Crops & Breeds › Flower Garden
🌸 Hydrangea
Flower Garden · growing reference
| Days to maturity | ~1 year |
|---|---|
| Germination | 21 days |
| Spacing | 48″ in the row × 60″ between rows |
| Planted as | cutting |
| Water | ~1.5–2.5 in a week |
When to plant
In USDA zone 6, for example: Plant around Mar 4, while the stock is still dormant — bare-root wants to be in the ground before it leafs out.
| Spring | |
|---|---|
| Zone 3 | Apr 3 |
| Zone 4 | Mar 26 |
| Zone 5 | Mar 15 |
| Zone 6 | Mar 4 |
| Zone 7 | Feb 18 |
| Zone 8 | Feb 1 |
| Zone 9 | Jan 9 |
Dates are the typical window for each zone's average frost dates — your own last frost can differ by a couple of weeks. Zone 10 and warmer is effectively frost-free: plant to the season, not the frost. Southern Hemisphere: shift six months.
Hydrangea Types
- Bigleaf · ~1 year · 15–40 stems/plant — H. macrophylla — mophead/lacecap; blue in acid soil, pink in alkaline. Blooms on OLD wood.
- Panicle · ~1 year · 20–50 stems/plant — H. paniculata (Limelight, PeeGee) — cone blooms, the sun- and cold-hardy one; blooms NEW wood.
- Smooth · ~1 year · 20–50 stems/plant — H. arborescens (Annabelle) — big white globes on new wood; native, cut to the ground each spring.
- Oakleaf · ~1 year · 10–30 stems/plant — H. quercifolia — oak-shaped leaves, white cones, brilliant fall colour; native.
- Climbing · ~1 year · 20–60 blooms/plant — H. petiolaris — clings to walls and trees with aerial roots; slow to start, huge in time.
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