3 Ways to Keep Hydrangea from Wilting

Fresh hydrangea are my favorite flowers. I love the fullness of their blooms, the colors they come in and they just have this joyful summer feel that make me happy!

We have at least 13 hydrangea bushes in our landscaping, one limelight hydrangea tree form and three limelight bushes.

I cut them weekly during blooming season to make arrangements for our whole house. Emphasis there on weekly!

Doing a one and done on cutting will leave your home full of hydrangea cuttings wilting.

Here are three essential steps to prevent hydrangea drooping.

It’s a simple answer to the question why is my hydrangea wilting? Like all plants, hydrangeas need to go through a pruning process to keep them looking fresh.

Give every stem a fresh cut on the diagonal. This is true if you cut them from your yard, if you bought them at the store, or if you received an arrangement as a gift. A clean, quick cut will allow them to drink more water and stay hydrated.

This is a simple fix to your hydrangea wilting in its vase. Give it a snip and you’re good to go!

Give each stem a fresh cut every other day or so. You can go longer but when you see flowers wilting, cut them.

This is my number one tip to keep your hydrangea from drooping! 

Put hydrangea in very hot water – boiling temperature. Nearly all flowers like warm to very hot water. Never use cold water. The only exception to this is bulb flowers, like tulips. Blooms from bulbs like cold water.

When making arrangements I always put the hottest water I can into my vases. Every few days I give them their cut, dump the water and use fresh, hot water to keep hydrangea from wilting.

Watch your hydrangea come back to life within an hour or so! It’s magic!

Add hydrogen peroxide to the water. The hydrogen peroxide will help keep the water clean and free from mold and yuckiness. When I attended a class from a master florist I was taught this. At first I thought this was just her trick, but I googled it and it’s true! Most high end florists use high grade hydrogen peroxide, but I just use what I buy at the store.

I typically add three tablespoons or so to a vase about 12″ high. I like to fill my water all the way to the top to be sure every stem is receiving water.

I use this vase in our Dining Room as a centerpiece. To make it a vase, I just fill a simple glass vase with my arrangement and set it into the pitcher. That way it looks like it’s a full arrangement in a gorgeous vase, but is easy to remove to change the water, and doesn’t get the inside of the pitcher all yucky!

Here are a few pretty versions I found that will give you the same look – you’ll need a wide mouth. Good luck and letting me know if these tups help keep hydrangea from wilting in your home (I know they will!)