Monday, July 27, 2009

Rooting Hydrangeas

Hydrangeas are one of my very favorite flowers! And, I love how well they grow in my yard! And, about a year ago - a neighbor showed me how to root my own from plants I already have to grow more!

I did exactly as she said and all of my hydrangea starts have new growth, so I hope that means they are going to produce happy and healthy new plants!

First, cut a section from your existing plant that does not have a bloom on it. Choose a stem with three pairs of leaves:

Strip the lowest pair of leaves off:

Now, cut the lowest remaining pair of leaves in half:

Dip the stem in water:

Dip the stem in rooting hormone:

Plant:

Water! Hydrangeas love water - so plant these somewhere handy so you will remember to water them frequently! Based on where you live, you will decide whether to plant them in sun or shade. Lots of things I have read or seen say to plant hydrangeas in full sun - but where I live, they do best in the shade.

Here are my plants after two weeks:

Enjoy all those lovely hydrangeas!

11 comments:

Mary Ann said...

Great job! Last year my mom taught me how to root some houseplants and it's so easy! I need to do a bunch again; they need it!

Julie said...

How do you get those lovely plants to bloom? Ours are big, leafy plants with only a few blooms. Two years ago we had tons of flowers, but none before and very little after that.

Ginger said...

What is "rooting hormone"?

Monica Wilkinson said...

Julie: I confess that I do not know the answer to that - I assumed that what she showed me was for a successful plant, but obviously mine are not far enough along to know if they will bloom or not.

I saw a link over at Merchant Ships about this: http://www.nantuckethydrangea.com/propagation.html

Ginger: rooting hormone is a powdered or liquid product available at gardening stores that helps to stimulate root growth on a new cutting. I used some my neighbor gave me, so am not familiar with certain brands.

Cheryl said...

Monica,
that very one you posted about it my fave hydrangea. What is it called. I know they have different names. We also have an Oak Leaf hydrangea and one that has pink flowers that come up on it.
Thanks for the tips as I would love to have more Hydrangeas growign around the house.

Sharon said...

How wonderful Monica!

I can't wait to get a Hydrangea Plant. You did a wonderful job and I can't wait to see them next year :)

have a Blessed Day in the Lord!

~Sharon

LynnMarie said...

Wow they grew fast! I wish we lived near each other so we could share plants!

Mary Ann said...

For Ginger:
A couple of brands of root hormone are Take Root and Root Tone. Someone at your local home and garden store will know what you're talking about. It's usually sold near the Miracle Gro and plant food, I think. One small jar lasts a long time.

Elise said...

Awesome!! Thank you so much for showing us this!! I love hydrangeas!!
Elise

Judy Joyce said...

I'm so glad I found your blog! My yard is full of hydrangeas and I had no ides how to do that! Thanks!

The Gaertegang Homestead said...

Okay so I know this post is from last year, but I was wondering how is all turned out. Did you have success in rooting any of the hydrangeas? I would love to know because I have had this on my mind since then on and off and wondered if it was worth my time to try it myself. THanks!!