Compact Hydrangeas to Grow In Pots

Compact hydrangeas to grow indoors in pots.

 

If your patio or living room needs some color and you’d like to add a beautiful flowering plant, why not consider growing a compact hydrangea in a pot. I have never grown a hydrangea indoors, but I may try it at some point now that I have a house with plenty of room.

The macrophylla (rounded blooms) hydrangea would be a good choice for pots. It can be trimmed down to a smaller size and will bloom on new and old stems.

Or find a variety that is meant for pots. HGTV has a post which lists the varieties that will do well in pots. They list the Limelight, but I must disagree with that! My Limelight plants grow a lot during the summer and have very long lanky stems with huge flowers at the end of each stem that are heavy. Not a good choice for an indoor pot, in my opinion.  You want to choose a variety that will stay compact, or can be trimmed to stay smaller.

Advantages to container grown plants;

  1. They can be moved around (use a stand with wheels for the big plants)- out of the sun if it’s too hot; or into the sun if needed.
  2. Use them to beautify areas that are dull and boring.
  3. Enjoy the flowers up close and not only when you walk out to the garden.
  4. It’s easy to provide nutrients to keep the flower color blue or pink (if you have the macrophylla type that changes).

Possible disadvantages to growing indoors;

  1. Controlling the soil moisture can be more difficult.  I tend to overwater.
  2. The plant could outgrow the pot and need re-potting
  3. Your cat / pet could eat the leaves!
baby carriage potted hydrangea
Baby Carriage as Potted Hydrangea Container (Photo credit: Richgold @ Pixabay)

(Photo credit: Pixabay, top image by congerdesign.)

Expect to Pay A Bundle For Large (Older) Hydrangea Plants

I’ve found that online shipping services will ship small shrubs at a relatively cheap price.   But if you want a big plant, head to the bank because you will pay lots for larger hydrangea plants.

If you’ve never ordered perennials online, you might be very surprised at what arrives on the truck. Because of the stress on the plants during shipping, the plants will be mostly dormant and without flowers – some may be just roots and not potted. In fact they could look pretty dead to you, but don’t worry, if you follow the instructions included, they will perk up once they are in the ground where they should be happy.

I’ve ordered plants other than hydrangeas, so this will be my first try. I ordered an “All Summer Beauty” hydrangea from American Meadows who says that shipping will be the week of September 19th for my area. It’s costing me $9.98 and will come in a 4 inch pot. They say I will get an e-mail telling me when to expect it.

If you are looking for the chance to choose from a huge variety of hydrangeas to purchase, check out Hydrangeas Plus.  You can search by planting zone, size (age), container flowers, biggest blooms and other.  I’ve never bought anything from them, but it looks like a promising site.

They sell hydrangea plants as “1 Year” “2 Year” and “3 Year”. Their one year, All Summer Beauty was out of stock, so I couldn’t check the price, but some of their two year blues were “$18.95. the three year old plants in blue (that were available) were priced around $39.95. In their FAQ section they explain what the age difference means and what to expect from each. (Check out the timeline photos of mine below.)

April 2010 Photo

Here are the photos from 2010 and 2011 of a new little hydrangea that I propagated from a large shrub in the yard at my old rental place.
I don’t have a picture of when it was first planted in 2009, but I cut it from a large plant where it had rooted itself from a branch hanging near the ground.
These pictures show it’s growth in the first Spring (2010) up to this summer (2011) just before I moved out.

small hydrangea plant
Summer 2010 Photo

There were no blooms during it’s first year in the new spot near the steps. Only two long stalks developed and I suspect that the roots were getting established.

hydrangea shrub with blue flowers
July 2011 Photo

Then, this summer, lots of growth appeared and bunches of small, light blue flowers.

Read more about the new “baby” hydrangea that I grew at my old rental house.

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Planning A Garden: Sketch A Picture of Your Yard

sketch of yard on paper
Sketch it Out

Whether you want to add a small perennial garden to your already established and well landscaped yard, or are re-doing an entire yard, planning a garden takes time and thought.  Sketching a picture of your yard will help you remember important features that disappear in the winter months.

One of the most important factors in planting is the amount of sun those plants will be getting. If you’ve just moved to a new place or simply haven’t been paying much attention to what goes on in your yard, then begin to take notice of when and where the sun hits in the areas you’d like to turn into gardens.

You’ll have to watch through out the day and the sun will change it’s path depending on the season, but summer is when the plants will do most of their growing so having a sun-loving plant in a spot that gets plenty of sun is important.

Once you know about the sun, then search for plants that will work to your advantage in the spots they will like best. Make a list of the plants you’d like to have and sketch out the section of the yard where you plan to do the work. This helps me to remember what I planned to do. Next Spring I can read my notes and continue on with my plans.

I also like to keep track of where I bought my plants. That way, if I really love the color of the flower I may be able to go back and buy another one just like it.

As you can see in my sketch above, I plan to add a few hydrangeas along the back front area of my yard. That spot gets a good amount of sun and although hydrangeas can live in shady conditions, they don’t flower as well if they don’t have some sun so I think that might be a good spot.

Who knows, by next Spring I may have changed my mind!

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More Pictures of Blue Hydrangeas

Photography of pretty blue hydrangea flowers growing on the shrub.

I am looking forward to growing my own hydrangeas, now that I have my own home. My only experience has been in the yard at my rental house, where I was less than enthusiastic about gardening.  However, that is where I discovered my love for the hydrangea shrub and the beautiful blue flowers it produces.
blue hydrangea flower
A small, blue hydrangea flower. I like this picture (above) because the edges of the petals are brownish which give the flower a look of being outlined. I don’t know why they are like that, but I thought it was unusual.

Blue hydrangea shrub
Blue Hydrangea shrub in bloom

This photo was taken just before I moved out of my rental. As you can see, the shrub has lots of flowers, but they are fairly small and more of a light blue than a deep blue.

dsc06727
A bud is as pretty as the full bloom

I lived at the rental house in New Hampshire for three years, so I was able to photograph these flowers in various stages of growth and color.  It seemed that each year they did something different!

That is the fun part of watching a hydrangea bush bloom, especially this variety which can give you blooms that are large or small, bright or light in color.  And they will change color as Fall approaches.  In fact, watching what happens to theses plants in Fall is exciting, and has given me some wonderful photos of unique flower colors.
(All photography on this page is mine and is NOT free to use.)

blue flower in the sun
Bright blue hydrangea in full sun

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Endless Summer Hydrangeas For Northern Gardens

Hydrangea macrophylla
Image via Wikipedia

If you live in a very cold climate as I do, one hydrangea that should flourish in your yard would be the Endless Summer (Hydrangea macrophylla) variety. It is loved for it’s profuse blue flowers, but acidic soil is needed for the blue color.

The tricky part is knowing whether the flowers will bloom as pink or blue.  That will depend on the acidity of your soil. If your soil has a low ph level (5.2-5.5) your flowers will be blue, but any higher and you may get a pink and blue combination or all pink blooms. The soil where I live in New Hampshire is naturally acidic, so my Endless Summer hydrangeas bloom blue.

Not every type of hydrangea shrub will like the cold winters of New England, so be sure to do your research before buying and make sure you are investing in a plant that will not die over it’s first winter in a northern garden.

The Endless Summer shrub will bloom from new growth (as well as old) in the Spring, so while the shrub sits buried under 2 feet of snow for months you won’t have to worry if the stems break. It will come back. They thrive in planting zones 4-9 so they can take the heat too!

blue hydrangea 100
My Endless Summer Hydrangea bush

Shipping From Online Growers is a Problem

Park Village recently received recognition fro...
Image via Wikipedia

I planned to buy my Fall plants from online sources, but I am finding this to be a BIG problem.  Miller Nurseries has been a favorite of mine but they won’t ship until next Spring.  I don’t want to wait that long.  I want to get started planting my perennial gardens now.  Also the Arbor Day Foundation site has lots of what I’d like to have, but they don’t ship until November.  What’s the point?  I might have snow on the ground by then.  I just don’t get it.

I am also having lots of trouble finding hydrangeas to buy at this time of year in my area of New Hampshire.

I realize that the growing season up here is short.  I also realize that most people are done gardening by now.  But some of us aren’t and why won’t you sell to us?  I don’t want to plant my shrubs in 20 degree weather in November.  It’s not fun for me and won’t be too great for the shrubs either!

I am disappointed, but still hopeful.  I picked up a nice, dark red flowering Rhododendron at Tenney Farms today and a rust red Day Lily.  I’ll get more Rhodos for the side yard as I pass by the Farm, but they are expensive.  I could really be saving money by ordering online – if only they would ship to me!

**Update:  I have found a couple of online places (links on the sidebar) who will ship in August.

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