This spring I bought a small hydrangea (4 inch pot) that was labeled as a new
variety designed to stay small. Or something like that. It said it was only
hardy to zone 7 (I'm zone 5b). It's been sitting in a pot on the patio all
summer. The blooms are now starting to fade so I'm wondering what to do with
it. Will it survive being wintered indoors, or do all hydrangeas need a period
of dormancy? This is not a florist's hydrangea, unless the labeling was
deceptive.

"Yngver" wrote in message
...
This spring I bought a small hydrangea (4 inch pot) that was labeled as a
new
variety designed to stay small. Or something like that. It said it was
only
hardy to zone 7 (I'm zone 5b). It's been sitting in a pot on the patio all
summer. The blooms are now starting to fade so I'm wondering what to do
with
it. Will it survive being wintered indoors, or do all hydrangeas need a
period
of dormancy? This is not a florist's hydrangea, unless the labeling was
deceptive.

There is no difference between a "florists" hydrangea and any other except
for initial growing conditions - they are essentially the same plants. Woody
plants originating from temperate climates seldom make good long-term
houseplants. The growing conditions they prefer are just too hard to
duplicate indoors - too warm, too dry and yes, they need a period of
dormancy. And regardless of how big this little guy is intended to get, a 4"
pot is not gonna be satisfactory for much longer.

It really needs to be planted outdoors. Many folks successfully grow
hydrangeas in colder climates - you just need to provide adequate winter
protection. There are lots of excellent Internet sites that will provide
very thorough details on how to go about this. Just do a Google search on
"hydrangeas, overwintering".

pam - gardengal

On 12 Aug 2004 17:48:06 GMT, ospam (Yngver) opined:

This spring I bought a small hydrangea (4 inch pot) that was labeled as a new
variety designed to stay small. Or something like that. It said it was only
hardy to zone 7 (I'm zone 5b). It's been sitting in a pot on the patio all
summer. The blooms are now starting to fade so I'm wondering what to do with
it. Will it survive being wintered indoors, or do all hydrangeas need a period
of dormancy? This is not a florist's hydrangea, unless the labeling was
deceptive.

It will not grow inside, not even in a greenhouse as the light reduction by fall
will send it into dormancy.





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"Pam - gardengal" wrote:

It really needs to be planted outdoors. Many folks successfully grow
hydrangeas in colder climates - you just need to provide adequate winter
protection. There are lots of excellent Internet sites that will provide
very thorough details on how to go about this. Just do a Google search on
"hydrangeas, overwintering".

Thanks. I guess I will have to let it die then because I don't even have much
luck overwintering plants that are supposed to be marginally hardy in zone 5,
much less one that is for zone 7. I have a hydrangea in the garden that is
supposed to be winter hardy here, but it seldom blooms, and I don't have enough
garden space to keep planting things that aren't likely to survive. I imagine
this hydrangea was meant to be sold as an annual.