Five Tips to Keep Your Hydrangeas Looking Fresh After Cutting Them

Cut flowers can bring a nice pop of color into your home, and hydrangeas are no exception! Hydrangeas are a favorite amongst gardeners, and it’s no wonder – they come in a variety of shapes and colors, they are fairly easy to care for, and they have a long bloom season, meaning you can enjoy them for a long period of time and, they look great in cut floral arrangements. 

However, when you do cut them and put them in a floral arrangement, you want them to last awhile, and get the most out of those blooms. Here are five tips to help you make sure your blooms last longer (as long as a week!) once they come off the plant. 

Hydrangeas are a very popular flower amongst gardeners

Cut at the Right Time 

Harvest your hydrangeas when you see a nice color on them and when their bloom clusters are open. You also want to cut them in the morning before the sun has had a chance to evaporate the moisture in the flowers. Helping the hydrangeas retain moisture once they are cut will help them last longer. You could also cut them in the evening as well, after they have had a chance to recover from the heat of the day. Cutting hydrangeas in the morning or evening are both great options, but cutting them midday is the time you definitely want to avoid cutting as the plant will already be stressed out and might be wilting. 

Place Cut Stems in Water as You Go 

Hydrangeas are very thirsty plants, so they will start to wilt pretty quickly if they are out of water for too long. When they are cut, they produce a sap to protect themselves, but this sap seals and blocks water absorption. Placing them in a bucket of water as you continue cutting can help prevent too much sap from forming before you can get them inside. If you aren’t going to be cutting too many stems, you can fill your bucket with hot water for the stems as that also helps reduce sap from forming, keeping your blooms fresher until you can put them in your arrangement. 

Properly Cut Stems 

When you are cutting hydrangeas from the plant, make sure your tools are nice and clean, as well as sharp. Cut just above a leaf node, which is where the leaves meets the stem. The stems you cut should have at least two sets of leaves, and be anywhere from twelve to eighteen inches long. 

Proper Storage 

If you aren’t ready to make your floral arrangement as soon as you cut them, keep your cut hydrangeas in a cool place out of direct sunlight, but stray away from putting them in your refrigerator because that will create condensation on the flowers. 

Reviving Blooms 

The longer you have your hydrangea floral arrangement, the more likely they are to wilt, but, you can revive them! Turn the flowers upside down and soak them in tepid water for 30 minutes to an hour. Then, remove them and gently shake the water off of the blooms and give the stems a fresh, angled cut which will help them absorb more water.  Change out the water in your vase to keep things nice and fresh, and place the hydrangeas back in your vase or arrangement, and leave them out of direct sunlight until they perk back up, and in no time, they will look good as new! 

Final Thoughts

Even after your hydrangeas have run their course, and you’ve already revived them, but you aren’t ready to let them go, try drying them by taking the stems out of water, and hanging the flowers upside down until they are fully dry – then you can enjoy them even longer, even though they aren’t fresh, but you can still enjoy them long after the blooming season has passed.