Newly planted hydrangeas, from a pot.

11 years ago

About 4 weeks ago, I purchased two lovely blooming hydrangeas from Costco (about 12" tall). I kept them outside in the sun during the day and inside at night until the low temperature was about 10 degrees (Celsius). I then planted them in my garden and now I'm wondering what their growth will be like this year? I'm very impatient and have day dreams of stepping outside and they are suddenly giant bushes with tons of fat blooms!! haha

I can't seem to find any information through Google, so thought I'd ask on a forum what the experts think :)

The Costco "garden expert" informed me that they would grow larger than my toddler who was in tow, so I'm assuming these aren't the grocery store versions which are just for gift giving and then they die.

I believe they are also a "mop-head" type.

So what can I expect in terms of growth for this summer? Nothing? Maybe something small if I'm lucky?

Featured Answer

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

11 years ago

last modified: 11 years ago

Did they come with any kind of label? Different varieties of mophead hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla) will grow to different sizes so impossible to tell what their future potential is at the moment.

You should see some growth this season but not a lot. The plants will be busy putting out new roots and establishing themselves in their new home. Should get a few flowers though, all things being equal.

btw, Costco doesn't have "garden experts" - only basic sales staff charged with tending the plants. Just saying.........:-)

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Comments (7)

hilarsilhouette
Original Author
11 years ago
Haha, thank you. That's why I put garden expert in quotations. It came with a label only simply stating that it was a hydrangea macrophylla, 12" and that it likes sun and shade.

I suspect then that it takes several years to achieve the large bush with lots of lovely flowers. Too bad! I probably won't even get to see it, as I'm just in a rental house :( womp womp.
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starlight99
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
I bought one "pia" hydrangea from Costco two summers ago and it is now about 1.5 × 1.5 ft. It had about 2 blooms last year. I have never protected it during the winter so that may be the reason why I don't get too many blooms.

My neighbour bought 1 about 5 summers ago and hers is about 2 × 2 ft. She does not protect it as well (except for the snow) so during the first 2 summers she too had a lot of dieback and few blooms. The last 2-3 summers hers bloomed very well...she got about 15 blooms each summer. She has it in full sun....facing south!

Hopefully yours will be the same!
luis_pr
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
You may be on the upper limit of what Pia can handle so try some winter protection one of these years in the Fall to see if you get more flower production. And it probably would not hurt to check the soil minerals if you have not done this in 5-10 years. Either get a full soil test or one of those soil test kits. The soil test kits are cheap (at least they are over here) and very inexact but close enough if all you want to know is if the NPK levels are either too high or too low. Example: too much nitrogen in the soil can result in nice green leaves and few blooms. If the area is too shaded, try to get some more sun "in" by pruning nearby plants/trees. Pia is a very good compact shrub. Hope you can make your PIA bloom some more, starlight99_gw..
charles kidder
11 years ago
Almost all macs only bloom once a year, so the only blooms this year are the current ones. It will grow slowly as the roots are expanding into the ground. It should get bigger every year and whether or not you get blooms depends on the stems surviving the winter.
hilarsilhouette thanked charles kidder
hilarsilhouette
Original Author
11 years ago
Should I just leave the plant alone? Or should I cut off the stem with the flowers once they are turning brown and falling off?
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
11 years ago
You can cut off the dead flowers whenever you like, but don't remove the entire stem. Just cut back behind the flowers to right above where you see leaves emerge (leaf node).