Winterizing hydrangea

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Punkinpigs1313 Brighton, MI Oct 10, 2018

Need some help trying to figure out when I need to winterize my hydrangeas. I live in zone 5b and we are about to get our first frost. Do I cage, leaf and compost them now? I still have a few days but I don’t have any leaves yet. We have had a warm and rainy fall so the leaves are hanging on. I’m just not sure if the 30 degrees will kill all the buds on the old wood. Thanks for any advice.

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luis_pr Hurst, TX(Zone 7b) Oct 31, 2018

Not necessarily. The frost will zap the leaves and make it look bad (leaves turn dark green or black-ish) but not necessarily kill buds, stems or roots. You would need temps in the teens or less to start causing damage. It is hard to say exactly at what temp will the flower buds be damaged. They are currently invisible and hidden inside the ends of the stems. Somewhere in the very low 20s or below is when I have lost bloomage.

There are two problem scenarios, though... if it is going to get that very cold (teens) or if it is very warm and then temps will crater down to the teens.... then you need to move and protect it. And it is already the end of October so too late.

I typically wait for Mother Nature to zap the leaves, as I have time before "reaaaally" cold weather sets in in either Jan or Feb here in Texas. I prepare the cage(s) early but do not fill it until it is closer to the time when the bad/cold weather hits. You can also do that. Prepping the cage is usually the worst thing so, do it ahead of the bad/cold weather on a nice warm day. Then fill them in & top them later on.

I also water the night before these "weather issues".

I prefer to use organic mulch inside the cage. You can use dried out leaves but you have to pack them so much that it is difficult to know when you have "enough". So you may think it is enough but it may not be as air pockets in between the leaves must be filled with more leaves to reduce their number and sizes. I have tried hay but it blows away sometimes; makes a mess of the inside and trunk of the car and it failed to winter protect two shrubs that I though it would protect. It is unclear why so I switched to mulch.

This message was edited Oct 31, 2018 4:59 PM

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