Care for Potted Hydrangeas in Winter

I planted two blue hydrangeas in pots. They are quite large and doing well. What should I do to keep them alive over our extremely cold winter?

Continue watering until the ground freezes. Make sure your container will withstand the rigors of winter. If not you may want to move the plants to a nursery pot that can be placed inside the decorative pot during the growing season. Overwintering these types of hydrangeas indoors is difficult and usually not successful. Here are a few ways to overwinter your plants. Sink the pot in the ground, if it is an all weather non-decorative container, to protect the roots from the cold. Or move them into an unheated garage once the plants are dormant. Set the pot on a board and surround it with “stuff” to provide added insulation. Or move the pots to a sheltered location and surround with bales of hay, mulch or other insulating materials. Water whenever the soil is thawed and dry.

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