Hydrangea Winter Care How To Protect Hydrangeas From Winter Cold And Wind

Protect your in-ground hydrangea in winter by making a frame around the plant by using stakes. Wrap chicken wire around the stakes to form a cage. Fill the cage with pine needles and/or leaves to fully insulate your plant. Oak leaves work well because they do not settle as easily as other materials.

How do you keep hydrangeas alive in the winter?
Should I cover my hydrangea for the winter?
How do you protect hydrangeas from frost?
Can hydrangeas survive a freeze?
Do I cut back hydrangeas after frost?
Do hydrangeas die in winter?
Will hydrangeas grow back if cut down?
How can I tell if my hydrangea blooms on old or new wood?
How far do I cut back hydrangeas?
What temperature is too cold for hydrangeas?
What do hydrangeas look like in winter?

How do you keep hydrangeas alive in the winter?

Wrap Hydrangeas for Insulation

The idea is to make your plants think they live in a warmer growing zone. You can use a tomato cage or build a cage with chicken wire/garden fleece/burlap and fill it loosely with leaves. You can even bubble wrap the exterior of this cage, adding even more insulation.

Should I cover my hydrangea for the winter?

Whether or not hydrangeas need protection depends on how cold the winter temperatures drop. If the air temperature doesn't go below 0 degrees (zone 7) there is no need for winter protection. In colder climates, wrap or completely cover marginally hardy hydrangeas.

How do you protect hydrangeas from frost?

Placing a Drape Cloth

Oregon State University Extension Service recommends using bed sheets or frost cloth to protect hydrangea buds in winter. You can also use burlap or old blankets. Frost cloth and thicker fabric provide better insulation to keep the heat trapped around the plant.

Can hydrangeas survive a freeze?

Some hydrangeas can die because of freezing temperatures and cold winter winds that cause the plant to dry out. Cold weather can pull moisture from stems and leaves, causing dehydration. A late frost in early spring can damage new growth on hydrangeas that bloom on new wood.

Do I cut back hydrangeas after frost?

These mophead or lacecap hydrangeas traditionally bloom only on old wood. If cut back too hard or to the ground in late winter, there will be no flowers. ... These can be cut (or frozen) to the ground and still bloom through much of the summer. Prune them lightly early in the season to encourage new growth and flowers.

Do hydrangeas die in winter?

Winter Kill on Hydrangeas

The low winter temperatures can kill the plant, or they might die because of drying out caused by winds. Because hydrangeas go dormant during the winter, you may not notice winter kill on hydrangeas until spring.

Will hydrangeas grow back if cut down?

You can take a more relaxed attitude about pruning if you have hydrangeas that set flower buds on current season wood, like panicle and smooth hydrangeas. ... Even if you cut canes back to ground level during dormancy, the shrubs will grow back and produce blooms in spring.

How can I tell if my hydrangea blooms on old or new wood?

Old wood is quite simply, last year's wood. Hydrangeas that bloom on old wood set their flower buds in late summer on stalks that have been on the plant since the previous year. Hydrangeas that bloom on old wood include the mophead, bigleaf (macrophylla), lacecap and oakleaf varieties.

How far do I cut back hydrangeas?

To rejuvenate the hydrangea, remove up to 1/3 of the older living stems down to the ground each summer. This will revitalize the plant. If necessary to control the size of the plant, cut back before late July to allow for buds to develop. Usually the plant will return immediately to its former size.

What temperature is too cold for hydrangeas?

Correspondingly, what temperature is too cold for hydrangeas? Temperatures around 70 degrees Fahrenheit in the day and just below 60 F at night are ideal. During the fall bud development stage, hydrangeas need six weeks of temperatures below 65 F for the buds to set.

What do hydrangeas look like in winter?

Hydrangea flower heads turn dry and brown in the fall and will remain that way throughout winter if not removed. Hydrangeas also lose their leaves during fall, but the brown stalks remain upright unless pruned back.