Fertilize Hydrangeas In Early Spring The Right Way For Bigger, Vibrant Blooms

When growing hydrangeas (Hydrangea spp.), some varieties will really benefit from being fertilized at the start of spring and produce large, beautiful flowers in different colors. During early springtime, old wood types of hydrangea plants begin to actively grow again after being dormant throughout the winter, and added nutrients can help. Oakleaf (H. quercifolia) and bigleaf hydrangeas (H. macrophylla) both grow on old wood and should be fertilized at the start of spring as the plants begin to reemerge. Depending on your specific kind of hydrangeas, providing your plants with some extra nutrients in March or April will help their flowers grow big and beautiful. Keep an eye on your hydrangea bushes to see exactly when they start growing again to know it's time to fertilize, as varying weather and temperatures in different locations could affect the timeframe. 

Though you might not always need to fertilize your old wood hydrangeas, established, mature plants can end up producing bigger blossoms when fertilized correctly during early spring. Fertilizing these flowers could also help the blossoms have brighter, more vivid colorings. However, it's important to be aware that over-fertilizing is damaging to hydrangeas' blooms and will actually cause them to grow fewer flowers and more leaves instead. Some varieties of hydrangea, including bigleaf, like to be fertilized again after the first round of flowers has grown as well.

As you learn how to care for hydrangeas, you'll discover what fertilizers are best for your specific type of flower to apply during early spring. Generally, an all-purpose 10-10-10 fertilizer, which contains 10% of each phosphorus, potassium, and nitrogen, is the best option for hydrangeas. Apply about 4 ounces of fertilizer when feeding your flowers. With bigleaf hydrangeas, you'll want to use two cups of fertilizer for every 100 square feet of soil growing your flowers. Right after you fertilize, water your plants to help the vital nutrients soak into the soil, or stir the fertilizer into the dirt a bit to work it in.

If you desperately want healthier hydrangeas in the spring, your fertilization routine is crucial. The type of fertilizer you use for your hydrangeas is very important to how they'll grow, as too much nitrogen may cause them to grow fewer blossoms. This is why balanced fertilizers with equal nutrients are often recommended. Alternatively, if you're trying to get your plant to produce flowers of specific colors like blue, phosphorus can affect this. Besides an application at the beginning of spring, bigleaf hydrangeas like to be fertilized again around May and July. With oakleaf varieties, you might fertilize for a second time in June to help your blossoms thrive beautifully.