• Bloom Colors: Pink, blue, purple, or white
• Bloom Time: Late spring through summer
• Sun Needs: Morning sun with afternoon shade
• Best For: Foundation plantings, cottage gardens, and partially shaded landscapes

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• Light: 4-6 hours of sun, ideally in the morning/early day
• Water: Once planted, water deeply & thoroughly the first season until well-established. Moist soil is great but wet soil will cause root rot.
• Tips: Mulch around the base of the plant to help keep weeds down & moisture in (but do not pile mulch around the trunk). Water around the roots to avoid wetting the blooms and causing premature bloom fade.

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Hydrangeas need a good source of nutrition to produce dense blooms. Fertilize Hydrangeas twice per year, once in early spring (March-April) and once again mid-summer (May-June). One thing to note when trying to change the color of hydrangeas—vibrant colors will always stay vibrant and pastel colors will always stay pastel. For example, a vibrant, saturated pink hydrangea won’t turn to a pastel blue and vice versa.

Blue Hydrangeas | Respond to acidic soil & aluminum – add Aluminum sulfate in the Spring

Pink Hydrangeas | Respond to alkaline soil – add Garden Lime

• Soil that falls in a moderate ph range will give you a more purple-ish hue to blooms.
• Please note that saturation is variety dependent. If a variety has vibrant colors, then you’ll get vibrant colors but if you purchase a variety with softer pastel colors, your colors will remain pastel. If you’re experiencing problems with little to no blooms present throughout the season, try using triple phosphate, per package instructions, to encourage blooming.
• Text your soil first to see where you need to adjust for desired bloom color
• Practice patience: It can take several weeks to month to change color and the color change happens during bud development – not during bloom.

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Macrophylla Hydrangeas in general bloom on old wood—meaning they set their buds on stems that are at least 1 year old. Pruning at the proper time is essential to bloom development.

Early Spring | Lightly prune when new growth starts to emerge in early spring. Wait until you see small green buds start to emerge from the stems (typically mid-to-late March). Prune down to the uppermost growth on each stem. If buds persist all the way through the stem, no pruning is needed. Stems that have a silvery color to them and no new foliage growth can be removed. Dead, diseased, and damaged areas can also be removed at this time.

Mid-Summer | Macrophylla hydrangeas will continue to produce new buds and blooms through summer, especially when deadheaded. To remove spent flowers, follow the bloom down 1-2 leaf nodes and make the cut just above the next large leaf set or new bud growth.

If the plant is getting too large for its space, prune to reduce size (up to 50%) in July—it’s the only time of year to prune them heavily without affecting buds and blooms for the next season.

Fall | Only prune to remove dead, diseased, or damaged areas at this time. After August 1, Macrophylla hydrangeas are developing buds that will set next year’s flowers; so, pruning hard at this time removes flower buds that would otherwise develop on healthy old wood).Mountain hydrangeas closely resemble bigleaf hydrangeas but tend to be more cold-hardy and slightly smaller in size. Most feature delicate lacecap blooms.

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Because Macrophylla Hydrangeas set blooms on their stems in late summer for the following growing season, it’s important to keep them protected from deep freezes that might happen during Winter. Once foliage drops in late fall, clean up around the base of the plant. Finish by applying a thick layer of mulch around the base of the plant. Watch for late Spring freezes when buds and leaves are starting to develop, you may need to provide protection with a burlap bag.