January Flower Of The Month:
Hydrangea
Family: Hydrangeaceae
This year, let us walk you through our flower tips, facts, and tricks! We are hitting it off this month with a top bloom among our customers, the Hydrangea flower. This cloud-like flower is round, full, and provides a stunning base for any flower arrangement or bouquet. Find out more below:
Origin
Native To: Asia, main varieties found in China, Korea, and Japan, and in the Americas.
In The Wild: You can find Hydrangea shrubs in mesic forests along streams or rocky locations, you can also spot them growing throughout Florida and other parts of the United States.
Hydrangea Care
In a vase of water:
The longevity of any vase arrangement is 5-7 days. Hydrangea are fairly hardy flowers but like any arrangement, there are a few rules to follow in keeping your blooms as fresh as possible. We recommend changing the water every 2 days and when doing so, make sure you are re-cutting each individual stem before placing back in the water. Cut these stems at an angle so that the stem can act as a straw and drink up the fresh water as needed.
In a foam arrangement:
Unlike a vase arrangement, we recommend never pulling the stems out of the foam from your arrangement. This will keep the stems drinking from the water that the foam is soaked in. However, every day check your foam arrangement to make sure it is always fully saturated with cold water. The best way to refill your arrangement with water is taking the entire piece of foam, flowers and all, out of the vase and sticking it directly under a faucet. If you can’t get it out of the vase, take a watering can and fill the foam with water until you feel that it is fully saturated.
With both vase and foam arrangements, always make sure you are placing them in a dark, cool location in your home. Placing them in direct sunlight or near a warm environment will decrease their lifespan.
Growing in your garden:
Even though you cannot grow hydrangea from a cut stem, we wanted to give you a few pointers if you have hydrangea in your garden or plan on planting them someday! Hydrangea season is typically May-July. In Florida, never try to grow your Hydrangea garden in direct sunlight. Hydrangea prefer speckled light and in the high temperatures, not many things can survive Florida Summers so be mindful of where the sun hits outside of your home. Morning light is ideal for Hydrangea shrubs, it is the coolest form of light and will keep your Hydrangea fresh and colorful. Once your Hydrangea shrub is completely bloomed out, feel free to cut stems to place throughout your home all season long!
Drying Hydrangea:
Dried Hydrangea stems make great décor for any home. You can take any color of Hydrangea, place them upright in a vase of water and watch them dry as is. With this method, be sure not to overcrowd the stems, remove any leaves that may touch the water and let the blooms drink until the vase is dry, this slow-dry process preserves the color much better than any other form of drying. Another simple way to dry Hydrangea stems is removing all of the greenery from the stems, tie them together, then place them upside down on your wall. This method takes about 2 weeks and will preserve them for a long time.
Symbolism and Fun Facts
- Hydrangea flowers symbolize unity and togetherness. It also provides grace, beauty, and gratitude to those who we gift them to. These blooms are graceful all on their own and provide such a great base paired with other blooms.
- Fun Flower Fact: If your Hydrangea is wilting, dunk the whole head in water for as little as 15 minutes or overnight and your bloom will come back to life for an extra couple days!
- There are 5 main types of Hydrangea:
- 1. Bigleaf: Mophead (the most popular), Lacecap, and Mountain
- 2. Panicle
- 3. Smooth
- 4. Oakleaf
- 5. Climbing
- The color of any Hydrangea depends on the acidity of the soil, try adding more acidity to your soil to change the colors of your Hydrangea shrub! (Adding citrus peels, coffee grounds, compost, or vinegar will help increase the acidity.
- Purple, Blue, White, and Pink are the most popular colors of Hydrangea but you can find them in a wide variety of shades, and some are even multi-colored!
- Hydrangea has a jasmine-like scent and are among the most fragrant of flowers.
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