One word of warning: Before purchasing a hydrangea that you know will need Winter protection to bloom in your area, keep this in mind. While the hydrangea is small it will be easy to protect, but as it grows larger, the task will become much more difficult and may, in time, grow too tedious to continue.

• All methods of protection seem to start with a frame around the hydrangea. This can be sturdy stakes surrounded by chicken wire, burlap, or other material that allows air to circulate (DO NOT USE PLASTIC).
• Next, an insulating material such as oak leaves, pinestraw, or something similar, is worked down into the enclosure. Be careful not to break the tips off any of the branches as this is where the flower buds have already formed. This must be left on the hydrangea all Winter and into the Spring until the last possible frost has past. When it is uncovered, the hydrangea will already have started to leaf out.
• Important: Since hydrangeas tend to set their blooms on the ends of the branches, it is important to keep these covered all Winter. Most insulating materials will pack down somewhat during the Winter and expose the branch tips, so the material must either be replaced or secured in place.
• One gardener reports that oak leaves are particularly good as they do not pack down like other material. Another gardener recommended keeping extra bags of leaves in an area where they will not freeze. These can then be used to refresh the material as it packs down.
• One other suggestion is to fill a bag with leaves or other material and place this over the top of the entire enclosure in a way that it does not fall down on the shrub but remains in place all Winter.

• If you live in a very cold area, you might try growing hydrangeas in large pots and putting them in a cellar or garage that freezes only lightly.
• Admittedly, large pots are difficult to handle, but hydrangeas will NOT do well in smaller pots. Their roots are too aggressive and quickly fill the smaller pots.