them into the soil dry from the container or should I perk them first? If I perk them first should I pour the cooking water also around my plants? This would be used only as a supplement to my Hydrangea fertilizer. Perhaps between feedings. Trying to use up 3 containers of frozen coffee granules that have reached their expiration dates.
I planted a hydrangeas one day and the next day it was wilting and all the flowers wilted a and died please help me..