The boiling water helps to do away with the sap. Put boiling water into a cup. Dip each stem into the boiling water for 30 seconds and immediately put them into a vase or container filled with room temperature water see directions above. Replacing the water in the vase or containers that hold hydrangeas will keep them fresher longer! Also, give hydrangeas a fresh cut and dip them in boiling water before putting them in the fresh water!
Then recut and place the stems into boiling water and then back into a vase of fresh water. They should revive in a couple of hours and live another day or two. One of my dear readers, Nancy, reminded me of a second method for keeping cut hydrangeas from wilting. You can cut the ends of the hydrangeas on an angle and cut up the stem a little and dip them in ALUM before putting them in a vase of fresh water. It takes a little extra care to have a big beautiful bouquet of hydrangeas gracing your home… but it is sooooo worth it!
Your email address will not be published. It is becoming fall and my Hydrindges are hughe and pink, blue and green and I heard you can dry them and have them all winter…. Is this true and if so , how…. I have read all your wonderful coments on keeping the fresh, I want to dry them for the winter….. Oh my golly — I tried your suggestion to revive my cut hydrangeas that were wilting and I cannot believe how stunning they are!!!
I did it about 3 hours before I went to bed and she minimal results. But I left them on the counter in fresh room temperature water, after setting them in boiling water for 30 sec — and awoke to them looking like they are freshly cut! They were originally cut 1 week ago and now look like they are fresh cut this morning!!! Thank you for sharing that TIP. The flowers and leaves left on all look fine! There are some hydrangeas that are heat tolerant.
I purchased the hydrangeas last night and trimmed and placed them into my bouquet. This morning the were wilted. I rushed to the internet for help and my search pattern is known by Google because it took me straight to a trusted source, you. Two years ago I cut my hydrangeas at an angle and smashed the stem after cutting part way up Those are still perfect and sitting in my storage area. Thanks for the information. I am here to tell you that the Alum method is fool proof! Just dip in Alum and then put in the water.
I was constantly frustrated until I tried this. It even works well on the bigger woody branches! Ok that was amazing advice! I did the 45 min soak and split the shafts and put stem in boiling water and put back in arrangement. My husband and I were shocked at how it went from literally dead to brand new! Hydrangeas are one of my favorite flowers. They are so romantically beautiful.
Thanks for these tips!
I also trimmed the stems occasionally. My blooms lasted for almost 2 weeks! As I cut them, I placed each in bucket of water,then into bathtub of water. Left for about 3 hours.
Wilted flower stock photos
I was shocked by all the stuff that was in the water! After cutting on diagonal, I smashed lower end of stems with small hammer, then dipped into the alum as suggested, then into vases filled with water. All were still beautiful and perky for the next day baby shower!!! Thanks again for all the great tips. Do you cut the bloom that is on old wood or cut the bloom from the new growth? Does it make a difference?
Is there also a method to revive wilted blooms from a planted hydrangea. Mine was gorgeous two days ago and now all the blooms wilted. Would love to receive some advice please. Try cutting the ends again and then putting the whole stem, everything, in a bathtub with cold water. Cover them completely and let them soak for 30 minutes or so. I purchased cut hydrangeas yesterday, by this morning 3 of the 4 were wilting. I used the boiling water method and voila! Beautiful perky hydrangeas are miraculously back within an hour.
Thank you for this tip, I will be pasing on my success story.
Wilted Flower Images, Stock Photos & Vectors | Shutterstock
Thanks for this fantastic info. I cut the blooms from my garden this morning as directed using the boiling water method. I have a question: Like many other blooming plants in my garden, do hydrangeas produce more blooms more the more you cut them? The alum works wonderfully.
How to Care for a Hydrangea After the Flowers Wilt
Also, if they start to droop….. Thank you for the tips and I love the antique hydrangeas , along with the white ones,they are my other favorite flower. I planted a bunch last fall and they were doing beautifully until a deer ate them down to the stems! Great tips, Yvonne — thanks for sharing! At some point, can you also give tips for drying hydrangeas?
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Thank you, thank you! I love Hydrangeas, they remained me of my Grandmother and summer days spent with her in NC. My hydrangeas have not bloomed yet…I am patiently waiting! As always, a wonderful post — informative info and lovely pictures! Your blossoms are beautiful! Thanks for the alum tip, too.
It is fun to learn something new every day! This is perfect for me. We just planted nine Hydrangeas. Thanks for the great tips Yvonne! Thanks for the info.. I have used the hot water, but never heard of the alum…will give it a try. Thanks for the tips Yvonne! Hydrangeas are one of my favorite flowers!
Yes, they do wilt very easily early in the season, but later on in the season you can dry them perfectly. I was never happy with them when picked early, now I can try again…Thanks for the share! My daughter choose hydrangeas for her wedding table settings and ceremony site flowers. We had hydrangeas everywhere! The florist gave us a great tip which I have since used with much success, including homegrown flowers my other daughter used at her wedding. After cutting the blooms, dunk the heads in cool water for a minute or two, slit the stem at bottom and vase. It will seem odd at first to dunk the heads, but it works.
I plan to plant 3 more in the ground next spring. Thanks for the great info. Let me know how the hot water method works for you! Enjoy your weekend Karen! I have used Bobbex for years. It is the only thing that I have found that works.
I have found spraying every days has been best for me. I loved your post today! We live in east TN and have 37 hydrangeas in our yard as well as an abundance of hosta and day lilies — all of which are literal desserts for deer. I get a trim every 5 weeks and this has worked ever since we began doing it about 4 years ago. My Mom taught me to be certain to remove all the fallen leaves from between the stems near the ground because they tend to collect more rain, snow or ice and will cause more stems to freeze during the winter.
Knowing this has made a huge difference with blooming. But sounds like removing all of them has done the trick for you! Did not see anything on my Oak Leaf hydrangea.
I am in coastal South Carolina, my huge plant is 3 yrs old. Can you give me instructions on pruning this type as well please? And in zone 8B. Awesome awesome awesome post Kris!! I already saved it so I can come back and re-read. Thanks so much for all these great tips and details! Yours are absolutely amazing!! I hope you have better luck with your finicky hydrangeas next year! What a great post! We get tons of deer so I am definitely trying the Bobbex. I will be spraying everything! As soon as I get my fall mums for the porch, I think I will try it out on them first.
In previous years, the deer get so daring that I find them on my front porch munching away! I would definitely recommend it Shelley — just be prepared to shower immediately after using it. It is seriously the stinkiest stuff ever! Thanks for the tips. I have Nikko blues. They usually bloom like crazy, but this year nothing bloomed not my wisteria, my rhodendrons, my variegated weigelas. I think the weather has something to do with it—cool and wet summer for us. Hopefully everything will grow well for you next year! Unfortunately they only bloom in early spring for a couple of weeks.
Fortunately, my wisteria bloomed almost all summer and that is rare! It sounds like you get some serious heat there — glad your wisteria thrived in it! My Aunt Bell had aushiemers and she cut back the hydrangea with a butcher knive several year s back ,it grows to about 3 ft. Every year but has never bloomed again what do I do. All O k ow is the flower waa purple. Totally leave it alone and you should eventually start seeing blooms again.
It could just be that the blooms got killed off this past year or two by a late frost, too much fertilizer, or one of the other reasons I mentioned in my post. My hydrangea blooms begin with a light green color; changing to blue. Now that it is fall they are pink, changing to a beautiful rust. One stem is much taller from the rest How do I get them ready for the winter. I live East Central Minnesota. It gets pretty cold here and even in the coldest of winters mine have done fine!
That is probably one of the best, most thorough articles I have ever read on hydrangeas!! You are so sweet — thank you! I had been mis-informed for many years, and all that great advice cleared up my confusion.
Hi Savannah I dry Hydrangeas every Summer. This is what I do.
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Flowers that have been on the bush a little while work better. Cut them as you normally would and place in vase of water but DO NOT change water, Do Not top it up, leave it alone and it will dry by itself. Hi Kris Love your article on hydrangeas! I live in NZ and I prune my mopheads late winter making sure I cut above the 2 bud mark which is usually a New flower stem. This has never failed for me. I have one more tip to add to preventing wilting Hydrangeas. They can last for almost 2 weeks…. I also cut the blooms extra long so that I prune the bush while cutting the blooms.
This saves pruning at the end of the season. I get beautiful blooms every year. Love these amazing flowers! I puchased Bloomstruck hydrangea from Home Depot that had been underwatered. It was a discounted plant.