Antique Your Own Hydrangeas

O hydrangea-

you change and change
back to your primal color

-Bairyu, 1863

Do you love the look and feel of Antiqued Hydrangeas as much as we do?  This year we dramatically increased the amount of antiques we have available to sell, so we will be heavy on these until first rain, probably November first…or until we sell out.

We love our antique hydrangeas at Sun Valley, everyone shows it in different ways.

Living on the north coast of California, we have perfect growing conditions for hydrangeas and I actually have a beautiful hydrangea starting to antique in my yard.  So how do you antique a hydrangea blossom?

First start out with a great variety.  At Sun Valley we like Hamburg and Bottstein for big, showy heads. Of course if this isn’t the type of hydrangea in your yard, don’t cut it down just yet since all varieties will antique, and it’s simpler than you think.

We have plenty of antique hydrangeas ready to harvest.

As we move into late summer and early fall you will see the blossoms start to fade and marble, don’t stop watering at this point.  This is a common mistake people make, thinking that the bush doesn’t need water as it appears to dry up.  Keep watering, pruning and caring for your hydrangea as if it was a month or two earlier. The bush is still giving nutrients to the blossom; the colors are simply fading due to sun bleach and other atmospheric conditions.  As the nights get colder and the days get shorter the hydrangea will antique at a faster rate.

This head has a very pastel tone.

You must leave the bloom on the bush while it antiques. If you cut off a fresh vibrant, bright bloom, it will not antique, although it will look beautiful as it is.

This hydrangea is firm to the touch.

As you inspect the antiques on your hydrangea, don’t let how they look deceive you.  The key is how they feel. Does the blossom feel soft, like a normal flower petal?  If so, it’s not ready yet.  The bloom should feel rigid and spring back a little when you rub your hand across it.  If your hand just smooshes into the bloom with no resistance, it’s not ready.  A nice firm head means the hydrangea is ready to harvest.  Caution:  just because they look antiqued, they may still need a few more weeks to firm up, use your sense of touch to guide the way.

This hydrangea is smooshy to the touch.

Cut your antique hydrangea with about a 12-15 inch stem, place in about 3-5 inches of clean water, depending on your vase size and the number of stems in the vase.  The bloom will continue to drink water, but the key here is that you are going to let all the water get absorbed by the bloom.  It will likely take about a week, and the vase will be empty.  Don’t refill the vase because over the week and into the next couple weeks the hydrangea will dry out thoroughly.  This will leave you with a “dried hydrangea” which will last indefinitely, or until the dust bunnies take over. 

If the water gets real dirty during the week, you may change it out, however, don’t fill it back to the original level, just match the current level.  This gradual drying out of the bloom will let the flower gently dry and you will have a gorgeous antiqued hydrangea.

Hydrangeas are a great DIY flower, and their essence is at once classy, and down-home.  The sky’s the limit for designing, and ultimately enjoying this great flower which may be growing right in your neighborhood.

Want to keep reading about antiques?  Here is a post  about antiques from last summer.

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