It’s summer and your hydrangea shrub looks healthy but there are no flowers! You’ve waited patiently all year for your hydrangeas to bloom but this year there are no flowers! That’s what happened to me with my hydrangea shrub for 2 summers in a row! It stopped flowering! I made some changes and the following summer, it bloomed beautifully. Learn from my mistakes! In this article, I will go over how to make your hydrangeas flower. Below is a video on how to make your hydrangea flower.
How to Make Hydrangeas Flower
1: Stop Pruning your Hydrangeas
My hydrangea shrub experienced two summers of no blooms. The reason why my hydrangeas did not flower the first summer is that I over-pruned my hydrangeas. In my effort, to make my backyard look neat and tidy, during fall clean-up, I over-pruned my hydrangea shrub. I accidentally, cut down hydrangea stems that had flower buds for the following year. By cutting off those flower buds in the Fall, the result is my hydrangeas had no flowers the following year.
If you want your hydrangeas to flower nicely, stop pruning your hydrangeas. Hydrangeas are low-maintenance plants that don’t require pruning. Just leave it alone. If you want to tidy up your hydrangeas in the fall, I suggest removing just the dead leaves and dead flowers but leaving all the stems intact. You can also remove dead branches but if you are not sure which branches are dead- don’t cut them! Less pruning is better for hydrangeas. When in doubt, don’t prune! Learn from my mistakes!
2: Water your Hydrangeas
For the second summer, one of the main reasons why my hydrangea shrub failed to flower is I didn’t water my hydrangeas. I was busy that summer and neglected my garden. I didn’t have time to water my hydrangeas and it was a particularly dry summer. My hydrangea drooped and there were no flowers! Hydrangeas need regular watering.
The following summer, I watered my hydrangeas once a week and they flowered nicely. Learn from my mistake! Water your hydrangeas at least once a week, more if you have the time. If there is a dry spell, water it more than once a week. If you are too busy to water your hydrangeas, set up an automatic drip irrigation system.
3: Fertilize your Hydrangeas
Another reason why my hydrangea shrub didn’t flower that second summer is I didn’t fertilize my hydrangeas. I neglected my garden and I just left it alone. The following summer, I fertilized my hydrangeas with a balanced fertilizer and I think that helped my hydrangeas flower.
Be careful though and don’t overfertilize your hydrangeas. If you overfertilize your hydrangeas, they will end up producing too many leaves and not enough flowers!
4: Your Hydrangeas are not getting enough sun
Another possible reason why your hydrangeas are not flowering is that it’s not getting enough sun. Your hydrangeas can tolerate shade but that doesn’t mean they should be planted in full shade locations. Your hydrangeas still need 4 to 6 hours of sunlight each day for them to flower.
If you planted hydrangeas in a shady location and have not been successful in getting them to flower, then there is a high likelihood it’s not getting enough sun. You can either move your hydrangeas to a sunnier location in your garden or if you planted your hydrangeas under large trees, trim down the tree branches to give your hydrangeas more sunlight.
Learn from my mistakes. Make these changes and your hydrangeas will flower beautifully for you next summer.
You May Also be Interested in these Hydrangea Care Tips
Step by Step: How to Easily Propagate Hydrangeas (video)
How to Deadhead Hydrangeas (video)
How to Make Hydrangeas Flower (video)
Beginner’s Guide: How to Care for your Hydrangea (video)
Can I Transplant Hydrangeas in the Summer?
Can I Transplant Hydrangeas in the Winter?
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