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How soon can I replant hydrangeas?

User
6 years ago
Let me start off by saying I know nothing about plants. I purchased & planted 2 hydrangeas for our front yard 3 days ago. I was told they wouldn't get that big but after planting them and looking them up it seems like they get 4ft high & wide which is too big for the Area where they are at. I absolutely love how they look right now & wish they would stay the size they are but unfortunately they won't. We have other areas of our home where we can replant them but my question is - when should I do this? Should I let them grow a bit or just replace them now? Maybe wait until next year since everything looks perfect how it is right now? Not sure if there is a rule of thumb about replanting right after you originally planted it or not. Let me know!

Comments (35)

  • hatetoshop
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    If you just planted them 3 days ago, then go ahead and dig them up. Water them in well, and they should be fine in their new space.

  • skmom
    6 years ago
    What kind are they? Depending on the variety, they can be kept smaller by pruning them hard at the right time. This is only successful if they're the type that bloom on new wood though.

    If not then sooner is better for transplanting them and they should be fine if you move them now.
  • User
    Original Author
    6 years ago
    LA Dreamin hydrangea if that helps. They didn't have tags on them with the info that's all it said. I'll post a pic later of the area they are currently planted in when I get a chance.
  • skmom
    6 years ago
    Just looked it up... what a pretty variety! It says it blooms both on old and new wood, so it's safer to trim it back in the spring if you need to keep it smaller.
    However, that's a pain in the rear end to remember to do and you'll lose some of the potential blooms when you cut back old wood. If you have other suitable locations I'd just move it and keep it well watered afterwards.
    Of course, pictures are always helpful if you think there's a chance that the mature size might be ok even if it's larger than you thought it would be.
  • User
    Original Author
    6 years ago
    The hydrangeas are In the front with the purple flowers blooming. The bushes in the back we just planted too so naturally they will all get bigger. Not sure if a full grown hydrangea will look odd here.
  • User
    Original Author
    6 years ago
    Anyone have any ideas of what I could put there in place of the hydrangeas if I do move them?
  • skmom
    6 years ago
    What zone or area of the country are you in? Does the area get late afternoon shade?
    It does look very pretty together the way you have it now, but eventually those hydrangea will be well into the walkway. It could work if that doesn't bother you, but things will look kind of crowed, especially as that middle plant grows (is it a butterfly bush? I couldn't quite tell...)
  • mrykbee
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    The bushes in the back (are those euonymous?) are planted too close to your house and definitely too close to your hose (think of access to it in 3 years or so). Leave yourself a foot of free space between the grown size of the bush and your home so you can do maintenance. With this width (guessing 5'?), just one row of bushes would be more appropriate, and if you want something shorter to fill in the front, go with annuals.

    Is that a butterfly bush with the spiky flowers? That will get way too huge there if so (plus it likes more sun). So if so, move that. If it's something else--maybe it could work.

    What you could do is something like (not to scale but trying to illustrate through typing):

    Making sure the plant roots are at least 3 feet off the house. The annuals can spill over your border a tiny bit and that will be pretty. At least this way in 3 years you can reach through the soft hydrangea to the hose. That will be hard to do with the branchy euonymous that is there once it grows. Hope that makes sense.

  • skmom
    6 years ago
    Well, the green and yellow shrubs can be sheared so they don't get so large, I don't see that as a big problem. (Just don't hack them to death so they look ridiculous, and don't let them go too long between trims, regular and proper trimming is key.)
    But if that's a butterfly bush in the middle then that's the plant I'd want to move. They can be sheared too, but imo they look much better when they're not... and they get MUCH larger than anything else there, 12-15 ft kind of large.
  • User
    Original Author
    6 years ago

    Really?? That is a butterfly bush. My brother in law always has beautiful landscaping so I brought him & my sister with me to pick stuff out. I had no idea that one would get big. He said it wouldn't get much taller than 4ft . The yellow and green ones I will definitely sheer & are easy enough to do, so I figured those ones would be fine to keep there no matter what. This is my first home so it's all a learning experience.

  • User
    Original Author
    6 years ago
    Also, live on the east coast. It's sunny in the morning and then gets shady in the afternoon in that spot.
  • User
    Original Author
    6 years ago
    I just checked out the butterfly bush- says it gets 4'-6' tall. Whew -still not sure if it's too big or not. Not sure how long any of these plants take to grow to full size.
  • calidesign
    6 years ago

    The butterfly bush and the hydrangeas will be too big. Transplant them now to a location that has room for them when they are full sized. Either one could look nice near a corner of your home. Along your walkway, look for plants that will stay below your window height when they are full grown. The euonymous can be trimmed if it is a compact variety. Look at dwarf barberry bushes, which provide nice foliage color.

  • skmom
    6 years ago
    Well, I've never seen a butterfly bush under 6' tall, they grow pretty fast too.
    I'd probably move the butterfly bush to another location and move the hydrangeas closer to the house so they won't get in the way of the sidewalk. They'll eventually get to that four foot size, but looks to me like they'd fill the bed nicely... unless that bed is a lot skinnier than I'm thinking it is. It sounds like they'd do well in that location with the afternoon shade so long as they don't get too dried out.
    I like the yellow, blue, pink color scheme you have going on.
  • skmom
    6 years ago
    Other easy care (and easy to find) plants that would probably do nicely there are yellow daylillies (I like the Stella De Oro variety because they rebloom, they don't get as tall as some varieties that could get in the way in that location, and the color of yellow is very nice and easy to blend, also the leaves are bushier and look pretty even when it's not blooming as it tends to slow down blooms in the hottest month or two), also hostas would add a nice foliage texture (my favorite is a variety called guacamole, but they might be a bit large for your space, a smaller variety would likely be better there.) perhaps some knockout roses would work if you get morning/early afternoon sun for long enough... like 6 hours.
    Another plant I really like is wild geranium, it has dainty pink flowers and pretty leaves and self sows well... baby plants are easy to transplant where you really want them. It's a little harder to find but I sure like it.

    I sure do like your hydrangeas though. :)
  • Porter Edun
    6 years ago

    We have several variety of Hydrangea in our yard. The best being those that bloom on old/new wood. You can keep them as small or large as you like. They are very hardy. I have Limelight trees and shrubs too which bloom on old wood. I keep the shrubs at about 5 foot as the space is a bit large and there are three. They could get much larger. I would google the Hydrangea and see on you tube when you should cut them back to be smaller. The best Hydrangea is one that blooms on old wood as there is very little upkeep with them. You just need to know when they start to get their new buds if you want to trim them back and cut about a inch below the new buds to keep them at a size you like. I do it in late February/Early March to not interfere with their blooming come July when my burst and last until October.

    Do some research in to this one as I've not heard of it. I have both Twist and Shout and Limelight. Twist and Shout takes a bit more work as they don't bloom on old wood.

  • printesa
    6 years ago

    All the plants that you have there get large. I know that euonymous can be sheared, but they have pretty strong roots and can get pretty woody.
    Take a look at Deutzia gracilis 'Nikko', Spiraea japonica 'Little Princess', ..It depends what colors you want as well and if you want evergreens or soft grasses

  • Porter Edun
    6 years ago

    You don't want to shear a hydrangea printesa, you have to take the hand held small trimmers and cut them an inch below each bud. You can see the forming even as Winter is leaving the Mid West or East Coast which these plants do best.

  • User
    Original Author
    6 years ago

    I think I'll head back to the store and see what else I can find to put there. It's a shame because I love how it looks right now but better to fix the problem now then when I have gigantic plants there! Good thing is I have plenty of other spots on the other side of my house to plant these guys

  • printesa
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    Porter, I wasn't referring to hydrangea, but to euonymous. I have several kinds of hydrangea (old wood bloom and new) and for now I just let them be since I have them in a large space

  • Porter Edun
    6 years ago

    I understand, but the Hydrangea the bloom on old wood tolerate keeping them at any size is all. My Limelight bushes are 3 on the edge of the plantings of the left side of my home and I trim them back and they stay as I want them is all. It's really easy and not a lot of effort and she seemed to love them. It just takes a little research to know when to, "prune" them back if desired. That's all I was saying vs. a Twist and Shout that I have to go out and cut out all the garbage from so it's pretty the next June :) I'm not sure waht "euonymous" is?

  • skmom
    6 years ago
    Printessa was referring to the bush with green and yellow leaves, that's the euonymus. It can be sheared back. ;)
  • printesa
    6 years ago

    My limelight is large and it's been that way from the beginning. I guess they come in smaller bushes? I know that the macrophylla are usually pruned until August if one wants a smaller bush.
    The euonymous is the bush with the two color leaf..those grow tall and as they get older, the main branches get pretty thick. My neighbors have them

  • User
    Original Author
    6 years ago
    Good eye! This is actually the whole one side of my house - we have these 2 big trees and other bushes on the other side of the walkway. We do eventually want to take at least the tree on the right out by the car and those 2 bushes too and do something nice with the landscaping on that side.
  • User
    Original Author
    6 years ago
    As far as the eunymous go, I think they are definitely staying. My brother in law has them and he sheers them perfectly into the shape he wants. Based off of the size of his, I think they would be fine there. Does anyone know how long it takes for plants to grow to full size? If I leave the hydrangeas there will they be full grown by let's say, next summer or will it take a few years?
  • printesa
    6 years ago

    Do you have tags for those hydrangea? Are they endless summer ones? If yes, then those bloom on both new and old wood so you can prune them pretty much anytime. You don't need to do anything until next year. Deadhead the spent blooms during the summer. For the fall and winter, I would leave the dry flowers on

    User thanked printesa
  • skmom
    6 years ago
    In my experience the hydrangeas take a few years to get to size.
  • User
    Original Author
    6 years ago
    Maybe I will wait until next year and see where we are with size. If they don't grow much by next year then they will still be easy to transport. It's just a shame to dig everything up if we just did it and it looks good right now. If it's not an issue with waiting to do it, then I'd rather spend the time when we have nice weather and start working on the other side of the sidewalk
  • User
    Original Author
    6 years ago
    Speaking of which.. Do you guys think we should chop down the two tall trees? We like them because it gives us some privacy from the neighbors... But that's the only reason we like them. The one closest to the driveway definitely closes us in. Other options, just chop down the 1 next to the driveway and leave the other or leave them both and replant stuff in between. This is not our forever home so just looking to clean up the house & give it more curb appeal.
  • skmom
    6 years ago
    I think the tall shrub/trees should go... they're not doing anything for your curb appeal, and there are other ways to gain privacy from neighbors that would look better. The one by the driveway looks to be in the way, and the other one is hiding your front door and looks unwelcoming. I'm sure they were nice when they were smaller, but not anymore. ;) They are also hiding the work you've already been doing on your front bed.
  • mrykbee
    6 years ago

    I hate to say this because they look very healthy, but they do detract from your curb appeal. Your house is too short to handle them planted so close. They look like some kind of arborvitae. If you have the ability to dig out the big root ball and move them to the right side of the drive (continuing the fence?) I'd try it. Water water for several days before and dig the circle outside of the perimeter to respect the root ball and they'll probably make it. They could make a great screen not only from your neighbor but also for your trash cans.

  • User
    Original Author
    6 years ago
    So you guys were right & this butterfly bush is getting pretty big already !! The smallest ones right now are the yellow/green ones. I think someone suggested this, but should we move the yellow/green ones up and just have 3 going across? Maybe plant small annuals in front where the hydrangeas are to make it look prettier?
  • User
    Original Author
    6 years ago
    Also, if removed the hydrangeas and butterfly bush and put them elsewhere, what is a good plant to put in the middle of the two yellow/green ones
  • printesa
    6 years ago

    If you leave the euonymous, then leave the hydrangea as well,,the hydrangeas don't get as large as the others if you trim them later on..Instead of the butterfly bush, you can go with a nice grass, like the pink cloud grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris)