Summer time is a time to eat al fresco and have ice cream; and perhaps lounge within the hammock. Sure, theoretically I do know that. However what do you suppose occurs once I spy – from my hammock perch – that my hydrangeas are achieved blooming?
Would I proceed to take a seat round doing nothing? Hmm, in all probability not.
Most certainly, I’d begin working situations in my head on how one can take advantage of out of my hydrangeas on the finish of their rising season. And to be truthful, this type of scheming is its personal type of leisure for a gardener.
In case your hydrangeas have additionally completed flowering, right here are some things you may do with them. Or you may simply preserve enjoyable within the hammock. That’s additionally high-quality.
1. You may deadhead hydrangeas for a fast tidy up.
I feel that is the most typical piece of recommendation that I hear with regards to caring for hydrangeas after they flower. Deadhead them.
Fast refresher: While you deadhead, you chop proper above the primary set of leaves beneath the dry flower head. So that you’re eradicating the useless flowers, however not a lot else from that stem.
It makes excellent sense, as a result of that’s what we do to most perennials after they bloom. However hydrangeas don’t essentially have the identical development patterns as common perennials. That means they received’t put out extra flowers if you take away the useless ones.
When you can deadhead hydrangeas after they’ve bloomed only for a fast tidy up, you don’t essentially must.
Outdated wooden versus new wooden.
You see, some hydrangea bloom on outdated wooden, whereas others bloom on new wooden. So an over-aggressive tidying in late summer time one 12 months may have an effect on what number of flowerheads you get in your outdated wooden hydrangeas the next 12 months.
Listed below are a number of the extra common hydrangeas that can begin forming subsequent 12 months’s flowers in late summer time of the present 12 months:
- French hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla)
- Tough-leaf hydrangea (H. aspera)
- Oak-leaf hydrangea (H. quercifolia)
- Mountain hydrangea (H. serrata)
- Climbing hydrangea (H. petiolaris)
So should you do deadhead most of these hydrangea, it’s greatest to cease by early or mid-August (relying in your local weather) if you wish to be on the protected aspect. Deadheading stimulates new development – usually new leaf buds – at a time when the plant ought to begin readying for winter.
The identical recommendation applies for hydrangeas that bloom on new wooden, comparable to the favored panicle hydrangea (H. paniculata) and smooth-leaf hydrangea (H. arborescens). You may deadhead them, however you don’t must. And should you select to, cease deadheading earlier than fall.
I favor to deadhead and evenly prune my hydrangeas in spring (I wrote about it on this article), so I principally let the dry flowers grasp on till then.
With one exception (which I’ll get again to in a second).
2. Permit the hydrangea flowers to dry on the shrub.
But when I don’t deadhead my hydrangeas after they flower, what do I do?
Easy, simply allow them to be. And now that you simply’ve let your self off the hook for this gardening process, you may go have a glass of chilly lemonade as an alternative.
Nothing dangerous will occur to your hydrangeas should you skip deadheading after they bloom. The flowers will dry on their stems and retain their ornamental worth in your backyard.
I speak rather a lot about decorative crops with a number of seasons of curiosity. Crops that aren’t only a one-trick-pony, if you’ll.
I’ve come to appreciate that hydrangeas fall neatly into this class if we allow them to. They’ve crispy inexperienced buds in late spring, large floral arrangements all all through the summer time and pom-poms in delicate earthy tones all through the autumn and winter. Three seasons of curiosity from one shrub. Jackpot!
One other added benefit of doing nothing at this level within the 12 months is that come winter, the dry flower heads will present some pure insulation to the extra cold-sensitive hydrangeas (comparable to the favored French sorts), offering frost and wind safety for the tender buds that develop proper beneath.
3. Gather hydrangea flowers for indoor preparations.
Bear in mind once I stated I solely deadhead hydrangeas in the summertime for one motive? That is the rationale.
I can get attractive dry flowers with little or no effort. It’s additional proof of my principle of multi-season curiosity crops. Even when one of many seasons of curiosity for hydrangeas occurs indoors, within the winter.
The trick with drying hydrangeas is getting the timing proper.
In order for you a wonderfully dried hydrangea, it’s best to depart the flower heads on the shrub till they juuuuuust about begin dying. Solely then can you chop them off.
If you happen to snip them off too early, when the plant is in full bloom, the petals of the flowers will nonetheless include an excessive amount of moisture. They may dry alright, however they’ll curl in on themselves and look a bit too shriveled up. That’s how you find yourself with wilted flowers as an alternative of dry ones.
If you happen to depart the flowerheads on for too lengthy, they’ll dry on their very own stems; however in doing so, they will even seep off a few of their shade. I occur to like earthy tones and muted tans in my fall decor, in order that’s not an issue. However if you need them to retain a little bit of shade, reduce them once they’re nearly prepared to show.
In my backyard, that is normally from early August to mid-September, relying on how a lot warmth and humidity we’ve been getting in any given 12 months.
Fast quiz!
Within the photograph beneath, which hydrangea mophead is able to dry, and which one ought to we depart untouched for now?
Yup, the one on the precise is prepared for drying. It already has a little bit of a sepia look, and the petals are beginning to flip a papery texture. The remainder of the blooms might want to anticipate now.
It’s additionally a good suggestion to attend for a sunny afternoon to reap. Attempt to keep away from selecting hydrangea flowers after it has rained or in early morning dew. (And should you suppose you may dry them with a hair dryer, perish the thought instantly!)
Put together your hydrangea flowers for drying.
When you’ve reduce your blooms, take away all of the leaves from the stems. Then place the stems in a jug with slightly little bit of water – simply a few inches on the underside of the vase. This water will slowly be absorbed and evaporate. Hopefully, by the point that occurs, the flowers will likely be totally dry.
Having a little bit of water on the backside of the vase slows down the drying course of and helps the mopheads retain a bit extra of their shade and form. However that’s it. You received’t high up the water.
I’ve additionally dried hydrangeas in fully empty containers, so don’t sweat it an excessive amount of should you overlook so as to add water.
I’ve yet another tip for you, primarily based on my expertise. Don’t cram too many flowers in the identical vase to dry.
To start with, it is advisable to encourage airflow for a faster drying course of.
However extra importantly, you realize if you go to mattress with moist hair and get up wanting like Ace Ventura? (No? Simply me?)
While you smoosh collectively hydrangea mopheads, that’s how they’ll dry … smooshed. There’s no strategy to convey them again to form with out crumbling, so dry them in the identical form you need to preserve them.
Dry hydrangea flowers can final for years of their pure state, so I might by no means spray mine with issues like hair spray. I usually like to interchange mine yearly simply because they do get dusty, and I’ve already misplaced a number of to a hungry vacuum cleaner.
4. Take semi-hardwood hydrangea cuttings.
I’m nothing if not an opportunist within the backyard. Which means I’ll take any alternative to get extra crops.
After my hydrangeas are achieved blooming in late summer time is the proper time to take cuttings and swap them with mates and in native gardening teams.
This time of 12 months, we’re taking semi-hardwood cuttings. It’s this 12 months’s development, however it’s not as tender as it might have been in spring. This normally implies that the cuttings may have a better probability of rooting. Offered we give them the right after care, after all.
One of the best time of 12 months to take semi-hardwood (aka semi-ripe) cuttings is late summer time to early fall. So long as the leaves are nonetheless inexperienced, you’re good to go.
We want a non-flowering shoot.
As a common rule once we take cuttings, we have to work with a non-flowering stem. Flowering branches have already achieved their job for the season and are sapped of power.
Establish a stem of about 4-6 inches (10-15 cm) in size. Then reduce it proper beneath a leaf node.
Strip off the decrease leaves, however depart the highest set of leaves in your cuttings. At this level, you may as well dip the underside of the slicing into some rooting hormone powder. I normally skip this step as a result of, effectively, I skipped it prior to now with none penalties, and I’m a creature of behavior.
Insert the slicing right into a pot stuffed with a well-draining potting combine. I exploit a mixture of about sixty p.c potting compost and forty p.c horticultural sand. You may as well use a perlite to make the soil a bit much less water-retaining.
It actually doesn’t matter as a lot, so long as you be sure that the soil drains effectively and rapidly, particularly should you’re planning on leaving the cuttings exterior within the components.
Since we’re propagating in the summertime, when it’s nonetheless fairly sizzling, I’m trimming the remaining leaves in half to scale back water loss via perspiration. This has the added benefit of permitting me to suit extra cuttings into the identical container whereas nonetheless permitting for correct air circulate.
Good aftercare makes all of the distinction.
Because it’s nonetheless fairly sizzling once I’m propagating these hydrangeas, I preserve the cuttings within the shade till mid-fall.
Hydrangea cuttings root in a couple of month to 6 weeks. At this level, you may transfer every profitable slicing into its personal container. Hydrangeas wish to stretch their legs earlier than they overwinter.
Talking of winter, since these child crops are nonetheless fairly tender, don’t depart them exterior within the winter. Transfer them to a greenhouse, a storage or a basement that stays above freezing within the chilly months.
I’m warning you that it’ll lose its remaining leaves and can appear to be a tragic little stick for a number of good months. However it should emerge from its dormancy subsequent spring, able to resume its development.
Get the well-known Rural Sprout e-newsletter delivered to your inbox.
Together with Sunday ramblings from our editor, Tracey, in addition to “What’s Up Wednesday” our roundup of what’s in season and new article updates and alerts.
