2 Ways to Fix Short-Stemmed Hydrangeas

Hydrangeas

Hydrangeas are blooming beautifully all over the country! We planted several of the Summer Crush variety this year and although the bushes are small, they are blooming like crazy. The only problem is that they have short stems! This post will show you how to fix short-stemmed hydrangeas for a bouquet or to fit in a shallow vase.

Now I love to cut blooms and bring them inside, but it’s difficult (for me anyway) to create pretty vases of flowers if the stems are short. Here are a couple of tricks that I learned from Rachel Wiygul, our floral designer at Trendy Tree.

First Way

Typically I cut stems as long as possible, and then shorten them once I start arranging. Here’s what I had to deal with today.

summer crush hydrangea — Summer Crush Hydrangea

This stem is only about 5-6 inches. That’s about the longest stems I can get from these new bushes. I’m in hope that before fall the bushes will have grown enough to make longer stems.

To lengthen the stem, just wrap floral wire around the stem and pick. Now, a florist would use a green floral pick that already has wire on it. I didn’t have any of these at home, so I had to use a makeshift floral stick out of a shish kabob stick and floral wire. I like to call that being resourceful.)))

wrap floral wire around short stemmed flower to give support — Wrap Floral Wire Around Stem and Pick

Wrap the wire starting at the bottom of the stem. Make it snug, but not so tight that it cuts into the stem. Leave the pointy end of the stick at the bottom in case you are inserting it into floral foam.

wooden skewer secured to hydrangea stem with floral wire — Stem Lengthened

Now the stem is much longer and you can trim the end of the stick as needed.

Second Way

Another way to fix short-stemmed hydrangeas is to bundle the stems together with a band. Hydrangea blooms are top-heavy anyway and with short stems, it’s next to impossible to keep them from turning over.

bundle short stems of hydrangeas with elastic band to keep them from falling out of a vase — Bundle Stems and Wrap with a Band

Just make a grid across the top of the vase leaving an opening in the center to hold the flowers.

Bundle the blooms together and secure them with a rubber band, twine, or even a twist tie. I used small hair bands.

rubber band around short stems — Scotch Tape Across the Top of the Container

Here’s the finished arrangement. Even though it’s top-heavy with large blooms, it sits nicely in the vase.

summer crush hydrangeas in a wide mouth short vase — Summer Crush Hydrangeas

I love my summer crush hydrangeas…..short stems and all))) I am finding that they don’t seem to last as long as hydrangeas with longer stems.

I’m not sure that longer stems have anything to do with it, or that they are just new plants.

Carrie’s blue hydrangeas are 5-6 years old and those blooms last for about a week or more. We’ll see. I’m learning more about hydrangeas every day)))

We have some of the limelight color in the front yard and they haven’t bloomed yet! Now I’m beginning to wonder if we cut them back too much, or pruned them at the wrong time of the year. I’m not sure. Maybe they will come on a little later and start blooming. I sure hope so! If you have experienced this problem I would love to hear from you.

I hope this post has given you some ideas on how to fix short-stemmed hydrangeas for a bouquet or a shallow vase.

Just leave a comment. And thanks for visiting my blog, I really appreciate it)))