Mastering Hydrangea Propagation at Home - Skip the Nursery Expense
🌺 Grow More Hydrangeas: Clone Your Favorite Plant Legally 🌸
Love your unique hydrangea, but wish you had a dozen more just like it? You don't have to break the bank on purchasing new ones. Learn how to clone your favorite hydrangea at home with this simple and legal method. Science and nature collide in this genius trick brought to you by @creative_explained. 🚀🌱
Here's what sets hydrangeas apart from other flowers: they not only sport a variety of hues, but they change color based on the soil pH. An acidic soil gives you pretty blues, alkaline renders pinks, and a middle-ground creates purples. This makes your hydrangea a vibrant, floral pH test, complete with petals. 🌺🔬
Once you've grown one, it's hard not to want an entire garden filled with these color-shifting beauties. Here's how to clone your hydrangea:
Step 1: Grab a Healthy Cutting 👪Find a non-flowering, flexible, green branch, just like a young investor ready to take on the market. Cut a 5-6 inch section from it. Discard the bottom set of leaves as they'll rot in water, make a 45-degree cut at the base, and chop off the top few inches. This helps the plant focus on growing roots instead of supporting leaves. 💢
Step 2: Soak it in Honey Water 🍯Mix 1 tsp of honey in a cup of warm water. Dip your cutting in the honey water for 10 minutes. Honey acts as a natural rooting hormone and antimicrobial, boosting your cloning efforts. 🐝✨
Step 3: DIY Greenhouse Setup 🍄Take a clean, empty plastic bottle and poke a tiny hole near the bottom. Plug the hole with a cotton ball or tape, which will serve as your drain valve. Fill the bottle halfway with water. Now, drop in your cutting, seal the bottle back on, and let the plant propagation game begin! Place your mini-greenhouse in a warm spot, but remember to keep it away from direct sunlight - this is root camp, not a tanning salon. ☀️🌱
Step 4: Water Swap Routine 💧Each day, drain the water from the bottle, then refill from the top. This keeps things fresh and oxygenated, which roots adore more than we crave iced coffee in July. In about a week, you should start seeing little roots sprouting. If it takes a few more days, don't worry - some cuttings are just as impatient as some people. 😂🔍
Step 5: Pot it 🌱🌱Once the roots are about an inch long, it's transplant time. Pop your cutting into a small pot filled with nutrient-rich, well-draining soil. Cover the entire thing with a clear Ziploc bag to create a mini rainforest. Keep the pot warm, gently lit, and in a usually shaded spot, and in a few weeks, you'll have a fully established baby hydrangea ready to take on the world (or at least your garden)! 🌟🏡
Time to Go Forth and Multiply 🌱🔍✨When it comes to hydrangeas, timing is everything: Late spring to early summer is prime time for softwood cuttings. If the leaves start drooping, give the Ziploc bag a spritz or add a second one for double insulation; humidity matters too. 💧
And just like that, you're officially multiplying hydrangeas like a seasoned gardener who knows about plant biology and knows how to get more blooms for next to nothing. 💛✨
Author 👩🌳Meet Bonnie Ferrero, a nature lover who challenges herself to hike while living in Upstate New York. She also enjoys cooking, gardening, home decorating, and experimenting with gardening techniques to grow thriving plants. Through her work, community involvement, and personal pursuits, she embodies a holistic approach to life, striving for service, growth, and well-being. 💕🌱
SOURCE 📝[1] The University of Kentucky Extension, Hydrangeas, https://extension.ki.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/hydrangea_factsheet_LM11.pdf[2] Fine Gardening, How to Root Hydrangea Cuttings, https://www.finegardening.com/how-to-root-hydrangea-cuttings[3] The Spruce, How to Propagate Hydrangeas from Cuttings, https://www.thespruce.com/how-to-propagate-hydrangeas-from-cuttings-1807603[4] HGTV, How to Root Hydrangeas in Water, https://www.hgtv.com/outdoors/how-to-root-hydrangeas-in-water-an-easy-propagation-method/pictures/[5] Gardening Know How, How to Root Hydrangeas, https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/hydrangea/how-to-root-hydrangea-cuttings.htm
- Refresh your home-and-garden aesthetic by adding more vibrant hydrangeas to your garden, as Bonnie Ferrero demonstrates in her colorful garden, showcasing the change in color hues based on the soil pH.
- It's easy to extend the lifecycle of your favorite hydrangea; simply follow the DIY greenhouse setup and clone your plant using a healthy cutting and honey water, acting as a natural rooting hormone.
- By utilizing sensible gardening techniques, like cloning your hydrangeas, you can transform your outdoor space, promote a sustainable lifestyle, and, ultimately, curate a remarkable home-and-garden style.
