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Received Mophead Hydrangea plants by mail in SE Mi -when to plant?

7 years ago

last modified: 7 years ago

Hello, everyone.

I live in the Detroit, Mi area.

I am new to the forum and need some advice on what to do with 3 mophead "Nikko Blue" hydrangea plants we received by mail today, 3/6/2017. I believe it's too early to plant them in the ground so what should I do with them? They came packaged with the roots covered with dirt wrapped in a plastic bag with 2 to 3 twigs sticking out the top of the bag.

Can I put them in the garage, the refrigerator, plant them in a pot, or leave them as they are and store them in a cool dark place inside until I am ready to plant?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

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Comment (1)

luis_pr
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
I would put them in pots and leave the pots in a cool dark place if they have not leafed out. If they leafed out already, you could put them in a cool place until things warm up where you live (but try to maintain the soil as evenly moist as possible and give them indirect light). After 2-3 weeks after your avge date of last frost, if the shrubs sticks are big, you could plant them outside. But if they are small then I would keep them potted longer. When brought outside, I would first select a place where they get bright shade and no direct sun and leave them like that for a few weeks before planting in morning sun afternoon shade.

But see what instructions the nursery gives you and do what they suggest (call them if unsure). Otherwise, not following their instructions would void any warranty that they may offer.

Here is a link to a post where someone was having problems with bare root hydrangeas. It contains useful suggestions so read it when you have some time:

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/4484583/climbing-hydrangeas-wilting?n=11
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