Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Propagating Hydrangea

It seems that, no matter what kind of gardener you are, once Hydrangea enter your life, you can't get enough of them! They grow easily, have blooms that last a long time (and dry on the bush for easy cutting and arranging) come in beautiful colors and heck, if you don't like the color you can even change their color YOURSELF! If you don't have a Hydrangea in your life you should seriously consider getting one!

They usually aren't cheap. Ok, we aren't talking expensive tree expensive, but more than your average perennial or butterfly bush.

Last night at Garden Club the idea of propagating Hydrangea came up between a few of us. This is one of my most fun, easy and cheap ways to create more hydrangea, provided you have a nice size bush to begin with.

All you need to do is bury one of the stems in the ground. It will grow roots and eventually can be cut off from the original bush and transplanted (roots and all) elsewhere. I would probably do this in the spring after the plant gets leaves. Make sure one of the leaf nodes is buried.

For a more detailed description of the process click here.

It really is that simple! I have done this once before and have also been the recipient of a plant that was propagated in this manner.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

What if you're a really bad gardener?

Like, I planted a Lilac bush in my backyard three years ago. It's still alive, but it's the same size it was the day I planted it. Tiny.

The only thing that Adam and I have planted that haven't died off or languished are hyacinths and mums--and the mums became so gargantuan that I had to actually go rip them all out.

But the Hydrangeas are beautiful. What kind of maintenance and gardening are we talking about here? Can any moron (ie. me) grow one or is this reserved for an actual gardener? (ie. Someone who remembers to water their plants.)

Christine said...

You make me laugh! Any person (not moron!) can grown them but you should remember to water them (at least in the beginning) They are easy. A big shrub really. They look wilty in a lot of heat but then you just have to water them. I think they would actually be great for a first time or occasional gardener. You should look for the variety called endless summer because they bloom every year (some don't) and they bloom all summer long!