Climbing Hydrangea As Bonsai

Vines make unusual bonsai. You might not want 20 Hydrangea, but 1 is a conversation piece. 

With a few exceptions like Bougainvillea, vines tend to have thin trunks and leggy branching. And yet they are easy to grow in a pot, with most responding to lots of water, fertilizer and sun.

This Hydrangea fits the mold. Leggy and easy to care for.

Climbing Hydrangea, let run through the summer and starting on fall color. This specimen was grown from a cutting struck in 1962.

A few of the longest extensions trimmed. If you want flowers on Hydrangea, prune back in June (right after flowering) as next year’s flowers set in summer. If you prune late, like we did, you will have a stronger plant but fewer flowers. It’s an opposite leaved plant. Cuts were made 1/8” in front of a bud pair.

With some leaves already falling, it’s easier to take the rest off in the studio than pick them up in the yard. We enjoyed the color for a week. Out of leaf it’s unlike anything else in the yard.