My advice would still be the same as in the post below...yg

Here is a link that might be useful: Florist hydrangeas

yellowgirl's recommendation is very good. You do have a bit of an advantage being in a warmer zone, but even in my mild zone it is still not a slam-dunk proposition. Your biggest challenge is keeping the plant alive and healthy indoors until it is safe to repot and take outside. Hydrangeas are not intended to be houseplants and the conditions we have indoors are not at all to their liking nor do they replicate the conditions of the greenhouse in which it was grown and forced. Florist's hydrangeas are generally considered to be throw-away plants - a temporary living bouquet, if you like. If you can keep it going to that stage, you've got a fighting chance :-) Good luck!

Dear Too Many Pets,

I had a very similar experience. My grandma died in April 2005. Because she loved hydrangeas, many people sent the florist hydrangeas to her funeral. I took one home with me and planted it in my border in dappled shade. It has done very well in the sense that the leaves are lush and green. However, no blooms yet. But that happened with a nursery hydrangea I bought as well.

I guess if it was me I'd plant it by the end of March. In Zone 7, you should be fine. Do others agree?

Good luck!

Sincerely,
Red Bird

No. End of March is still too early to plant this out. Even in my area - a very mild zone 8 - official last frost date is not until May 15 and a tender, indoor, greenhouse grown hydrangea just has not been hardened off sufficiently to have even a fighting chance outside that early in the season. It needs a period of acclimatization to get it used to a very different environment and these are almost always cautioned to be kept in their containers in a protected location even after their hardening off period until both soil and air temperatures are sufficiently mild to plant. In zone 7, I'd not recommend this until at least June.

Lynn, what a loving gesture. While your plant is still housebound, you can repot it, and set it outside on nice days to start getting it hardended off. If your soil is warm you can start to prepare the place you want to plant your hydrangea.

I always use the Old Farmers Almanac as a guideline for when to plant and this year they said March 23 would be our last frost date. Personally, I think they may have missed it, but it's not the 23 yet. We shall see.

I have planted out a lot of hydrangeas that came from florists and most did ok, and bloomed in the year following. One thing that I have found is that they seem to prefer very sandy soil. And the more compost you give them the better they fare. The one thing they don't seem able to tolerate, at least in my yard, is clay soil. I have a few patches of it and while other things don't seem to mind too much, those hydrangeas really don't like it. I guess they like to be able to wiggle their toes-and who doesn't?

Anyway, I hope you are able to save your plant, in remembrance for your loved one. But in case this little plant just isn't strong enough to survive, you could also plant another hydrangea in his memory, and it too will serve as a reminder of what your FIL meant to you and your husband. ANd like I said in the beginning, I think it's a wonderful gesture on your part.

Cheryl

Cheryl,
Thanks for your kind words. I'm going to re-pot it, put it outdoors on the warm days (we have snow on the ground now!)and put it in the ground eventually...maybe September. I think I'll baby it over the humid summer. Thanks to all who replied.
Lynn

I'm in SE Pennsylvania and my mother in law gave us one of those hot house hydrangeas that was in full bloom. That was Easter 2004.

Once the weather was warm enough I brought it outside, onto our deck, and left it there all Summer into Fall. I did have to make sure to water it very often during the hotter months.

I brought it inside over the winter and then put it in the ground the following May. It has done as well as, both in growth and blooms, as the other hydrangeas of the same size and type.

I do remember having to be very careful with it burning in the sun that first summer but otherwise it has required no more maintenance than any of the other hydrangeas I have.

I hope this helps. good luck!

Jim

Thanks Jim!