Hydrangeas have one of a kind bloom that make one fall in love.
Sunlight & Watering
Hydrangeas, as the name suggests, love water. They also love sunlight, especially the morning till early afternoon. Usually watering once in the morning is enough. But if the plant is in harsh sunlight throughout the day, make sure to water the plant 2 times, else the leaves will start wilting.
Fertilizer
If the soil is rich in nutrients, you may skip this step. But if the plant growth is relatively slower, you may add some organic manure or compost once in 2 months. We use regular NPK fertilizer. You may also spray Neem oil occasionally, if there is any insect growth on leaves.
Soil
Now the most important thing for any plant is the soil. You can use regular garden soil mixed with cocopeat and vermicompost in 70:20:10 ratio. We have purple to pink shades of blooms, and we haven’t treated our soil with any chemicals. Although in most of the blogs, they say that if you want darker flowers, like Blue color, make the soil acidic by maintaining pH below 7 using Soil Acidifier. If you love the purple-pink shades stick to pH above 7 which can be done by using Garden Lime powder. Usually most soils are basic, which is pH 7.
Pruning & Pinching
Pruning is most important step to keep your Hydrangea plant alive for years. Once the plant is done flowering, and the summers are over, pruning should be done. This will let your plant get new buds right in time for the Monsoon/Spring. It will also make the plant bushier. Another thing to note is pinching, you must pinch the new buds once the main stalk is 7-8 inches. It will give wonderful new growth, and increase the volume of your plant.
Propagation
One of my favorite activity. Now, Hydrangeas might look very sophisticated, but believe me, they are the easiest to propagate. Be it soil or water propagation.
For Soil propagation, get small cuttings and plant in soil which is moist most of the time.
Water propagation could be done in a glass, and is super simple.
Once you feel the roots are developed and the cutting is showing slight growth, you can shift it to bigger pots.
Potting & Planting
After the summer blooms start to dry out repot in 10-12 inch pot, preferably of terracotta. You can even plant them in garden without pot if the soil is good enough. When re-potting, follow regular steps and remove extra roots of any. Loosen the top soil of the plant once every month.