This will help collect the water and ensure the plant stays moist. Sometimes, because potted hydrangeas may be too large to easily move, you have to keep them outside during winter. The frame filled with mulch will protect your hydrangea throughout the winter weather. Protection for Potted Hydrangeas. Some herbs (and the pots they're growing in) are at risk from cold winter frosts. Not sure of variety. For more reliable bloom production, you may want to consider adding a few different types of hydrangeas to your landscape. Protecting the hydrangea during winter helps to ensure the plant is able to bloom each year. For example, if the standard recommendation is to mulch over a particular garden perennial for winter, do so with the buried potted plant. Replant in the spring when temperatures rise above freezing. Don’t overwater and don’t give any fertilizer. Here are a few ways to overwinter your plants. You want to make sure … I have two hydrangeas that are approx. Read the easy steps listed below and learn about how you can prepare your hydrangea for winter. Protect those buds for the winter… There are several other ways you can preserve your hydrangeas. In a container, your plants have less protection from the cold than they would have in the ground. Get them to set flower buds close to the ground. So to come up with a method for getting these plants to bloom in the North, I had to find a way to: 1. Everyone knows that plants die if winter temperatures are too frigid for them to endure. Bigleaf Hydrangeas primarily bloom on last year’s growth, or “old wood.” For this reason, bigleaf Hydrangeas should never be pruned in late summer or fall. If frost is forecast, you can throw some old newspaper or horticultural fleece over plants and pots temporarily. Hydrangeas are best moved in the early spring, before the foliage emerges, or in the autumn, a few months before the ground freezes. Place the pot in a location with bright light and high humidity. Almost all hydrangeas should be pruned in late winter or early spring, with the exception being the climbing hydrangea which is pruned after flowering in summer. Can I wrap the outer part of the pot to keep it from freezing and just keep the pots in front of the house? 2. What should I do to winter them over? If you live in an area that gets freezing winter temperatures – as we do here in northern Utah – apply a 12-inch layer of mulch to insulate your hydrangea shrubs. Depending on your climate zone, you may need more or less protection to winterize hydrangeas. Step 1 Add 2 to 3 inches of mulch around the rhododendron to protect the roots. If you do step on it, you’ll notice that your footprints linger, as frozen grass blades break underfoot. I was going to wrap them in burlap this year for winter protection but was not sure when to do this. Hydrangeas are pretty darn hardy (I know Martha grows beautiful ones, of course--LOL), but I don't know about in Alaska. Sunday, 24 March, 2019 at 3:00 pm . The temperature indoors should stay between 25 to 40 °F (−4 to 4 °C) during the winter in order for the roses to survive. A table displaying which months are best to sow, plant and harvest. Other Methods for Drying Hydrangeas . Here are a few ways to overwinter your plants. Store it for the following winter! Protect tender plants with water, mulch, and shelter. Walking on frozen ground may also lead to compaction of the soil, increasing drainage problems and potentially encouraging the onset of fungal diseases. Don’t move the hydrangeas out until you see the ones outside opening their leaves – once the plants that are growing outside have leaves the size of a quarter, you can put them out.