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Maintaining hydrangeas in containers

18 years ago

I have several hydrangeas in large containers. Some have been potted up for 3-4 years. All came thru the winter well (i shove them under the deck), but I'm thinking it's time to refresh the soil. Should I just add compost to topdress, or do I have to pull them out, dig out some of the old soil, add more, etc.?

And what about fertilizer? I normally use agriform 20-10-5 on any shrubs/clematis, perennials that need it. Is this too high in nitrogen for hydrangeas?

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Comments (2)

redneck_grower
18 years ago
Hollyt,

Hop over to the "Container Gardening" forum, and look for posts by TAPLA (aka Al) regarding container soils, roots pruning, etc.

I re-pot my hydrangeas, root prune, and add new soil every 2 or 3 years. Probably not often enough for Al!

I do it when the plants are near the end of their dormant season (late winter).

Good luck.
ego45
18 years ago
If you didn't change soil for the last 3-4 years (as I did) you'll find a very little of potting medium left in a pot. There will be a huge root mass filling most of the pot.
Rootprune about 1/3 to 1/2 of it if your hydrangea going into the same size pot or leave root ball as is, but repot in a much larger container.
Hydrangeas are not heavy feeders, so 10-10-10 + compost topdressing will be more than satisfactory.
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