PlantSowGrow
How to plant and care for Hydrangea (Mophead)
Hydrangea macrophylla
Also called bigleaf hydrangea, French hydrangea, hortensia
Big globes of blue, pink or white flowers in late summer. Flower colour depends on soil: blue in acid, pink in alkaline.
When to plant and care for it
Timed for a typical UK garden (last frost mid-April). The app uses your own town's frost dates.
Growing Hydrangea (Mophead): what it needs
- Light
- Part shade · 6+ hours a day
- Watering
- Water well until established, then in dry spells
- Soil
- Moist, rich soil
- Spacing
- 1.2 m
- Height
- 1.2–1.5 m
- In pots
- Only in large containers
- Feeding
- Balanced feed in spring
- Hardiness
- USDA zones 4–9
Step by step
- On planting day
Plant
Plant at the same depth as it was in its pot, 1.2 m apart, and firm in.
- 0–1 days after “Plant”
Water In Well
Give a full can of water, then keep moist for the first few weeks while roots establish.
- 7–14 days after “Water In Well”
Mulch Around the Base
Spread 5 cm of compost or bark around the plant, keeping it off the stems.
Every year
- MarchSpring Prune
Cut last year's dead flower heads back to the first pair of fat, healthy buds. Remove one or two of the oldest stems at the base.
- MayFeed
Apply a general feed (or a "blueing" feed for blue flowers on acid soil).
- JulyWater in Dry Spells
Hydrangeas wilt quickly in heat — water deeply at the base.
- OctoberLeave Flower Heads for Winter
Leave the old flower heads on over winter — they protect the buds below from frost.
