Hydrangeas - known for their large, vibrant clusters of blooms - are a popular choice among both beginner and experienced gardeners due to their low maintenance. However, despite their reputation for being easy to care for, there are a few common mistakes that home gardeners of all skill levels can make with hydrangeas. Thankfully, these pitfalls are easy to avoid when you know what to look out for.
Ben Hilton, founder and editor of The Gardening Fix, has shared three of the most common mistakes to avoid - one of which results in no blooms at all. Incorrect soil pH is often the culprit when gardeners fertilise their hydrangea expecting "show-stopping displays of flowers", only to be disappointed.
This is usually because incorrect soil pH limits the plant's ability to effectively absorb nutrients and transport them around the plant. For most hydrangea varieties, slightly acidic soil with a pH between 5.2 and 6.2 is "ideal". To measure their soil pH, Ben recommended that gardeners use a soil test kit.
If their measurement is off, they should amend the soil, and then "apply a phosphorus 10-20-10 fertiliser in spring". Pruning off flowering buds at the wrong time of year is "the most costly mistake for sure", according to the gardener. He warned that the flowering buds are often accidentally cut off by incorrect pruning, resulting in "no flowers at all". Ben highlighted that hydrangea macrophylla and quercifolia flower on old wood, so they "need pruning directly after flowering" in autumn.
