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Cut back hydrangea in spring


How to Prune a Hydrangea in Spring

Most hydrangeas are pruned in spring, their flower heads having been left on over winter to protect the buds beneath. Climbing hydrangeas are the exception to this rule – they are pruned in summer, after flowering.

Pruning prevents hydrangeas becoming woody and congested, and channels the plants' energy into producing strong growth and large blooms. After pruning, mulch the plant with well rotted manure or compost.

Different types of hydrangea are pruned in different ways, as some flower on old wood and some on new. Pruning incorrectly will affect flowering.

Hydrangea macrophylla, Hydrangea aspera, Hydrangea serrata and Hydrangea quercifolia are lightly pruned by cutting back the old flower heads to a pair of buds below. Hydrangea paniculata and Hydrangea aborescens can be cut back harder.

If you're not sure which type of hydrangea you have, it's best just to deadhead it and observe how it grows. If you notice that it produces flowers on this year's growth, you can prune it harder next year. Find out more about how to grow hydrangeas, and if you'd like to grow more hydrangeas in your garden, be inspired by our pick of nine of the best hydrangeas to grow.

Pruning hydrangeas: jump links

Mophead and lacecap hydrangeas

Mophead and lacecap hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla) flower on the previous years' growth. They are an exception to the rule that says shrubs that produce their flowers on the previous season's growth should be pruned after flowering. The structure of hydrangea stems means that it's best to leave cutting back until spring. This is because the stems are cork-like, rather than woody, and hold enough moisture inside them during winter for this to freeze in frosty weather. If they are pruned in autumn, after flowering, the buds can freeze, killing the stems and their buds. Leaving the old flowers on the plant over winter, until the worst frosts are over, will help protect the stems and their new buds. Once the sap starts to rise in spring, these buds will open and many should go on to carry blooms the following year.

Where to buy hydrangeas online:

Remove last year's flowerheads

How to prune hydrangeas in spring – removing an old hydrangea flowerhead above a growing new bud

In April, remove old flowerheads to just above a pair of buds. Hydrangea buds can be easily knocked off, so cut carefully using the tips of your secateurs. If the plant has many stems, cut at an angle between the buds to remove one of the pair. This will direct growth into one shoot rather than two, preventing the plant from becoming congested.

Cut out thin, weak stems

How to prune hydrangeas in spring – pruning old hydrangea stems

Cut out any thin, weak stems around the base of the plant and remove one or two of the largest, oldest stems from as low down as possible to promote new shoots from the base. These will grow over the next few years and carry blooms in the future.

If you have an overgrown plant, cut some of the stems right to the base.

Hydrangea aspera and Hydrangea serrata

Hydrangea aspera, Hydrangea serrata and Hydrangea quercifolia are also lightly pruned in spring – just remove old flower heads and old, crossing or long stems and in a similar way to mopheads and lacecaps.

Hydrangea paniculata and Hydrangea aborescens

How to prune hydrangeas in spring – Hydrangea paniculata 'Phantom'

Hydrangea paniculata and Hydrangea aborescens produce flowers on new wood, which means that you can cut them back harder without losing this year’s flowers. Pruning is not essential, but left unpruned the plant will get taller, with most of the flowers at the top.

Cut back to a healthy framework

Cut back in early spring, pruning last year’s growth back to a healthy framework that’s between 30cm and 60cm high. Prune to just above a pair of healthy buds on each stem. Cut back to the lowest healthy buds for big flowers or less hard for a natural look or a taller plant.

More like this

Watch Monty Don explain the different ways of pruning hydrangeas in spring:

Pruning climbing hydrangeas

Climbing hydrangeas such as Hydrangea anomola subsp. petiolaris and Hydrangea seemannii should not be pruned until after they have flowered, in summer.   Need a new pair of secateurs? Read our indepth guide to the best secateurs so you can buy in confidence. 

How to Prune Your Hydrangeas This Spring

Hydrangeas are beautiful and interesting flowers. They change color based on the pH of the soil, making them a unique and fascinating addition to most gardens. They’re easy to grow as well, whether you’re growing them from a nursery seedling or a cutting taken from an established hydrangea. One important part of hydrangea care is pruning them. If you’ve never pruned a plant before, then you may not be sure where to start. Don’t worry, we’ll walk you through it step-by-step in this simple guide.

Contents

When to prune hydrangeas

You may have heard some conflicting information on when you should be pruning your hydrangeas. Some say it should be done in spring or winter, while others say it’s best to prune them in late summer. So which is it? The truth is that it depends on what kind of hydrangea you have. Some hydrangea varieties bloom on new growth, which are branches that grew in that year. Other varieties bloom on old growth, or branches that grew the year before.

If you aren’t certain which variety you have, then skip pruning to watch your plant’s blooming habits. If your hydrangea blooms on new growth, then you should prune it in late winter or early spring, before it comes out of dormancy. If it blooms on old growth, then it’s better to prune it in late summer, right after it blooms. They aren’t just pruned at different times, but in different ways as well.

In both cases, pruning should be done before flower buds form. Hydrangeas that bloom on old growth, such as bigleaf and oakleaf hydrangeas, begin forming buds the year before they bloom. Take care not to prune them in the fall or else you may not have many flowers next year.

What tools do you need?

Depending on the size of your hydrangea bush, you can use a pair of scissors, a pair of bypass garden shears, or a pair of bypass loppers. In most cases, loppers are unnecessary, but they can be helpful if you’re dealing with an older, larger bush. You can use anvil shears if that’s all you have, but bypass shears are more effective and do less damage to the plant.

Bypass shears are structured like scissors, with the blades offset slightly to pass by each other. Anvil shears have one blade and one flat piece, or anvil, that meet when closed. Anvil shears tend to crush branches, while bypass shears can cut cleanly through.

You may also want a garbage bag or lawn waste collection bag for the branches you cut. This isn’t strictly necessary, as there are other ways to dispose of the branches. However, if you live in an urban environment or plan on throwing the branches away, then they’re quite convenient.

Pruning hydrangeas in spring

Pruning hydrangeas in spring is perhaps the easiest, but most intimidating, form of pruning. This is because they can be cut down to the ground. It can be frightening to cut a plant back entirely, especially if you’ve never done it before, but for hydrangeas that bloom on new growth, it’s healthy and safe. Cutting all the old stems away opens up plenty of room for new branches to grow, leading to larger, but fewer, flowers.

If you find yourself too anxious, or if you want to cultivate a taller hydrangea shrub, then you can cut only the top of the plant. Cut the plant back to between one-half and one-third of its previous size. The remaining wood will support new growth, keeping the plant upright and preventing new growth from drooping. This results in more flowers, but they’re typically smaller than those you might get from cutting it all the way back.

Pruning hydrangeas in summer

Hydrangeas that bloom on old wood require a little more discretion when pruning. You can start as soon as the flowers begin to fade by clipping off faded flowers. You can even finish drying them and use them as decoration. Unlike with hydrangeas that bloom on new growth, you should avoid heavy pruning unless it’s absolutely necessary. Taking too much at a time can damage these hydrangeas.

Instead, carefully inspect your hydrangeas for any damaged, dead, or diseased branches. These should be removed. You may have to remove the entire branch, but often there will be a place low on the healthy branch. Otherwise, you can trim just the top to keep your bush the size and shape you want. For the best results, make your cuts at a slight angle just above a leaf node or bud. Leave some space above the node to avoid accidentally cutting it.

Pruning can help keep your hydrangeas healthy and prompt larger blooms. Don’t panic if you miss a year, though. As long as you’re keeping up with the other care elements, your hydrangea will survive without pruning, although it may become overgrown. If you’re thinking about adding hydrangeas to your garden but are intimidated by heavy pruning, then you may want to consider getting hydrangeas that bloom on old growth.

Editors' Recommendations

Hydrangea spring pruning for lush blooms

Hydrangeas can survive without pruning. But there will be no beautiful flowering of flowering and the correct crown. Hydrangeas, for which even one year of formation and pruning was missed, take on a neglected appearance, become sloppy and unkempt. The size of the inflorescences also depends directly on pruning.

Every spring, when pruning panicled hydrangea, restoration processes are launched, and the growth of new high-quality shoots - future flower carriers - is activated.

In addition, spring pruning:

- helps the shrub to rejuvenate;

- makes the crown lush, and the shape of the bush - correct;

- promotes the formation of larger, lush and multiple inflorescences.

In order for your hydrangea to please you with lush flowering for as long as possible, follow a few simple rules for care.

Basic rules for pruning hydrangeas

Proper pruning will help give the plants the correct bush shape. Inflorescences will be large and beautiful. General rules:

- Use a sharp pruner so as not to cause significant damage to the plant.

- In no case should you cut off the branches of hydrangeas.

- Trim last year's inflorescences, weak and frozen branches in good weather. But it is advisable to do this before the start of sap flow. For example, in October or March. At this time, the plant is at rest.

- Do not leave split stumps and cuts. Otherwise, the plant may die. Be sure to treat such areas with garden pitch or its substitute.

- Thick branches of a bush need to be cut down with a hacksaw. Make sure the cut edges are even. And also treat them with garden pitch.

- The cut should be made obliquely, while stepping back from the kidneys 2-3 centimeters.

- Cuts and any damage on large branches must be covered with garden pitch or some kind of substitute.

- If the hydrangea bush is large, then you need to cut the branches gradually, over 2-3 years. Otherwise, the hydrangea may die.

Hydrangea crown trimming

The first 2-3 years it is necessary to form the crown of a young plant. To do this, it is necessary to take into account the specific features. For example, in large-leaved, as mentioned earlier, only faded inflorescences need to be cut off, without touching new non-flowering shoots.


Paniculata Hydrangea can be shaped like a tree. It is only necessary to remove weak (zero) branches growing from the root, and shoots growing inside the bush. Strong shoots must be shortened by 1-2 buds, because the stronger the hydrangea branch, the more buds can be left on it. But if you want to form a bush, then when planting, you need to deepen the hydrangea a little. After a while, new shoots will appear.

In young tree hydrangeas in the first year, you need to shorten the shoots just a little bit. It is necessary to remove diseased and frozen branches. This is done in order not to interfere with the adaptation of the plant and the growth of a powerful root mass. For the second season, the shoots are shortened and 3-4 buds are left on the branch. It is necessary in the second year to begin to form the skeletal base of the plant.

Mature hydrangea pruning to stimulate vigorous flowering


Over time, in adult hydrangeas, flowering may decline and the once lush and chic inflorescences become smaller. You can solve this problem with the same trim.

- It is necessary to remove last year's old shoots, leaving only 2 or 3 buds. In this place, new shoots will then grow with powerful flowering.

- Do not forget about dry and frozen branches. You need to get rid of them too.

- In order for the plant to have enough light, prune the branches that thicken and grow inside the bush.

- Old shoots growing from the roots can be carefully removed to the base.

HOW TO PROPERLY CUT IN SPRING

The question of pruning hydrangeas in spring never loses its relevance. We have collected all the useful tips and provided them with diagrams so that the process is correct and the result pleases all summer.

Hydrangea is one of the most beautiful and fairly easy-to-care shrubs. However, the question of the correct pruning of hydrangeas in the spring never leaves the top of the most discussed topics. The brevity of the terms also warms it up - pruning must be carried out before active sap flow, i.e. when the plant is just waking up. In the Urals, this time (depending on the weather) falls on March-April. If you are late, you need to wait for the leaves to appear, and then trim as carefully as possible.

Important! Pruning must be systematic. For some varieties of hydrangeas, it is shown throughout the season. For others, the size of the inflorescence depends on it (regularly cut off - the inflorescences will be large, let the bush thicken - wait for the flowers to grind). And for almost all varieties, it is shown to form a beautiful dense crown of a shrub.

There are three approaches to pruning that determine the timing and extent of flowering
  1. Short cut. We leave 2-3 kidneys. Thus, we achieve later flowering and the largest possible inflorescences.
  2. Medium cut. We leave 3-4-5 kidneys. Flowering occurs on time in accordance with the variety. In this case, the size of the flower brush will be large or medium, and flowering will be plentiful.
  3. Long cut. We remove from above from 3 to 5 internodes. We provide early flowering, an increase in the number of inflorescences with a decrease in their size. 9009one

All hydrangeas need pruning - both those that are planted in the ground and those that live in containers

General procedure for pruning hydrangeas

After a suitable day is chosen, we act according to the algorithm:

What kind of pruning does your hydrangea need?

What kind of pruning your hydrangea needs is determined by its type.

Examples of pruning different types of hydrangeas

  • Tree and paniculate hydrangeas bloom on the shoots of the current year. For tree hydrangea, the earliest dates (March) will be optimal, since it grows more slowly than paniculate, and it needs time to form young shoots. For paniculate hydrangea, pruning in April is suitable.
  • Large-leaved hydrangea blooms on last year's shoots. It should also be cut off in the early stages, but according to a special scheme - not like a tree. In addition, do not be too zealous: in large-leaved hydrangeas, only old dried inflorescences are removed, as well as weak shoots that have not endured the winter well.
    • Hydrangea pruning

    Hydrangea pruning

    1. Removal of spherical inflorescences.
    2. Removal of broken, dead ends of branches.
    3. Complete removal of old branches.
    4. Cutting off the null shoots, unable to bloom, which only take away the strength of the flowering bush.
    5. Shortening last year's shoots to a length of about four pairs of strong buds.
    Hydrangea pruning

    Pruning panicled hydrangea

    1. Removal of cones.
    2. Cut dried branches.
    3. Cut branches with fading growth.
    4. Shortening of shoots for the growth of large young inflorescences.
    5. Removal of excess shoots to avoid thickening.
    Hydrangea pruning

    Pruning large-leaved hydrangea

    1. Preservation of new shoots that did not bloom.
    2. Removing flowering branches only.
    3. Pruning large shoots up to the outgoing new branch.
    4. Cut of dead, frozen, damaged branches.
    5. Cut of perennial branches.
    6. Cut of small weak shoots.

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