When properly cared for, indoor hydrangeas can bloom continuously for at least three weeks, gracing your home with their vibrant colours and delicate blooms. These flowering plants are not just additions to your home but can also be the centrepiece of your living space, especially during the festive seasons from Easter through Mother’s Day.
Taking care of indoor hydrangeas requires attention to specific details. These plants can grow up to 1 meter tall indoors but need the right conditions to thrive. They prefer cooler temperatures between 50-60°F (10-16°C) while blooming and need their soil to stay consistently moist.
Getting these basics right makes all the difference in how your hydrangeas perform.
This hydrangea care guide covers everything you need to know about keeping these plants healthy indoors. You’ll learn about their needs, how to maintain those beautiful blooms, and the best indoor hydrangea plant care practices. The guide works for gift hydrangeas, florist hydrangeas, and any other indoor hydrangea variety you might have.
Understanding Indoor Hydrangeas
Image Source: Gardening Know How
Indoor hydrangeas are not your typical ‘indoor plants’. Hydrangea macrophylla is commonly known as bigleaf hydrangea, florist hydrangea, or hortensia. Unlike regular houseplants, these flowering plants are explicitly bred for temporary indoor enjoyment rather than long-term growing.
Their unique characteristics and the special treatment they receive before you buy them make them a fascinating addition to any home.
Breeders develop these hydrangeas for the gift market, focusing on features like suitability for greenhouse production, disease-resistant foliage, and striking blooms. These plants simply don’t work well as permanent indoor residents.
What makes indoor hydrangeas different?
Before you brought your indoor hydrangea home, it was likely growing in an outdoor environment. These conditions and the environment. These conditions include specific light levels, temperatures, and humidity, which are quite environmental. Gift hydrangeas need specific conditions to thrive indoors:
- Temperatures between 50-60°F (10-16°C) during blooming
- Bright light without direct sunlight
- Consistent moisture without overwatering
Indoor hydrangeas need more attention than typical houseplants. Their large leaves and showy blooms make them extremely thirsty plants. When leaves turn brown and crispy along the edges, your room is probably too warm.
Most indoor hydrangeas won’t bloom again under normal household conditions. The low light levels, wrong temperatures, and insufficient humidity prevent new flower bud formation. Hydrangeas naturally need a dormancy period with freezing temperatures to perform their best.
These plants are marketed for indoor enjoyment but prefer outdoor conditions in suitable climates. With proper care techniques, they flower for up to 150 days, but afterwards, they do better when moved to an appropriate garden location if your climate allows it.
Daily Care for Healthy Blooms
Placing your hydrangea in the right spot keeps those blooms looking great longer. Your plant needs a cool, bright area without direct sunlight that causes leaf burn and wilting. An east-facing window gives perfect light without too much sun exposure.
Temperature makes a huge difference in how long blooms last. Indoor hydrangeas do best in temperatures between 15-22°C (60-70°F). Keep them away from heaters, vents, and drafty spots that create temperature swings. The cooler rooms in your house work perfectly, especially when the plant is flowering.
Watering your hydrangea correctly matters more than anything else for indoor care. The soil should always feel moist but never soggy. Water thoroughly when the top inch of soil feels dry. Follow these watering tips for potted hydrangeas:
- Water deeply until it flows from the drainage holes
- Let all excess water drain before putting back decorative containers
- Use room temperature or slightly warm water instead of cold water
- Water about 2-3 times weekly, adjusting for your home conditions
Always remove any decorative foil wrapping or outer containers without drainage before watering, and then put them back afterwards if you want.
Humidity helps keep those beautiful blooms healthy. These plants like humidity levels between 40% and 70%. You can mist the leaves daily (not the flowers) or set the pot on a tray with pebbles and water.
Feed your hydrangea weekly while flowering using water-soluble fertilizer at half strength. After flowering, cut back to monthly feedings.
Watch for warning signs of problems. Drooping leaves usually mean your plant needs more water, while crispy brown leaf edges show too much heat or not enough humidity.
What to Do After Blooming Ends
Post-bloom care is not just a step; it’s crucial to keeping your indoor hydrangea healthy and potentially blooming again. The steps you take after flowering determine whether your plant survives or thrives. It’s a responsibility and a commitment to your plant’s well-being.
Deadheading spent blooms is an essential first step. You can either snip off the faded flowers just below the flower head or leave them in place; both work fine for indoor hydrangeas. Removing old blooms helps your plant focus energy on root and foliage growth rather than making seeds, creating a more vigorous plant overall.
Bigleaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla), the most common type sold as indoor plants, respond well to light pruning after blooming. Here’s how to prune correctly:
- Cut flower stalks back to two joints after blooming
- Remove any weak or dead stems to improve airflow
- Don’t too aggressively since these plants form flower buds on the previous season’s growth
Your hydrangea needs a dormancy period to set new flower buds. This can be tricky indoors since hydrangeas naturally need cooler temperatures. For the best chance at reblooming, place your plant in an unheated room with temperatures around 45°F (7°C) during fall and winter. Keep the soil slightly moist but not wet during this time.
The truth is, most indoor hydrangeas won’t bloom again under normal household conditions. The typical light levels, temperatures, and humidity in homes make it difficult for these plants to form new flower buds. A better option might be moving your hydrangea outdoors if your climate supports it, especially in areas no colder than USDA zone 7 or 8.
If you decide to move your plant outside, wait until all frost danger has passed in spring. Choose a spot with morning sun and afternoon shade. Start by keeping it in a larger pot with good drainage so it can adjust gradually to outdoor conditions.
For ongoing indoor care, maintain acidic soil using water-soluble fertilisers to encourage blue flowers (pH 5.0-5.5) or pink blooms (pH 6.0-6.5) if your plant manages to set new buds.
Hydrangea Indoor Care – Final Tips
Indoor hydrangeas need specific care to showcase their amazing blooms. The extra attention pays off when your plant displays weeks of colourful flowers that few other houseplants can match.
Remember the basics for successful indoor hydrangeas: cooler temperatures, bright light without direct sun, and consistently moist soil. Sticking to these care requirements rewards you with blooms that last three weeks or longer. These plants work best as temporary indoor displays rather than as forever houseplants.
Hydrangea can serve as a seasonal indoor accent or eventually move to your garden. The tips in this guide help you succeed with both approaches. You know exactly what to do after flowering ends – from deadheading to creating the right dormancy conditions.
Caring for indoor hydrangeas teaches you to pay attention to plant needs.
Their specific requirements show that the most beautiful plants often need the most dedicated care. While these may not become permanent fixtures in your indoor garden, the spectacular but temporary display makes them worth every effort.
