What Side of the House Do You Plant Hydrangeas? [Essential Reading!]

So you’ve decided to treat yourself to a beautiful new hydrangea; how exciting!

When you have got your new plant friend home, and you’re ready to plant, the first thing you are going to need to ask yourself is: what side of the house do you plant hydrangeas on?

The best side of the house to plant your hydrangeas is on the east-facing side, as this will allow them to get morning sun and afternoon shade.

Overall, what you need to take into consideration in making this decision is where you receive the ideal lighting conditions that will help your hydrangeas thrive. Choosing the wrong spot could cause them to receive too much or too little sun for them to grow and flower at their best.

This article is going to have a closer look at the needs of the lovely hydrangea and help you decide the perfect place to plant them.

Hydrangea’s Care Needs

So, to determine where the best place is to plant your hydrangeas, you need to know a little more about their ideal growing conditions.

Let’s take a closer look at what a hydrangea requires.

Hydrangeas are a hardy flowering shrub that is native to Asia and the Americas. They are grown all over the world for their stunning, ornamental qualities and their unique flowers.

If you are a beginner gardener and just dipping your toe into growing larger shrubs, hydrangeas are a great starting point because they have such simple care needs.

These beautiful plants prefer well-draining soil, but they can handle any soil pH, so we don’t need to worry about that.

The two aspects that are vital to get right for a hydrangea are watering and light.

Light is the factor that you need to have in mind before your hydrangeas even make it into the ground. Hydrangeas tend to thrive in semi-shade, ideally where they can receive morning sun and afternoon shade. We will be getting into this in more detail later on.

When it comes to watering, getting the balance right is very important. We like to water our hydrangeas three times a week, adjusting for rainfall or particularly hot weather.

For a complete guide on taking care of hydrangeas in detail, check out our full care guide.

What Side of the House Do You Plant Hydrangeas?

We suggest planting hydrangeas on the east-facing side of your property.

By exploring the hydrangea’s needs, we have discovered that they prefer semi-shaded areas where they are in the shade around midday when temperatures are at their highest.

The east-facing side of your house will provide the ideal lighting conditions for hydrangeas because they will receive morning sun as it rises but become shaded as the sun moves towards the west.

You might be wondering, if hydrangeas prefer getting sun for part of the day and shade for the rest, then why not plant them on the western side? Well, the reason is simple. The western-facing side of your house will receive shade in the morning and sun in the afternoon; however, the afternoon sun is much hotter than the morning sun, which will be too harsh for your hydrangeas.

If it is not possible to plant your hydrangea on the eastern side, we suggest choosing an area in your garden that gets dappled sunlight or shade from other plants at the hottest time of the day.

Frequently Asked Questions:

What months should you plant hydrangeas?

We recommend planting your hydrangeas in the fall, any time between September and November.

This will give them time to establish themselves and grow a little stronger before the summer heat or the winter frosts hit.

Can you plant hydrangeas close to the house?

Hydrangeas are a lovely way to decorate the side of your house, especially when they are flowering, but you can only do this if they have enough space to grow.

Hydrangeas generally like to have about 3 feet of space between them and any obstacle, so they have space to grow. If your bed runs along the side of the house and is at least 3 feet wide, then you can safely plant your hydrangeas along the border.

Can you plant hydrangeas on the south side of the house?

Of all the sides of your house to plant hydrangeas, the south side is probably the worst.

In the northern hemisphere, the sun’s path is at an angle that causes the south side to receive sun for most of the day. This will be at its most intense around midday.

Being subjected to this much sun will cause your hydrangeas to wilt on a regular basis and even burn. This could result in your plant dying if you do not move it to a more suitable spot in time.

Conclusion

The main point you need to consider when placing your hydrangeas is light.

Hydrangeas like to grow in semi-shaded areas, so you should pick the side of your house that receives this light. We recommend planting hydrangeas on the east-facing side of the house, where your hydrangeas will receive morning sun and afternoon shade.

We wish you luck with your new hydrangeas and hope this gave you all you needed to know to plant them in the perfect spot.