Steps: Arranging Hydrangea

Photo by Krystal Schlegel

I love hydrangea.  I would actually go as far as to say that they are my favorite flowers!

However, they are not easy to arrange or care for.  Here are a few steps to help you keep your looking happy!

Step 1:

Choose flowers that are very open and look alive.  They should feel a little bit papery if you touch the petals.  I like every color of hydrangea so you can't go wrong mixing them or choosing to work with a single color.  The blue varieties are my favorite.

Step 2:

Prepare your hydrangeas by slicing them above a leaf stem at a sharp angle with a knife.  The more of the inside of the stem you expose, the more the hydrangea will get to drink.  This is important because they are very thirsty flowers!  You can also give them stem an extra little slice to allow more water to sneak in to the center. Place them back into a bucket of cool water after you slice the stem.

Step 3:

Condition your hydrangea by dipping the stem ends in to really hot water for about 30 second before you start arranging them in cool water.

Step 4:

Hydrangea are so lush and pretty and sometimes a single bloom of a jumbo hydrangea can be gorgeous in a simple container.  Other times, I like to mass a bunch of them in various colors an oversize urn.  They can also be torn apart and made into smaller flowers and stuck into hydrangea.  Oasis can almost suffocate a hydrangea so don't expect an arrangement like this to last for long.

Check out my video where I show you the steps to make a square bouquet that included hydrangea!

You can also check out my sister, Krystal Schlegel's blog, for more tips on arranging hydrangea!