From March through Mother’s Day it’s common to find Hydrangea macrophylla plants in garden centers, box stores and supermarkets. These are popular gift plants for the holidays, but many people wonder how to keep them looking good, and if they should plant them outdoors in their yard. As I explain in Hydrangea Happiness, these are raised to be greenhouse-grown gift plants, not long term landscaping shrubs. In some areas they may grow well and bloom, and in other places not so much. But even as gift plants, there are things you can to do extend their life indoors.

Some people plant the lilies they buy at Easter in their gardens. I’ve found that although they may return for a year or two, they are not very long-lived for me on Cape Cod. What’s been your experience with Easter gift plants in the garden?

If you live in cold areas, consider planting your gift hydrangea in a light weight pot and overwintering it in an unheated garage. You’ll find more information about that in my book as well.

Since the flowers can last for three or four months if they aren’t allowed to dry out, these gift hydrangeas can bring a great deal of pleasure even if you don’t plan to put them in the garden.

On The Garden Lady today I welcomed author and speaker Carol Michel back to speak about the new flood of AI generated garden books, and her Substack, The Lost Ladies of Garden Writing. If you miss hearing it live, you’ll find the recording the following week on The Garden Lady’s WCAI Page.