Question re: hydrangea propagation

I have had cuttings of 2 kinds of hydrangeas sitting in glasses of water for a few weeks and they're starting to send out roots and look healthy. If all goes well I think it will be several more weeks before they have enough roots to safely plant.
My question is this: After planting, can I continue to grow them indoors over the winter or do they need a period of cold dormancy? I can't imagine that they'd survive the winter outdoors in their newly rooted state, but I have no experience with shrub propagation.
Any advice much appreciated!

I can't answer your question about putting your hydrangeas outdoors for the Winter, as I have no experience with them either. But you have answered my question by saying you grew roots on cuttings in water. lol Thank you very much! I inherited a large hydrangea when I bought my new place the first of June. It think it didn't like the 100+ degree weather this Summer, and is looking like death warmed over. I was wondering if I could take cuttings and root them in water to start new plants. I have blueberry plants I want to plant where the hydrangea is now. But before it goes to the compost pile, I wanted to salvage some of it. They are so beautiful when in bloom, though this one never attained blooms larger than a silver dollar this Summer.

Tx, MOVE your shrub to another location - it just isn't happy in it's current spot. Cut it back to about 6", dig a big hole, put in some good compost and replant - it will take off next spring. Hydrangeas are easy plants to grow when they are happy.

TX, before I tried rooting them in water I read that some people have success in water but some don't, and that they're easy to root in a damp medium. I tried water because it's easier, takes less room, and I like to be able to see if they're making progress. I have them right behind my kitchen sink so I won't forget about them, like I often do with my houseplants, and either add water or change the water every few days.

TX--
I have an Endless Summer Hydrangea. Maybe 4-5 yrs. old now.
Every summer--it outgrows the small corner area I planted it in--and then i start cutting off
the ends of the new stem growths. I strip off the bottom leaves of the 5"-6" cuttings and leave about 2 sets of
small leaves on the tips. If the leaves are still too big--cut them in half. Less stress on the rootless cutting.

I do not use water to root them. Seems an unnecessary in-between step.
I stick them deeply into fresh potting mix in a 5" or 6" pot and water them in.

I leave them outside while the weather is decent--then I might dig the pots into a bed for the winter.
It IS a perennial--and it needs the weather exposure. However--for the 1st coupe of years, at least the 1st yr,--
a protected spot would be best. Like up against the house on a S. exposure. Throw some leaves over the pots.
They DO root easily. You can stick 3-4 cuttings in the same pot and if they all root--divide them in their own pots the following year.

My neighbor has an old, beautiful, purple Hydrangea.
She takes large cuttings and just sticks them into the ground around her garden. Many of them root easily.

She also does soil layering. Dig a small trench next to a low-growing branch, nick it in a couple of places close to the soil,
and bury the stem in the trench. Cover it with soil, leaving the tip of the existing branch above soil.
Put a brick over it to keep it down and wait.
If it is meant to root--you will see new growth from the tip sticking out of the trench the next year.
Then dig up the rooted cutting, separate it from Mama-- and re-plant where you want it to grow.
Propagating CAN be fun!!!

Gita

Thanks so much for your info Gita! I guess I will pot them up and try to find a place to get the pots into the ground for the winter, and covered with leaves. I wonder if I should have started them earlier in the summer, so they would have had more of a chance to establish roots before the winter. I guess I'll find out when I see if they survive.
Thanks again.

Sharon

I have never been successful rooting them in water, but I do root them easily in soil. I would pot it up and sink the pot for the winter. That has always worked for me.

Thanks, ibartoo. I will do that.

Oh, and I root my cuttings in potting soil because I've only been successful with rooting in water once. So good on you! In my zone I take my cuttings anytime after the plant leafs out and root them on my back porch. I use soft tissue cuttings and scrape the outer layer, rooting hormone, yada-yada......blah blah. I don't cover them with plastic because we're humid enough. Bottom line opinion is.... if you root them outside keep them outside in their pots. If you root them inside, get them outside as soon as its warm enough in little pots. Then when your zone gets close to freezing, snuggle them into the ground (bury and/or mulch) in their pots for 1 winter season. Then that spring, put them in the ground where ever you want them! I'll be looking out for that hydrangea you "composted.". (:

I buried most of my pots outside for the winter and today, as it was really warm, I raked the leaves out of my beds and discovered new growth starting on the rooted hydrangeas, so I guess they made it! I'm not sure about the 2 that didn't root til mid-winter, so I kept them inside. Guess I'll just put them out and see how they do.

I bet they make it too but it was smart of you to try different things. Just in case! (: