I am a huge believer in working with what you have. So when I saw a beautiful hydrangea nestled between my house and a tree, I knew I had to relocate it to an area where it could truly thrive!
The image below shows the location I moved the hydrangea from. It is a small space between a mulberry tree and the corner of my house. The gutter spout was not there at the time. Even so, it took HOURS to separate the hydrangea roots from the tree roots. The small hydrangea that is there now actually sprouted from the leftover roots I was unable to unearth.
To avoid stressing the plant out, I moved it during winter while it was dormant. I chose an open area at the front of my house that was in need of some greenery.
Year 1
This was the first spring after relocating the hydrangea. You can see in the photo above how the plant’s growth was stunted after being cramped in such a small area. The branches on the left side were against the wall of the house, so they are very short. However, the shrub still gave everything it had to produce beautiful blooms.
Year 2
Still a prolific bloomer in year two, but the foliage was still very condensed. I decided to do a hard prune to promote more uniform growth. The plant was well established in the space so I wasn’t worried about stressing it out.
Year 3
This photo was taken in July 2023. The hard prune worked! The hydrangea’s foliage is large & evenly spaced, and it has just started producing gorgeous blooms again! I’m so happy to finally see it thriving in the space! 🤩
