Hey reader Fenil here from Gardener Ideas, now if you’re here you’re probably pulling your hair out a little bit about why your hydrangeas aren’t blooming and I know we hate it too, but we are here to help you. We’ve got the top five culprits and what you can do to get your hydrangeas to bloom.
5 Tips to get hydrangeas to bloom
1. Pruning Habits for Hydrangeas
All right reason number one you’re not seeing those beautiful blooms on them is pruning. Now we’re gonna make it easy for you. You can put the shears down because you really don’t have to do much. In fact, you really shouldn’t do a big prune ever.
When springtime rolls around, your hydrangeas just need a little haircut. But sometimes they’re a little slow to wake up just like us on a rainy morning. So give it to a least Memorial Day or Father’s Day if you’re in zone 4 or 5 before you cut off those brown stems that didn’t make it through the winter.
And I know it’s not always the most beautiful to have them sticking up until June, but just plant some spring-blooming bulbs in the front and you’ll be just fine.
Now once you do hit that pruning time, just cut back to the green and remove anything that didn’t survive the winter and that’s it.
Now throughout the summer you just want to deadhead the blooms once they’re passed, by cutting them off at the next set of two large alternating leaves.
Also in the fall don’t prune. Now see the early flower buds for next season are actually formed this fall. So if you cut it back like you maybe would with an Annabelle you’re actually cutting off the blooms for next year and that would be a bummer.
2. Fertilizer Guide to get hydrangeas to bloom
Alright, reason number two is that you’re not using fertilizer or you’re fertilizing too much or maybe you’re using the wrong fertilizer, we’re gonna make it easy.
Here’s the way that I like to think about it, spring is just like us waking up in the morning. So what do we do? We grab a cup of coffee for a little bit of a pick-me-up, right. Fertilizer is the exact same thing for your hydrangeas.
So as you start to see that green leafy growth starting to emerge from the base or along the stems, give your hydrangea that bloom boosting kick of energy just to get things going.
Then once the party is really getting going in your garden and about July you need to give it that extra boost of energy. So for us just like an energy drink, the hydrangea just needs a little bit of fertilizer to get that rebloom going in high gear.
So in terms of fertilizer and what you want to pick up at your local garden center, pick a slow-release granular fertilizer that’s high in phosphate. They’re usually marked as a bloom booster.
Make sure to check those three numbers on the bag. The first number should be low and the middle number should be high.
3. Watering tips to get hydrangeas to bloom
Now, hydrangea does mean water vessel, but you really don’t want to overwater the hydrangeas or you won’t get as many blooms as you expect. Now it’s a little bit counterintuitive but I promise this will help.
When you’re watering you want the soil to be moist, so you don’t want to overwater even if they’re drooping a bit in the afternoon heat.
Grab a glass of wine, grab a beer, go sit outside and enjoy yourself, and if they’re still drooping over as the sun goes down or the next morning, give them a good soak. Other than that you can leave them alone.
4. Sun Exposure Guide for your hydrangeas
You really don’t want to let your plants fry or go without Sun at all, so find a spot where you can give your plants that’s solar love that they deserve.
For hydrangeas, you want morning sun with dappled afternoon shade. Especially if you’re in a warmer climate, you want to make sure they are getting protection from that scorching Summer sun.
If you don’t have those perfect light conditions again, especially in a warmer climate, just give a full afternoon shade if you don’t have that dappled shade.
5. Soil care to get hydrangeas to bloom
The soil is so much more than dirt, so what you plant your hydrangea in will determine how everything looks. Our hydrangeas ideally want soil that’s well-drained with a good amount of organic material in it.
And if you’re feeling like your soil is a little bit too sandy or maybe too clay heavy then you might need to make some adjustments especially when you’re first planting.
Now hopefully all these tips help you get your hydrangeas to bloom, but if you’re still having trouble be sure to comment out in the comment section below. Thank you so much for reading and if you enjoyed this article please share it with your friends and family.
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