Hydrangeas are so showy and beautiful – but they wilt SO easily! This simple little hack (with a video tutorial) will help bring your hydrangeas back to life.
The name hydrangea comes from the Greek “hydor,” meaning water, and “angos,” meaning jar or vessel. Translation: water barrel! These gorgeous pom pom like flowers need water, and when they don’t get it, they wilt.
Hydrangeas have a woody stem that can make it difficult for the flower to get the water that it needs. Trimming the stems at an angle using a sharp knife and adding a small slit in the stem helps it suck up more water.
I used to cut the ends of my flowers with scissors but have switched to using a sharp knife at the recommendation of my friends at Byland’s – apparently scissors pinch the stems, damaging them and reducing the amount of water that they can take up.
We used hydrangea’s as part of our Mother’s Day FraĆ®che Table and while they were stunning to look at when we first made the flower arrangement, it wasn’t long before they were looking rather sad. This little trick saved me from throwing them away and I was left with flowers that looked fresh and new!
And totally unrelated but interesting, did you know that the colour of the hydrangea is impacted by the pH of the soil? I’m currently trying to transform my pink hydrangeas in my garden into blue ones… for a full tutorial and a bit more information check out this article!
Note that there is a point of no return where a hydrangea, if left to wilt for too long, will not revive. The good news is that this hack is so simple and requires nothing fancy … why not give it a try!?
Materials You Will Need:
- Wilted hydrangeas
- Hot water (almost boiling)
- Vase
- Sharp knife
- Cutting board
Directions:
- Bring a kettle or pot of water to a boil and set aside to cool slightly. It should still be very hot. Pour the water into a vase.
- Place the hydrangeas on the cutting board and use the sharp knife to cut the end of the hydrangea at a 45 degree angle. Then cut a small slit vertically up the middle of the newly trimmed stem.
- Place the hydrangea(s) in the vase filled with hot water.
- Let sit for a minimum of one hour and voila! Revived hydrangeas.
xo
Tori
Hi Tori, Hydrangea tip from my flower vendor: To keep the flowers looking fresh, spray them daily with water. This has worked for me every time, and I live in Florida where the heat makes it a challenge to maintain these beauties, even indoors. This trick makes my flowers last about 1.5 – 2 weeks. Hope it helps! Love your recipes and tips! Ana
Ana I love that thank you so much for sharing it!!!
Thanks for the hydrangea tip, as I have a lovely bush flowering in my North Van garden . I ‘ve been wanting to cut them but worry re wilting, not any more. For one other tip I got from the floral lady at Thrify’s grocery store in Nvan is, when cutting and putting Gerber daisies in a vase add a few drops of bleach(javex) yes I know it sounds odd but it really works. I sometimes put a drop or two in the small vessel with a floral frog in it when I’m decorating my table for a dinner party. Thanks for everything. Cheers Debbie B
Dip the stem of the hydrangea in alum powder after you cut it for extra longevity. Ex-wedding florist over here šāāļø Works great. Also you can fill your sink with warm water and submerse the whole bloom and stem and theyāll pop back too.
I grow Hydrangeas in my garden, love them and bring them into my house to enjoy Awesome tip! I tried it today and it worked! I am paying it forward and sharing with my friends! Thank you š
Thank you Tami!!! Glad it was helpful! Tori
Iām so happy to have learned this hack. I love hydrangeas!
So glad you liked it! Such gorgeous flowers!
Thank you (and your readers) for the fabulous tips! Totally saved the day because we had an event at our house and they all started to wilt the night before.
So warmest thanks!
Kirin
Do you leave them in the hot water after theyāve revived, or do you transfer to cool water afterwards?
Hi Ev, I leave them in usually – you can transfer them if you want but I haven’t found it necessary!
Great tip for hydrangea lovers, Iām always so sad when a stem wilts prematurely because they are so showy when healthy.
Hi Tori, thank you for this wonderful hydrangea hack. I have one sitting in hot water as I write this. Tori, I love your denim shirt! Is that Tencel fabric? Where can I get a shirt just like yours?
Hey Jennifer! I got it ages ago form American Eagle! The Gap usually has similar cute ones also. All the best, Tori.
This totally works!!! I’m so happy to say. Thank you Torri for another great tip
really love hydragea since small time yesterday just bough a pink hydragea but the tommorow day start wilted as i saw this hack and i really follow the hack step which really bring back my lovely pink hydragea back to alive since malaysia is quite a hot weatherš
Thank you for the tips! It really does work and save my day.
That’s awesome Michael glad it helps!
I read your blog. Having very use full information help me a lot. I will read more articles on your blog.
We loved this hack and shared it with our follower over at @onefishstore. We tagged you in the post. WE LOVE!
This works with lilacs too! I had some wilting on me last night because I didnāt get them into water fast enough, and remembered this trick about the hydrangeas and figured I had nothing to loose! It perked them right back up and they still look great this morning.
So much easier than submerging them in water! Thanks! Of course changing out water and a fresh, sharp 1/2ā cut every other day is a given – but my grandmother taught me that a little bit of bleach in lukewarm water keeps it cleaner/clearer longer so you only need to change out the vase water every four days instead of having to change it out every other day. It doesnāt harm or discolor blooms – it prevents bacteria. And should you go out of town or forget to change water – no foul smelling vase sewage!
That is brilliant! I have seen Martha Stewart do this as well! Will try!
A really bad storm broke a some of my limelight oak leaf topiary branches last week. The conical blooms are huge and become very heavy when drenched with rain; which I remedied with 1/2ā hardwood round dowels and light brown pipe cleaner. So I cut off the broken branches (angled/sharp pruners/
sterilized w/ rubbing alcohol/just above woody branch node) and gave a few to my mom. Despite wrapping the raw cuts with damp paper towels, they were slightly wilted by the time I got to her house. Perfect opp to try your method and it worked brilliantly! Thank you!
I’m so happy to hear that! Glad it worked so well for you!
Hi tori! If a hydrangea you just revived using this method wilts again, do you need to recut the stems or just soaking the stem in hot water again will do?
Hey Alana! Great question. In my experience, you can repeat this process typically 1 additional time. It really depends on how far gone they are!! I hope this helps xx Tori