As you can see in my photos below, the hydrangea flower on the plant named “Blushing Bride” is going through a change to green as it ages.
It started off white, then began showing cream or ivory colored petals mixed with the white. Now it’s taking on a definite greenish appearance.
However, if your soil alkalinity is different from mine, your Blushing Bride flower may be pink or blue. This is one type of hydrangea which has flowers that will be various colors according to the type of soil.
Recently planted Blushing Bride shrub with new flower just beginning to grow (top).
I am still learning about the hydrangeas I planted this spring. They have all surprised me by blooming very nicely. The only one that doesn’t have many flowers is the Pee Gee.
What I’ve learned:
New hydrangea shrubs will flatten easily in a big rainstorm. After they bloom, it’s even worse as the flowers get wet and heavy.
The flowers which are elongated (Pinky Winky and Limelight) fare better. They droop when the flowers are wet, but not to the ground like the others. Maybe because their petals are smaller and the flowers are more open. Their stems are sturdier too.
The overall appearance of these types of shrub seems to be hardy and carefree. I have to constantly water the Endless Summer (blue-flowering) shrub as well as the Blushing Bride – both are mophead varieties. They wilt terribly in the sun, even though they get mostly morning sun. It has been hot.
I’ve cut some of the blue ones because they were laying on the ground. They are now hanging to dry on my drying rack.
They are all beautiful and I don’t think I have a favorite yet. I may decide by the time summer is over.
I didn’t know what to expect from my newly planted hydrangeas this year, and I am pleasantly surprised!
All types – Limelight, Endless Summer, Pinky Winky, Pee Gee and this gorgeous Blushing Bride, are flowering.
The Blushing Bride shrub must really love the dirt it’s growing in, because it is taking off. The leaves are large; the plant is sturdy and healthy looking, and the flowers are huge – this one is nearly 10 inches across. I am not doing anything differently with this plant than all the others.
I had to get the tape measure out to show the actual size of this bloom. The white petals are mixed with some pink and green now. It will be fun to watch how the colors change as the flowers age.
The Endless Summer’s blue flowers are really pretty, but only half as large. That poor plant got flattened early on by a freak rain storm we had. Apparently it’s not as sturdy as it’s sister with the white flowers.
I will be working on some new wedding stationery using photos of this flower and getting them up soon in my online store.
Using hydrangeas as cut flowers in vases can be tricky. This is the procedure I use to keep them alive for a long time.
Flowers outside in the yard will brighten the landscape, but sometimes it’s nice to bring that beauty inside.
Hydrangeas can be used as cut flowers, but keeping them alive in a vase can be tricky. In this post I will tell you how I do it, and include photos of my cut hydrangea flowers in pretty vases.
Light Blue Flowers in a Little Antique Vase
First, I am something of a bud vase collector. I used to be addicted to buying every cute and unusual little vase I came across. Most of them came from yard sales and flea markets that I visited when I lived in central Florida. I haven’t bought any in many years, but I have my favorites that I pull out each summer to hold the cuttings from my yard.
I like the shape of the little vase pictured above. The taller back is unique and it can hold any flower with a fairly short stem. The downside to this small vase is that the water dries up quickly in the small holder. I must keep an eye on it and refill often.
A Hydrangea Bouquet in Fall
This handmade vase (above) was purchased at a school fundraiser event and was made by a local artisan. I love the unqiue look of pottery, and this vase is also nice and heavy. These hydrangea blooms were cut late in the season, sometime in late September or October most likely. It’s my photo, but I don’t remember. (BlueHyd is one of my blogs).
Hydrangeas can last a long time once they are cut, if you know what to do to keep them looking nice. In fact they can turn to dried flowers right in the vase!
So, here is the trick to cutting hydrangeas for vases and keeping them alive. Take a bucket or big vase – filled with hot water (not boiling) – outside with you when cutting the stems. Cut the stems as long as you can because they will be cut again inside. As soon as the cut is made add the stem to the hot water.
Once the bucket is full, come inside and get the vase ready by filling it with cold water. Cut each stem again, one at a time to the length needed, and put it into the vase of cold water. This should open up the stems so water can flow to the flower and keep it alive for a very long time.
The Limelight Flower in Fall Contains Pink
If the one of the flower begins to droop, take it out and repeat the procedure by cutting the end, add to hot water for a few minutes, then cut and back to the cold in the vase. Sometimes this won’t work. Some flowers are bound to die, but for the most part I have great luck with this procedure.
Also remember to change out the water in the vase each day or so. The best way to do that is to dump part of the water out – never letting the stems come out of the water. Then add fresh cold water to fill it up again.
Pinky Winky Hydrangea Buds in a Copper Vase
Hydrangeas are beautiful as buds, full grown blooms or late summer / fall colors. Anytime is a good time to bring hydrangeas inside to brighten the home. The Pinky Winky is one of my favorite varieties, and I have a page full of Pinky Winky hydrangea photography taken of the one growing in my yard.
Propagating means starting a new shrub from an existing one. There are a couple of ways you can do this with hydrangea plants. Hydrangeas grow quite fast, and within a couple of years you will have a nice size addition to your landscape.
Taking stem cuttings, using new growth, sometimes works. I have not used this method much yet, but while I was planting my new shrubs, a few of the stems broke so I stuck them into a vase of water to see what would happen. After a few weeks, one of the cuttings has begun to sprout new little leaves and is growing roots – right in the water. So I plan to get that into a pot and baby it along until Fall when I’ll add it to the yard. (Pictures to come!)
I’ve had success with root layering, and hydrangeas, with their low hanging branches, are perfect for doing this. In fact if you check around the base of your plants that droop to the ground, you may find that a branch or two is already rooting itself into the soil. The mophead variety tends to have the low to the ground stems.
I started a new plant by digging up the rooted stem and planting it in another area of the yard one Spring. I was renting the house, so I don’t know how it’s doing today, but by the time I moved, a beautiful new hydrangea shrub was gracing the front yard at no cost to the homeowner.
Read how I did it, with pictures along the way, at my Wizzley page about Propagating Hydrangeas.
Vases with blue hydrangeas- the Endless Summer variety. It’s not too hard to fill a vase with hydrangea flowers. Generally they are huge, and one will fill any kind of vase nicely. Some of my new plants were flattened by a torrential rainstorm we had just after I planted them and they still bloomed, but the blooms are laying on the ground facing upwards.
Today I decided to cut them and bring some inside, but getting them to look okay in a vase is not easy since the heads are greatly bent sideways.
I brought a vase full of hot water outside with me and plopped the cut stems into it right away. That keeps the white sap from clogging the stems so the flowers won’t wilt right away. Than they are added to cold water once I go inside – snipping a bit off the bottom of the stem first.
I dug out my little vases – one is actually an empty Patron tequila bottle- and filled them with the light blue flowers. I need these photos for my work as I get ready to add new wedding stationery to my BlueHyd store.
Hydrangeas Blue 