If you’re growing hydrangeas, you may occasionally need to cut blooms either for an arrangement or to keep your plant looking great. Then, move to the weak branches to promote stronger growth. This winter front door display is layered with holiday cheer. Hydrangeas make for wonderful cut flowers and make for a fine dried display in your home for months after they've been cut. The only way to get a hydrangea to not grow back is if you pull the entire plant out of the ground and put it somewhere where the roots can’t get access to nutrients and water in the soil. Get tips for arranging living room furniture in a way that creates a comfortable and welcoming environment and makes the most of your space. The way you cut the flowers can make all the difference when it comes to hydrangea care. Cut those flowers that have already turned lavender-gray in color, not the fresh, blue-blue ones. Hydrangea flower heads are ready to harvest when the flowers are completely open. The alum used in this method can usually be found in the spice section of the grocery store. Alum can be found in the spice or baking aisle of most grocery stores. Place the Cut Flowers in Water . With so many types of house styles, narrowing the list down to your favorite can be overwhelming. Deep brunettes, sandy blondes, and bold reds are in this year. According to Stembel, you should remove an inch or two (but never less than half an inch) and cut the stems on an angle using pruning shears ($11; amazon.com). You can either put them in a vase without water, hang upside down to dry, or make them into a hydrangea flower wreath. If you notice that they’re still looking wilted after a few hours, leave them to soak overnight to see if that does the trick. Cut a few stems with secateurs, taking care to make a clean cut just above a healthy leaf node. Next, put your fresh-cut flowers in a vase; fill it up about halfway with water and place it in a cool spot out of direct sunlight. Depending on what's growing in your garden, there's a lot you can do to get your ornamental plants ready for the colder months. Preserving Cut Flowers Boil a pot of water. You can trim to vase size later. Endless Summer hydrangeas can be used as either cut or dried flowers. One of my dear readers, Nancy, reminded me of a second method for keeping cut hydrangeas from wilting. We reach for them after school and after dinner. Hydrangea leaves come in groupings of two and you want to cut the flowers where two of the stems meet so the flower can keep flowering. Faded or wilting flowers can be pruned at any time. After cutting, simply dip a small section of the hydrangea stem into the alum powder before putting the flower in a vase. You can prune back brown, dead spots during blooming season if you see them. However, there are a few easy techniques that will keep your freshly cut hydrangeas looking great for several days. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/3\/3c\/Cut-Hydrangea-Blooms-Step-1.jpg\/v4-460px-Cut-Hydrangea-Blooms-Step-1.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/3\/3c\/Cut-Hydrangea-Blooms-Step-1.jpg\/aid9417339-v4-728px-Cut-Hydrangea-Blooms-Step-1.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":"728","bigHeight":"546","licensing":"