Hydrangea macrophylla pink-red-white - Hardy plant

Ensure a well-drenched Hydrangea macrophylla root ball before planting- soak overnight in a bucket of lukewarm water if necessary.
Prepare a wide hole and loosen the soil with a fork. Plant your hydrangea at the correct depth - the top of the root ball should come to just below soil level. Fill the hole, heel well in and water directly.
Hydrangeas thrive in large planters too. Make sure there are holes in the base for adequate drainage. Moist soil Hydrangea macrophylla will thrive in fairly moist, humus rich soil. Improve your garden soil by adding some compost.
Shade or part shade will be a good spot for your plant. Full sun will be tolerated as long as the soil does not dry out too much. Moist soil in a planter is also good, but the water must drain well too. If your hydrangea sits in too much water for too long, it will die.

Water Hydrangea macrophylla regularly in periods of drought as a dry soil will not be easily tolerated. Add some fertiliser for flowering plants to the watering can monthly, between March and July for extra profuse flowering. Give the hedge a mulch of well-rotted manure in early spring. Hydrangea pruning Hydrangea flowers on last year's wood. If you prune in the spring there will be no flowers that summer. Only prune if your hydrangea gets out of hand. Rejuvenate the whole shrub by cutting 1/3 of all the branches right back. This will stimulate new growth although there will then be less flowers for a year. The 2nd year, flowering will be as expected.
Remove all dead twigs entirely. Carefully cut off overblown blooms at the end of February, beginning of March. Do leave the topmost bud on the branch.
 

In the Hydrangea macrophylla group there are two types of flower heads:

• Mophead, with mostly male flowers in a flat raceme.
• Lacecap, with males flowers on the edges and female in the centre.

This particular Hydrangea macrophylla has mophead flowers.
Hydrangea flowers also look great in a bouquet!