Splitting hydrangeas is a common practice that allows you to propagate new plants, rejuvenate older ones, or create more space in your garden. It involves carefully separating a mature hydrangea plant into multiple parts, each with its own set of roots and leaves. The best time to divide hydrangeas is in early spring, just as new growth is starting to emerge, or later in the fall before the plant goes dormant. Avoid dividing your hydrangea in summer because it is too hot for the plant to establish a good root system.
The best time to divide bigleaf hydrangeas is very early spring, just as new green buds are starting to swell and open along the stems. Autumn is the best time for planting and transplanting hydrangeas in the Northern hemisphere, although Southern hemisphere gardeners are marching into the Northern hemisphere. Water the hydrangeas thoroughly the day before to help loosen the soil around them.
When temperatures are about 75 or lower, you can transplant your hydrangeas as long as you are attentive to its needs for a month or so. Check it a couple times per day and protect it. If you want to shape them, cut them back shortly after they bloom. Plants that bloom early in the year, set their buds, and can be divided by stem cuttings, root cuttings, or layering.
📹 Get Endless Free Plants | How to Divide Endless Summer Hydrangeas
Hydrangeas are one of the most popular plants, and for good reason. They’re beautiful, easy to care for, and have a long lifespan.
📹 How to divide Hydrangeas | Gardenaddictz
Yes, you can divide hydrangeas. Not all, but MOST Bigleaf hydrangeas. Endless summer hydrangeas are the easiest to divide.
I found (and bought) 4 little lime’s and 1 limelight hydrangea at the blue store yesterday on clearance!! I immediately thought of you and was just so happy that I was finally able to score my first hydrangea and that they were on clearance!! Thank you for making your articles, it brings me so much joy perusal them!
As someone who has worked in plant production, you’ve hit the nail on the head! Growers put “plugs” or starts together to get maximum bucks out of full, larger containers. Clearance plants tend to be those that were displayed in harsh conditions, like full hot sun in the parking lot! Big box employees aren’t really knowledgeable about plant care, aren’t given the time or hoses to keep young plants looking good. Most don’t know HOW to water & they just “throw water AT the plant” instead of soaking the root ball. Once that growers soil dries out, water just runs through it, out the bottom & never saturates the soil. I use grocery store cake plates as saucers to make sure that contracted soil can wick up the water for a few days. As you’ve discovered, a stressed plant REALLY wants to live! By dividing between the plugs, you actually encourage them to grow, much better than they would together! We love our plants but they’re just income to producers & big box stores, their profit margin is SO high, losing some won’t hurt their bottom line. I adore that you give these sad babies new life! Blushing bride is one of my favorites too, combined with pink annuals, she’s a stunner! I’ve also had luck growing roots on soft branches when I cut them for flower arrangements & layering is a tried & true way to make new plants. Just pot them up when they grow roots, start small & repot as they grow. This year, I finally have a yard of my own & got to plant 30 gallon shrubs, hosta & ferns I’ve carried from rental to rental for almost 10 years.
LOVE IT! I do this with ALL potted plants I buy! Definitely more bang for your buck. I’ve done it with clumping bamboo (which can be expensive when shipped), geranium, even crepe myrtles. Gardners read & heed! Peep inside that pot to see just how many smaller plants you’re actually buying for the price of putting them all in the same hole! 🙂 Plant happy!
You are absolutely right about this being a challenging year to find a good variety of plants and on sale. I love that you have filled your own gardens with plants that were on sale. You have shown that with the love of plants, patience and the willingness to try something different, anyone can have, as you put it, a “lush” garden. Looking forward to spring 2021!!
I have learned so much from you! We bought a house with an overgrown garden and many plants I just hated and pulled out. I have 3 huge, giant hydrangea that just can’t have that much space. I was going to pull them out and start over, but there is a famous gardener in my area who says you can dig up dormant hydrangea and divide them. So after frost, I won’t have to pull out my over grown hydrangeas and throw them away, I get 2 much smaller ones!! Great to find so much wisdom shared.
I can’t wait till I have the space to apply this! Thank you for the information that you can even do this! I always notice with a lot of potted roses that there are multiple plants, but I haven’t had the space for hydrangeas yet and I’m excited to have this in the back of my mind in the future. Also, totally off subject, but it’s been a rough few days and something about this article, in particular, brought my anxiety way down to a manageable level, so, thank you for that too. 💗
I’m applying one of your tips to move an apple tree I planted earlier this year. It’s going to be too close to a new Limelight I have yet to plant. I’ve been giving the tree lots of water recently in preparation of its move. Not far, just 3′. If I don’t move it today I may wait a few days after the (hopefully) last hot weather passes. Of course, I’ll give it some Bio-tone.
You are so right!!! It’s been a horrible year for finding plants!!! I had to scrounge 5 different garden centers before I could find any Proven Winners petunias. Everything looked terrible. I had no idea you could get more than one hydrangea!! That’s a great trip thanks!!!! Love the fast speed made me giggle😎
I was at a store…. bought 4 hydrangeas for $75 and that was a clearance. Then I noticed some dead looking hydrangeas in a corner n asked them about it. They were going to throw them out .. they gave me all 5 for free… I took em cuz of these articles. Omgeeee I’m so happy. Their flowers are all dried up but they have buds forming new growth definitely for next year💪🏽💪🏽
We purchased our first house in 2018 and there was a big hydrangea I dug out a decent rootball this past fall-winter and I split it I planted it in the backyard then dug it out late this spring left them literally un planted for couple months (kept moist) finally planted in my front yard and they look great that’s how tough they are hopefully they’ll get blooms next year
I LOVE your articles and your hydrangea do. I too have a love for hydrangeas. HDs around me do not clearance their flowers, but i found dying limelights there. I asked the dept manager kindly what she could do for me to take two home to nurse and recuperate. She did give me a great deal!!! So far both are improving Thanks to you, I check clerance weekly at Lowes. Walmart cleaned out all garden plants in late July. Where else do you find such good deals? I LOVE a good deal!
You are the luckiest person I know. I can NEVER find clearance plants that aren’t on deaths door, I mean REALLY on deaths door💚🙃 I did find one I asked to be marked down,they marked it down 20% I paid $29.00 and oh boy do I have to baby that one. Thank you beautiful lady💚🙃 Just thought of another question, do you recommend cutting the blooms of a struggling hydrangea?💚🙃
Awesomeness! Such great information on saving money when buying your potted plants and flowers. I really didn’t think they also added multiple hydrangeas together because it’s always a pricey flowering plant to buy. I did this with petunias for a border that turned out fabulous. Now, I’m going to be on the lookout for hydrangeas cause you can never have enough! LOL
Girl, thank you so much for this inside tip. I have approximately 20+ hydrangeas in my yard, and I never knew you could divide them. I have my work cut out for me this Fall, and neighbors are going to get some new hydrangeas for their yard. Btw, is Fall a good time to dig them up and divide them? Nevah mind…I got a little too excited, you just answered my question. Thanks Moya
This is great, and I plan to do it! Thank you!! I also have a question. I have a bigleaf hydrangea (Tokyo Delight) that I planted in the wrong place years ago. Maybe 12-15 years ago. It’s in full sun and has bloomed “the way its supposed to” only once. Many years it hasn’t bloomed at all, or else it’s just very sparsely bloomed. What is the best way to divide and move it. I have shady spots and partial shady spots I can move it’s divisions to.
I love this! Do you ever ask store associates if they will mark down hydrangeas that look rough but can be nursed back? I get a lot of clearance plants from the same big box store you do, but they never seem to mark down hydrangeas. I was in yesterday and every single hydrangea looked terrible/stressed but was still full price ($25 or more). Obviously there is a time and place to ask (like I wouldn’t bother staff on a packed Saturday afternoon) but I was wondering if this is something you ever try?
You are so right about this year being shitty (garden wise) I don’t know who pissed on the supertunias this year but they all died. The Japanese beetles were out in full force bringing along the budworms and the aphids to the party. You are doing a fantastic job nice to see you back in your true groove 😉
I’m in the midst of propagating my panicle hydrangeas as I speak. These hydrangeas were bought as a root stock and needed to be pruned for a couple of years to strengthen the stems. Btw, you can find very reasonably priced root plants at a lot of farm and home stores. I think I paid $5 for each one! My cuttings have roots in just a few weeks. I will probably plant them up next wk so they have enough time to root into the ground and live!
Hey you got a real bargain….i frequently buy clearance plants with small problems and nurse them into health… You just have to watch out for any type of fungal infections with all plants.i have 2 Nicki blue hydrangeas about a dozen rose bushes some iris I found growing wild on the roadside and whatever else I find on clearance or reduced price….
I have a question, you know the hydrangeas they sell in flower shops or flower departments and people buy them as a gift or something pretty to have in the house……hope I explained that well, so can you plant them outside and get success with them? I planted one of them outside and it’s still living but has never flowered again. Every year it comes up and is full of green leaves but no flowers. Am I wasting my time with it or is there something I can do to get it to flower??? Thank you!