How To Keep Cut Hydrangeas From Wilting

Hydrangeas are the quintessential romantic summer bloom!!! Their big, moppy heads and little clusters of flowerets are iconic!!!  A bountiful bouquet of them cut and arranged on a table is pure bliss! Yes, hydrangeas are one of the best loved flowers around! But like many things, these dramatic beauties can be a little bit of a diva! They often wilt as soon as they are cut and brought into the house. And there is nothing pretty about droopy hydrangeas! Here’s a few ways to guarantee full, long lasting cut hydrangeas!

HOW TO KEEP CUT HYDRANGEAS FROM WILTING- white hydrangeas-stonegableblog.com

Cutting hydrangeas during their growing season is far different than cutting them at the end of their season when they are papery and really don’t need water to stay beautiful. Here are a few great tips for having fresh cut hydrangeas in your home all summer long!

TAKE A CONTAINER OF WATER OUT TO THE GARDEN WITH YOU WHEN CUTTING HYDRANGEAS.

As soon as hydrangeas are cut the stems should immediately be put into tepid water. Use a sharp knife or clippers to cut each stem on a diagonal and submerge!

Cut hydrangeas in the morning and choose only the most mature blooms. They will look a little more papery than others.

HOW TO KEEP CUT HYDRANGEAS FROM WILTING-green hydrangeas-stonegableblog.com

PREPARE WATER IN A CONTAINER OR VASE

Use clean, room temperature water for hydrangeas. If you have floral preservative use it too.

STRIP THE LEAVES OFF OF CUT HYDRANGEA STEMS

HOW TO KEEP CUT HYDRANGEAS FROM WILTING-white hydrangeas in the farmhouse sink-stonegableblog.com

When you bring hydrangeas inside make sure you strip off the leaves from each hydrangea stem. I break this rule often… and I shouldn’t! The leaves are big water drinkers and will steal it from the blooms. At least, strip off most of the leaves. Those that are below the water line should absolutely be removed!

SMASH OR CUT THE BOTTOM OF THE STEMS

Cut the hydrangeas stems to the desired length. Smash the very bottom of them to allow more water to travel up the stems and feed the blooms. I use a wooden meat mallet to crush the ends of the hydrangeas I bring inside. You can also cut the bottom of each stem on the diagonal and then make a cut up each stem instead of smashing it.

BOIL WATER AND DIP EACH HYDRANGEA STEM INTO IT

HOW TO KEEP CUT HYDRANGEAS FROM WILTING-blue hydrangeas-stonegableblog.com

Yes, boiling water! Hydrangeas produce a “sap” that clogs their stems and blocks water from traveling up it to those gorgeous blooms.  The boiling water helps to do away with the sap.

Put boiling water into a cup. Dip each stem into the boiling water for 30 seconds and immediately put them into a vase or container filled with room temperature water (see directions above).

REPLACE WATER EVERY OTHER DAY

Replacing the water in the vase or containers that hold hydrangeas will keep them fresher longer! Also give hydrangeas a fresh cut and dip them in boiling water before putting them in the fresh water!

EMERGENCY RESCUE FOR WILTING HYDRANGEAS

HOW TO KEEP CUT HYDRANGEAS FROM WILTING-blue hydrangeas-blue and white pottery-stonegableblog.com

If hydrangea blooms start to prematurely wilt you can totally submerge them in a “bath” of  water for about 45 minutes. Then recut and place the stems into boiling water and then back into a vase of fresh water. They should revive in a couple of hours and live another day or two.

One of my dear readers, Nancy, reminded me of a second method for keeping cut hydrangeas from wilting. You can cut the ends of the hydrangeas on an angle and cut up the stem a little and dip them in ALUM before putting them in a vase of fresh water. You can find ALUM in the spice isle of your grocer’s. I’ve never tried this method but I’ve heard is works great! Thanks, Nancy!!! Aren’t StoneGable readers the best? Yes, they are!!!!!!!!!

It takes a little extra care to have a big beautiful bouquet of hydrangeas gracing your home… but it is sooooo worth it!

HOW TO KEEP CUT HYDRANGEAS FROM WILTING-end of season hydrangeas-stonegableblog.com

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HOW TO KEEP CUT HYDRANGEAS FROM WILTING-Easy ways to keep hydrangea blooms fresh and full!-stonegableblog.com

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41 Comments

  1. This is what I love about blogging, we learn so much. I had no idea about the sap in the stems of hydrangeas and boiling water. Ours have not come into bloom yet, we had such a chilly April and May everything is a little behind, but I certainly be using this method once they are ready to be cut. Any tips for roses? We are inundated with roses at the moment, their old fashioned scent is indescribably gorgeous, but how to keep them fresh for a little longer?

  2. What great tips! Any tips on drying hydrangeas?

    1. Nancy Ashley says:

      I have dried them several years. I choose not to use silica gel due to my asthma so I wait until they start to get that papery look and feel while still on the plant. Then I cut them and just put in clean tap water after removing all of the foliage. They will continue drying while in the water. Just be careful not to leave them to long that the blooms begin to dry so much they start curling and getting smaller. It only takes a few days and you can even let them finish by hanging them upside down as you would with most other flowers. Nothing is any prettier than a vase full of dried ones to enjoy until you have blooms again next season. I have also made wreaths with mine. You can skip the vase and just hang but I personally don’t think they dry as pretty as they do in the water. I even ask my neighbors and friends if I can cut theirs if they aren’t going to use/dry them. Good luck!

      1. Midge Wilson says:

        If you’ve never tried dying your dried hydrangeas, it’s certainly worth the effort! I just use a commercial dye product—so easy. Matter of fact, I have a huge basketful sitting on top of the armoir in my living rom right now—-dyed in lovely shades of dusty rose. Try it!

  3. Yawn, repeat, repeat, repeat… I used to love your blog, I’d check it often, but now every post is a reworked version of a previous post. I guess it is time for me to move on! Thank you for sharing your beautiful home, it is truly an inspiration.

    1. Hi Karen, Yes, this post is a repeat. I get thousands of new visitors every month. And ONCE IN A GREAT WHILE I will repeat a post for my new reader. And from the rest of the comments I hope you can see that this post is appreciated. I post almost every day.So, a good quality archived post should be welcomed and understood by my regular readers. Most bloggers blog much less then me, and I feel I am writing quality content that is useful to my readers. Posts like an archived post are directly aimed at those new to StoneGable.

      I have written over 3,000 posts on almost any home and garden topic you can think of. I try to bring new ideas and inspiration and fresh angles to each and every post. Not every picture is new, because that would mean retaking the same images, but the content is unless it is a round-up.

      I hope that you will continue to read StoneGable and appreciate all the new post.

      1. Mary Rose says:

        I love reading all your posts, current and repeats. You’re a great blogger!

        1. Pam Grineri says:

          I love all your posts
          and appreciate that you remember newer readers. Your content is fabulous.

      2. This is the first time I’ve looked at your sight and I’m delighted to hear your tips. My husband plants flowers for my delight and I’ve had a tough time with fresh hydrangeas. Tomorrow morning I’ll have a new strategy! Thanks

        1. Welcome to the StoneGable family Cheryl! I’m so thrilled you are enjoying it!

    2. Lin Shultz says:

      Wow, I haven’t seen your blog before but this post was very informative for me and I will subscribe to receive more posts! I can never understand why some people will post such negative comments when it is easier to just move along instead of saying hurtful things. I think it must be a challenge to come up with new subjects for every post…it appears that you are doing an exemplary job! Thanks for the info about hydrangeas.

      1. I think your style and tips are terrific. She should have just stopped following you instead of leaving an unkind remark. Keep up the good work.

  4. Hydrangeas are SO beautiful! No matter where you put them, how you use them or where you grow them they look wonderful and always brighten up their surroundings. I’ve got to add these to my garden and I know just the place to put them! Thanks for posting this Yvonne!!

  5. Very important before cutting Hydrangea is making sure the shrub is well hydrated. Their stems need to be filled with moisture before they are cut, preferably water the shrub the night before and cut flowers early in the morning. Same goes for roses.
    Yvonne, enjoy your site very much and learn lots. Love the Sunday morning message.

  6. Thank you for the great tips! I put in 3 hydrangeas this year, so hopefully there will be lots of cutting! Your blog is the best!

  7. I will definitely be using this tip for longer lasting blooms.
    Your blog is full of fantastic ideas and, unlike most bloggers, you post every day! I think you do a great job coming up with new and different ideas which never make me yawn.

  8. What a timely post you wrote today! I have 5 new hydrangeas planted last fall that are covered in blooms and woke up thinking this is the day to bring some of those big blooms inside. I was thrilled to open my Inbox and see today’s subject matter. With your info tucked away and my shears in hand, I’m heading out to the garden! Thank you so much!

  9. Nancy Ashley says:

    Hydrangeas are my all time favorite and I am slowly adding them to every spot in my yard that is suitable for them. I don’t know what it is about this year, but here in the piedmont area of South Carolina( an hour above the midlands, but an hour plus to the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mtns.) the hydrangeas everywhere are just loaded with blooms. The blues are bluer, the pinks are all a deeper hue and the whites are more of a creamier almost yellow tint. Two of mine have always been a very light blue but this year are a beautiful sky blue and the pinks are super dark…..a fuscia color and another plant of the same color 15 feet away from it is a very dark almost purple. The blooms are also much larger….the size of dinner plates. I feel like I have received some sort of special honor they are so beautiful. I would love to send you a picture! Love your great site. Keep all the good ideas and and advice coming!!!

  10. Loryl Fisher says:

    I’m so jealous. My hydrangea are just starting to bud. We had to rein in my 20+year old plants. They were taking over the front walk. But they are my favorite flower and I will continue to transplant them all over my yard!
    And Yvonne, I don’t care if I’ve read something from you before. Good tips are worth repeating!!!!

  11. Kathleen Lunman says:

    One extra step to keep hydrangeas fresh is to use a spray bottle to mist water on the heads (blooms). They also take in water through their petals.

  12. Hi there. I was a floral designer for a decade, and you really don’t need to go through all that, simply cut the hydrangea stem underwater and leave it there for awhile before transferring (quickly) to the vase. I bring mine home from the store (we are not as lucky as you to have them grow in the garden here in Denver), fill a large bowl with water (and floral preservative if you like) cut on the diagonal while the stem is completely submerged, and leave them in there for awhile until you are ready to put them in a vase. I just tossed the last of a vase of hydrangeas, after nearly 2 weeks in the vase. Also, you don’t have to remove all the leaves, just the ones below the water. Removing them can cause stem damage, causing them to wilt all the same.

    1. Thanks Marie! That works when using florist bought hydrangeas because they are seasoned, so to speak. But garden hydrangeas are a whole lot more finicky.

  13. Good morning! Great post–beautiful pics!! Cut my flowers today to give as birthday gifts at a party tonight. This info came just in time. I just did them and they look georgeous! Going to make a cute metal hand stamped birthday tag for each of the birthday ladies on their canning jar bouquet. Thanks!! You helped make these gifts sooo easy and unique!!!!
    Carolee-Artpodstudios

    1. Such a fabulous birthday gift! LOVE the idea of your metal tag! Your creativity is contagious!

  14. Great tips…I am so enjoying my hydrangeas this year!!!….I find also that just recutting a wilted bloom and placing in hot water revives them quickly….I am going to try the alum!

  15. Great tips…I am so enjoying my hydrangeas this year!!!….I find also that just recutting a wilted bloom and placing in hot water revives them quickly….I am going to try the alum!

  16. Thank you so much for all this information! I grow big pink hydrangeas, and love showing them in my home and at work. These tips will be so very helpful in keeping them beautiful!

  17. Thanks sooooo much for this post, just recently read and used, my flowers stayed great for 2 weeks, was very happy !!!! I read you everyday ( love your blog ) and first time posting !

  18. Laura Harrie says:

    Your Hydrangeas tips are good for me to know! I will try what you recommend.

  19. I planted my first hydrangeas last year. They are about to bloom. I live in very dry, hot, far west Texas and never dreamed I could grow hydrangeas here. My husband set up a watering system so they get watered each day. Bless him! I hope to get some beautiful flowers and will try these tips. When I have cut flowers in the house I always put 1/4 teaspoon of bleach in the water and it helps them last so much longer. I wonder if it would on hydrangea flowers as well?

    1. I hope you get blooms too. I am a hydrangea lover and there is just something about those gorgeous moppy heads of blooms. What a sweet husband! And thanks for the tip

  20. Jennifer Holt says:

    Hydragneas are overflowing in my friend’s backyard. Her landscape is beautiful and I wanted to share this post with her with all your tips. Is there a way I can forward this post as an email?