Introduction

I love hydrangeas. They are beautiful, colorful, and fragrant flowers that add some serious curb appeal to any garden. If you’re a gardening enthusiast like me, chances are good that you’ve wanted to incorporate more of these plants into your garden at one point or another. Unfortunately, if you don’t have the right amount of space for them or belong to a certain type of gardening society (like hydroponic gardening enthusiasts), growing full-sized hydrangeas in your back yard might not be an option for you—or is it? As it turns out, with the proper guidance and a little patience, most people can grow their very own hydrangeas at home. Interested? Here’s how to grow a hydrangea in 10 simple steps:

Identify the type of hydrangeas you want to plant.

To make things easier, we’ve divided hydrangeas into three categories:

• Hydrangea macrophylla – this group of hydrangeas includes the lacecap and panicle types. They have large flowers and grow well in areas that are cool or cold.
• Hydrangea paniculata – these are commonly called ‘parsley’ hydrangeas because of their flat flower heads that resemble parsley leaves. These plants typically need full sun to thrive, so they should be planted in USDA hardiness zones 5 through 9 where summers are hot enough to support their growth.
• Hydrangea arborescens – horticulturalists refer to these as wild hydrangeas because they originated naturally in forests rather than gardens or fields like most other flowering plants do (although some might say that native prairies qualify as gardens). These plants tend to prefer moist soil conditions but will tolerate drier climates better than other species within their genus

Get your cuttings at the right time of year.

Hydrangeas can be propagated in the spring or the fall by taking cuttings. The best time to take these cuttings is late summer or early fall, when the plant has produced lots of new stems and leaves.

Cutting hydrangeas at this time allows them time to root before winter sets in. If you take your cutting too early, it will not have sufficient time to produce roots before winter arrives. The other benefit of taking cuttings in mid-summer is that you will get larger flowers on your plants when they come into flower than if you were to wait until springtime.

Prepare the cutting area.

• Prepare the cutting area. You don’t need to cover your cutting area with plastic or other materials, but make sure that it’s open and dry. Don’t use rooting hormones or compounds on your hydrangea either, as these can inhibit root growth if used improperly.

Prune each stem to the right length.

Prune each stem to the right length. When you prune hydrangeas, you are removing the old growth and encouraging new growth. The best time to prune hydrangeas is after they have finished blooming and before they leaf out in the spring. If you want your plant to be in full bloom, it’s important that you cut away any deadwood or stems that are not producing flower buds during this dormant period so that energy can go into creating new flowers rather than maintaining old ones. If you’re looking for a lot of large blooms on your shrub instead of smaller clusters throughout the season, then it’s best if you remove as many stems as possible before winter sets in so that when spring comes around there will only be about five to seven major branches left (instead of 15).

Cut each stem at an angle.

• Cut each stem at an angle. Trim off the leaves and the bottom of the stem with a pair of sharp scissors, and make sure to cut it at a 45-degree angle. If you can’t get that perfect, there’s no need to worry—just be sure to cut it at a sharp angle, which will help ensure that your hydrangea grows straight up and doesn’t lean over or fall over as much as possible.
• Remove any wilted flowers as soon as possible so that new ones can grow in their place!
• Use fertilizers regularly throughout springtime (March through June).

Remove all the leaves on the bottom half of the stem that would be submerged when planted in a pot.

To make sure your cutting doesn’t rot, remove all the leaves on the bottom half of the stem that would be submerged when planted in a pot.

If you’re using a sharp knife or wire cutter, cut off all leaves as close to where they join to the stem as possible. If you’re using pruning shears, just snip off any excess foliage from around where it joins with its base.

Use a rooting hormone to promote growth in your hydrangeas.

A rooting hormone is a substance that encourages roots to form from cuttings. Most store-bought rooting hormones contain indolebutyric acid, which is also found in many species of hydrangeas. This hormone helps the plant produce more buds and grow faster once it reaches maturity.

Before you use rooting hormone on your hydrangea cutting, make sure it’s still healthy and viable for transplantation by checking its color and structure: The leaves should be green, not brown or yellowing; they should also be firmly attached to the stem without any signs of decay or dryness around their base (melting ice cream sundae!). If there’s any doubt about whether to proceed with your project at all—or if you want even better results—consider using fresh cuttings instead of ones that have been sitting around for awhile.*

Plant the cuttings so their nodes are submerged and water them thoroughly.

Plant the cuttings so that their nodes are submerged. Water them thoroughly and make sure the soil is moist, but not soggy. If you don’t have time to plant your hydrangeas right away, place them in a bucket with an inch or two of water until you can get back to planting. Don’t let them dry out completely; they will also need enough water to keep their leaves from shriveling up.

Be careful not to over-water or under-water your hydrangeas as this can cause root rot and other problems that could kill your plant!

Keep your hydrangea cuttings in a cool, sunny area with high humidity until they’re well rooted.

Keep your cuttings in a cool, shaded area with high humidity until they’re well rooted. This might be as simple as keeping them on your back patio or porch, or it could mean placing the pot directly into the soil of an enclosed planter if you have one.

Watch for signs of root growth and transplant your hydrangeas into a garden bed or bigger pot when necessary.

The plant must be transplanted when its roots are about 1–2 inches long and have started to reach the bottom of the pot.

When your hydrangea has outgrown its pot, it’s time to transplant it into a garden bed or bigger pot. Watch for signs that your hydrangea is getting too big for its current container:

• The roots have grown through all of the soil in the container and are beginning to poke through the drainage hole at the bottom (if there’s one).
• The plant has outgrown its space inside the container.
• The leaves start drooping down toward the center of their growth point—this means that they need more room for those stems!

You can successfully grow hydrangeas from cuttings if you follow the steps above.

Hydrangeas are easy to grow from cuttings.

They can be grown in pots, planted directly into the ground, or even in a greenhouse.

However you decide to grow your hydrangea plants, you’ll need some patience and care as they take time to develop roots and become established plants.

You should get them growing in the spring or summer so that they have plenty of time before winter arrives.

Conclusion

Once you’ve planted your hydrangea cuttings and grown them into strong plants, it’s time to think about pruning. If you’re not sure how to do this, check out our blog post on how to prune hydrangeas.