My gorgeous hydrangea blooms are so heavy!

[PookieMichelle]

So many beautiful blooms! I love it!



How can I keep these beauties from sprawling all over the ground?

Does anyone stake their hydrangeas? Other solutions?
This baby was planted early this spring, doing well most of the time, but other than a branch or two I will attempt to layer, I was hoping there was some way to keep her from completely flopping over?

Thanks for looking!

[luis_pr]

Some people use stakes and others put some chicken wire. The concept of the chicken wire is like that of a belt around the wait. Tweak it during the winter as it will get "swallowed" when the shrub leafes out.

[lakngulf]

Wow, those are pretty. Always love this "BLUE" time of the season

[luis_pr]

Very nice indeed. How long do they last blue for you before fading? Just wondering about fading today because I saw a lone Alice Hydrangea (oakleaf) that looked like it was starting to turn from white to pink. I was wondering if fading started already there in AL since you are further south than I am.

[ElizabethB]

Beautiful! You can stake them or just let them be. I like the chicken wire idea. Does the job but is inconspicuous. I find the faded blooms just as attractive as the fresh ones. I love that iridescent pinkish green of fading blooms. I like to cut the blooms when they reach that stage. I put them in a bowl without water and they dry keeping that lovely color. You won't have to do much to get the stems to root. As long as they are in contact with the soil they will root.

[WildcatNurseryman]

Cutting them back a bit though the season will make a stronger framework for the blooms to stand on later on. Same could be said of an older plant, in general. The larger (thinker) the main plant the stiffer it will be and more likely to hold the bloom upright.