With immense flower heads, hydrangeas flaunt an old-fashioned charm. Unrivalled in the shrub world for their beautiful flowers, these elegant plants are easy to grow, tolerate almost any type of soil, and produce abundant blooms. However, that is of course if gardeners are not listening to the common myths that surround these garden plants. Gardening expert and hydrangea enthusiast Jill Drago at All About Gardening has shared some of the most common hydrangea care myths gardeners will encounter while growing them in their gardens.
Myth 1: Fertilising makes for bigger blooms
Gardeners tend to be told that if they are after bigger blooms, they need to pump their hydrangeas up with fertiliser. However, the expert explained that this is not true and argued that this can be “detrimental” to their health.
Jill said: “Adding more fertiliser can be detrimental if it is not truly needed. Hydrangeas do not typically need a lot of extra fertiliser if they are planted in good soil. In fact, too much fertiliser can lessen the number of blooms.”
While garden fertiliser will promote growth, if it is overused, the plant will not have the nutrients it needs to produce beautiful flowers.
For those who do want to strengthen their blooms, a high-phosphorus fertiliser is recommended. While it will not make flowers bigger in size, gardeners may see more flowers throughout the shrub.
Jill advised: “The best way to have beautiful blossoms is by making sure your hydrangea is in good overall health. Remove dead, damaged, or diseased plant material. Keep the plant watered, but do not drown the roots.
“Ensure the plant is getting enough sun which is crucial to the production of flowers.”
Myth 2: Always deadhead hydrangeas
A classic myth is that if gardeners want their hydrangea to bloom all summer, they should deadhead fading flowers.
However, the expert revealed that deadheading hydrangeas “will not promote more blooms” she said: “Most hydrangea shrubs only produce one large bloom per season.”
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That being said, there are some reblooming varieties. These varieties bloom on both old wood and new wood, which lengthens the bloom period. Jill continued: “If you deadhead your flowers, your hydrangea will not produce new ones that season.”
There are some benefits to deadheading your shrubs, however. Gardeners can use the spent blossoms, or nearly spent blossoms, indoors in fresh or dried arrangements and deadheading throughout the season will help minimise the autumn garden clean-up work.
Myth 3: Using household items will change bloom colours
Gardeners are often told that they can change the colour of their hydrangea blooms with household items such as coffee grounds, pennies or rusty nails, but this is not true and “can cause harm” to the plant.
Jill said: “Coffee grounds, if used too heavily, can damage your soil structure. The hardened coffee grounds make it very difficult for water to permeate through the soil, hence making it nearly impossible for your hydrangeas to take up any water.”
For those looking to turn their flowers blue, their best bet is to use a soil acidifier that can be purchased from local garden centres.
Myth 4: Flower colours can be changed on all hydrangeas
Gardeners are often told they can change the colour of booms, no matter what species they have. Unfortunately, this is not true.
The only variety of hydrangeas that can change its colour is hydrangea macrophylla, otherwise known as bigleaf hydrangea.
The gardening guru explained: “The flowers within this species can range from red, blue, pink, purple, or white. Many of these can be altered from blue to pink, pink to blue, or any shade in between. However, if you start with a white hydrangea, it will always be white.”
Myth 5: They need to be pruned every year
One of the biggest myths circulating about hydrangeas is that they need to be pruned yearly to produce healthy flowers and foliage.
However, Jill argued: “Not only do they not need to be pruned every year, but they also may never need to be pruned at all. Pruning is not necessary to improve the performance of any species.
“Pruning can help to strengthen your hydrangeas stems which can come in handy in varieties with larger blooms, such as smooth hydrangeas.”
Instead, the best practice is to choose a location in the garden that is suited for the full size of the plant. This will help to prevent any unnecessary pruning while also allowing the shrub to grow to its true shape.
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