Learn all about growing hydrangea in pots including how to plant them, what growing conditions they prefer, how to make your hydrangea changes colors and how to overwinter hydrangea in pots and urns. It's so much easier than you think!
Man, do I love a good hydrangea!
I have Limelight hydrangea on either side of my front porch. Love, love, love them. Great color and very easy to grow. You can see my tips on growing Limelights in my post titled How To Grow Limelight Hydrangea (boring title, but gets to the point).
And then a few years ago, I planted one of the original Endless Summer hydrangea in another flower bed and I love it equally as well. Although I have no photos to show you and have no idea why. Other than maybe it's the second child syndrome where you have 49,000 photos of every step of baby number 1's life and 2 photos for baby number 2's life.
This year I was getting antsy and wanted to add more hydrangea to the mix around here, so I bought two BloomStruck hydrangea, the newest version of the Endless Summer hydrangea line of hydrangeas.
And decided to plant them in pots instead of in the ground. ((Gasp))
A lot of hydrangea can be planted in pots and urns, but the Endless Summer varieties are perfect for growing in cotainers because they bloom all summer long (hence the name Endless Summer) and only grow 3-4" tall and 4-5" wide.
The perfect size for my galvanized containers on either side of my garage door.
I have a video on how to prepare your galvanized tubs for planting in my Container Gardening Made Easy post.
How To Grow Hydrangea In Pots
Planting Your Hydrangea In A Pot
Pick out your hydrangea. The smaller varieties like my BloomStruck is a good choice since it won't outgrow the pot too soon. Just make sure you are picking one recommended for your region (chances are if they are selling it at your local nursery or big box hardware store, it is fine for your area).
Find an appropriate sized pot or urn. The container should be at least 18-20" across, large enough that you don't need to water it all the time and spacious enough for the roots to spread out. Hydrangea like a little wiggle room.
If your container was used previously, make sure the soil is loose and not firmly compacted. If planting in a new container, fill with quality potting soil. Dirt from the garden will not work well as it is too hard for the roots to spread out in.
Dig a hole 1 ½ times the size of the plant's current pot.
Remove hydrangea from its current pot and place in the hole. You want to plant it at the same level as it was in the previous pot, not any lower into the dirt and not any higher.
Fill around the plant with more soil, gently tamping it down. Put a layer of mulch around the plant to help retain moisture.
How to Take Care Of Hydrangeas
Hydrangeas will need watering more often than your typical potted plants, so check your hydrangeas daily in hot spells to see if they need water. A hydrangea will wilt when it does not have enough water, but it's best to not wait that long to water them because wilting causes stress to the plant. I normally stick my finger in the soil and if the top few inches are dry I will water it thoroughly, usually until water drips from the bottom of the pot. Better to over-water than underwater these guys.
You don't have to go crazy on fertilizer with hydrangea. I planted mine in soil that already has fertilizer in it so that will do for the 1st summer. If your soil does not have fertilizer added straight from the factory, just apply a slow-release NPK 10-30-10 fertilizer every spring. NPK stands for nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium ratios, but basically any fertilizer will have these numbers displayed prominently on the bottle or bag.
You don't really need to prune this type of hydrangea other than cutting off the flowers you want to dry or put in vases. Otherwise you just let them be. What's easier than that!
Do Hydrangea Need Sun Or Shade
Hydrangea prefer morning sun and afternoon shade. Too much sun and they won't bloom as much as they can. That is why I love the container idea since you can move them if you need to.
How To Make Your Hydrangea Change Color
Growing certain hydrangea in acidic soil makes the blooms blue or lavender. Growing them in alkaline soil makes the blooms pink. You can fuss around with testing the soil and all that or you can buy a bag of soil acidifier or garden lime, sprinkle it around the plant and like magic your hydrangea will turn colors. This doesn't work for every hydrangea, they must be blue or pink to begin with (so basically I can't change the color of my Limelight hydrangea, but who would want to).
How To Care For Hydrangea In Pots Over Winter
If you live in a colder climate you will want to bring your containers of hydrangea into the garage or unheated basement for the winter. Just remember to water them occasionally as they won't get benefit of the snow and rain in the winter like their outside cousins would. (I normally will water once every six weeks or so. The plants are in a dormant phase during the winter so they are not drinking up very much water, you just want to keep the roots from drying out completely).
If you planted one of the Endless Summer varieties like I did, do not prune your plant after August 1st. Endless Summer varieties bloom on both old and new wood (that's why they have so many blooms) and you don't want to risk snipping off anything that can bloom next year.
What is your favorite type of hydrangea? Have you ever grown one in a pot or urn before?
(This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. You can read my full disclosure policy here.)
New For Spring 2021:
Other Posts You May Enjoy:
How To Dry Hydrangea The Easy Way
How To Grow Limelight Hydrangea
Quick And Easy Hydrangea Wreath
Michele Susca
Hello my hydrangea has only green leaves (which are strong and healthy) but no flowers. ???
Veronica Howes
Hi please could you tell me what the white spots are on my hydrangea leaves this is the first time that this has happened I have 3 hydrangeas that are growing in
separate pots and for some reason they have all got these white spots on the leaves.by the way I live in the uk .
Pam Kessler
It sounds like powdery mildew, which hydrangea are prone to. It's normally caused by humidity during the days and not enough air circulation around the plants. You can try mixing 1/2 Tablespoon Baking Soda, 2-3 drops of liquid dish soap and 1/2 gallon (2 liters) of water and spraying the plants with it. It changes the PH level of the mildew and keeps it from spreading. You could also use a Neem oil.
Just be careful when watering the plants to water down at the base and not from overhead because you don't want to disturb the mildew and spread it even more.
Brenda
Thank you for sharing your knowledge about hydrangeas. I bought a variety that is supposed to grow in mid Florida climate. I planted it last fall hoping for the best. it turned brown and looked like it was dead. My husband gave me the "I told you so. It's dead" comment when he saw it in that state. I was blessed to see it come back and will follow your recommendations to nurture it to bloom. Thanks so much.
Pam Kessler
That's awesome it came back! Good luck this year with it!
Maria
Does it need to have holes in the bottom of the pot your going to planted it at 🤷🏼♀️
Lynn
So happy to have your post. I love Hydranges and have wanted to plant in pots for a long time. Now, I can and feel confident about it. Thank you. Happy planting!
Lori
I received a hydrangea in March, as a gift, from Publix, I have replanted it and omg it is growing Ike crazy, it is currently ina plastic home depot pot,never thought of using a washtub. I appreciate your sharing of knowledge, I’m just ticked to see neweafgrowth,I live I central Florida, have it on lanai...
Lori
Tickled, hate when iPad spells for me..
Pam Kessler
Awesome! Glad it's doing well for you!
Pam Kessler
I used just a regular organic potting soil in this one, since I am planning on putting this on my porch outside and it will tend to dry out much quicker than normal out there. Generally you really should use a cactus/succulent mix though since it's better suited for the correct drainage succulents require.
Jamie
How often should they be watered while they're in the garage for the winter?
Pam Kessler
Thanks for asking! Just a couple times. I normally will water once every six weeks or so. The plants are dormant during the winter so they are not drinking up very much water, you just want to keep the roots from drying out completely. I'll add that to the article to clarify that for people!
Leanore Rios
Can they be grown inside in a pot or will they die? I live in Albuquerque, NM and of course the weather is always tricky but mostly sun comes in the windows plus I use a Fluorescent light so I just wondered if they would grow inside instead of keeping them outside?
Pam Kessler
I have never tried to grow them inside, but I bet you could. I actually found this article from a nursery in NM talking about hydrangeas and growing them indoors. It discusses misting them because they like the humidity and a few other things. Good luck with your hydrangeas!
Victoria Nimitz
Please correct your content: the Endless Summer varieties grow 3 to 4 feet tall ( 3' - 4'), not 3 to 4 inches (3" - 4"). You may also want to check out the dwarf hydrangeas, which grow to 3 1/2 feet.
Nickie galloway
Yes, I was wondering about that too, as my endless summers are 2-3’ tall.
Linda Hernandez
My Mother-in-law received hydrangeas for Mother’s Day that came in a box like cut flowers. My question is can I put them in a container with potting soil and will they still grow.
Pam Kessler
It never hurts to try, but most of the time the ones sold for Easter and Mother's Day as gifts (normally in foil wrapped pots from the florist or grocery store) are grown, fed and nurtured for a one time magnificent display for that holiday only. They tend to not have enough energy left afterwards to make it for the long haul. For best chance of success you should acclimate them to the outside very slowly, maybe potting them up and putting them next to a window for a little while, then moving them outside for a few hours each day and then finally putting them out for the season. It is possible to keep them alive, but it just takes more care and pampering.
Phyllis
I love my limelight, here in Spokane, WA. I’m moving to central Texas later this year and am wondering if any hydrangea will grow there? Maybe they would do better in a pot?!
Mary
I have really come to love hydrangeas as of late so your post is very timely for me Pam. I will give it a shot and hope my brown thumb doesn't get in the way.
Barbara Chapman ~ French Ethereal
HI Pam! I had a couple of large hydrangeas in pots in California and they were under my patio cover so they were shaded from the hot afternoon sun {the backyard faced east ~ was ideal for roses and hydrangeas}. I miss that yard still as I was out there everyday but that isn't stopping me from trying to grow them here in Central North Texas!!! 😉 I didn't have a garage to put this hydrangea in but it was covered a lot of nights this past winter. It did freeze down to the ground in its pot, but it has come back and is just blooming right now! A pretty pink, although I gave it some acid fertilizer so I imagine it'll shift to bluer blooms later in the summer. Here's hoping to it getting bigger!!!
Happy gardening,
Barb 🙂
Kim
I am so excited to have found your post! My mother gave me a beautiful firelight hydrangea for Mother's Day. I have an old galvanized wash tub that will be perfect! However, what do you do for drainage in the wash tub? don't want to drill holes in the bottom of the tub. I know hydrangeas like more moisture than many shrubs. Just wondering do you use gravel or Styrofoam peanuts, etc.?
Linda @ Itsy Bits And Pieces
Gorgeous hydrangea! Have fun at the garage sales!!
Sandi
I am so glad it's Friday,, This is what I plan on doing tomorrow. I love the galvanized idea..
Such inspiration I like what you say about if it cannot be completed in an afternoon I won't be doing.
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