Hydrangeas are a very popular houseplant gift choice come spring, having striking rounded flower heads and glossy leaves. If you were given a gift, you may have wondered about how to care for it in the long run. And if you were given indoor hydrangea, you might be wondering: Can indoor hydrangea be planted outside?
Read on as I answer this question and show you whether or not hydrangea can be grown either indoors or outdoors.
Can Indoor Hydrangea Be Planted Outside?
Right before the Easter holidays and Mother’s Day, many gardens are filled with potted hydrangeas, as they are blooming during these times. What happens after a few weeks, when you are ready to place hydrangeas in their permanent home? This is where gardeners wonder whether indoor hydrangeas can be placed outdoors while still thrive.
Fortunately, it IS possible to plant them outside. Many recommend planting potted hydrangeas outdoors, but only during the summer season to acclimate to the outdoor conditions before the winter season comes. Gift hydrangeas would fail to grow successfully when grown indoors or in greenhouses.
Hydrangeas won’t make optimum houseplants for the long term and it’s advised to plant them outdoors. However, if you live in places where temperatures can go below 5 degrees regularly, then do plant them in pots and over-winter them in areas that don’t go below 30 degrees.
If you need to keep them indoors, then there are ways to have your hydrangea thrive, as long as you place it in an area with as much light as possible. Also, water it regularly to maintain moist compost and keep them in a cool area.
Not to worry, as these will leaf out indoors come March. Maintain the soil to keep it damp but not too wet, and then you can place the plant outside after the frost. They will then flower come late June to early July. When placing it outside during the summer, do fertilize the plant with equal parts of holly-tone and Osmocote.
Tips on Growing Hydrangea Outside
When growing hydrangea outdoors, you will need to make sure to care for it properly, and the way you care for it outside differs from the indoors. To help you out, here are some quick tips you can follow:
- Gift hydrangeas were forced to bloom for the holidays, grown in greenhouses with controlled variables. After they have gone through the forcing and acclimated themselves to your climate, then you can grow them outdoors. You may want to keep them indoors for the meantime until they have gotten ‘used’ to their environment, about 1-2 weeks.
- When the weather warms up, then acclimate your plant to the outdoors slowly, taking it outdoors and placing it in a location that has partial sun. Water this regularly and during cold nights, place it indoors.
- After your plant has adjusted well, then you can plant it in a permanent area outdoors. Just make sure that it is in a place exposed to filtered sun and not hot, direct sunlight. Give it a lot of water and a layer of mulch around the plant’s base to keep it from losing too much water.
- Treat the plant like established plants. Do NOT prune them except after it flowers. Leave dried flower heads on the plant during the winter so it would protect new and developing buds from the frost. Deadhead these flowers during the spring.
- These hydrangeas won’t produce more flowers during the next growing season, but with the right location, they would grow and flower successfully.
Wrapping It Up
When growing hydrangeas, you can plant them either indoors or outdoors, depending on the variety. They will require proper care, which would depend on the variety, climate, and where you plant it. As long as you care for these plants properly, then you can enjoy their beautiful blooms for years to come.
I hope you learned more about planting hydrangeas! Now that you know more about hydrangeas, make sure that you care for them properly for them to grow well. Happy gardening!
