Help hydrangeas to survive winter.

Huge hydrangeas flowers are a special sight in any garden and if you want them to be strong the next season you need to protect them against the upcoming winter. You have several options. If you do not protect them, your hydrangeas will not survive the winter. In this article we shall advise you how to care for hydrangeas during the harvest season and how to properly winterize them.

Faded hydrangeas in autumn

Hydrangeas thrive in various conditions and you have several varieties to choose from. Some can be cut in spring, such as the typical garden hydrangeas, which are biennials. If you cut in the fall, the plant will drop buds and the next season you will not have any flowers.

Before the winter comes, you should remove all dead flowers. If you do, make sure to cut them just above the line where flowers develop. If you are not sure where, do not do that. Dead flowers still look nice as they stay on the plant throughout the winter and you can remove them in the spring. Remove all damaged or unhealthy shoots in the fall.

Autumn work you should not forget

You can plant new hydrangeas in autumn. This is the ideal time to do so. Fertilize well. Later in autumn, you should add compost or organic fertilizer. At the end of October, you can make cuttings if you want to propagate. They will grow well for sure. Making cuttings is easy and autumn is the best time to do that.

Photo: Pixabay

Wintering

You need to protect hydrangeas from snow and frost and the easiest way is to cover them with a layer made of bark or peat. You may do that in the second half of November – best when the soil is slightly frozen. If you do it too early, you may harm the plants. Right timing is important!

Source: zahradkar.cz, pestujem.cz

Preview photo: Pixabay