How to cut back hydrangeas for winter

Author: Elena N. https://floristics.info/en/index.php?option=com_contact&view=contact&id=19 Category: Garden Plants Published: February 17, 2022 Last editing: January 13, 2021

Content

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• Botanical description
• Cutting Hortensi
• Literature
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When the days get noticeably shorter and the air smells of frost, it means it's time to prepare garden shrubs for winter. The responsibility of this event can hardly be overestimated: how you cut and cover your ornamental shrubs depends not only on their flowering next season, but also on your overall health.

In our climate, three types of hydrangeas are usually cultivated: paniculate, tree-like and large-leaved. And each of them requires a special approach. From our article you will learn:

• how to prune each type of hydrangea in autumn;
• how to prepare them for winter;
• how to protect them from winter frosts.

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Hydrangea (lat. Hydrangea) - flowering plants of the Hortensia family, which in nature, according to various sources, number from 30 to 80 species. Among them are shrubs and small trees, growing mostly in East and South Asia, China, Japan, the Far East, and also in both Americas. The plant was named after Princess Hortensia, which no one remembers for a long time, later, when botanists were systematizing plants, the hydrangea received the Greek name Hydrangea, which translates as “a vessel with water” - the shape of the seed pods of the plant resembles a jug, and the plant itself is very loves water.

The Japanese call the hydrangea "ajisai", which means "flower - purple sun". It was from Japan that the hydrangea was brought to Europe in 1820, and at first it was grown only as a houseplant because of its low winter hardiness, but breeders were so carried away by the cultivation of hydrangea that by the middle of the 20th century more than 100 garden varieties were created. In our latitudes, garden hydrangea is represented quite widely - twelve popular species.

Botanical description

Most of the hydrangea species are shrubs from 1 m to 3 m high, among hydrangeas there are trees and lianas climbing tree trunks to a height of up to 30 m. Among the representatives of the genus there are evergreen species, and there are deciduous, but in our latitudes it is the latter that are grown, blooming from spring to late autumn. Two types of flowers are collected in globular inflorescences at the ends of the stems - sterile at the edges and fruiting in the middle of the inflorescence. The flowers are most often white, but a species such as large-leaved hydrangea is represented by varieties with pink, blue, lilac and red flowers, and determines the color of the specimen by the acidity of the soil. For example, hydrangeas with blue flowers grow in acidic soil, lilac and pink in alkaline soil, and pale beige in neutral soil. The fruit of the hydrangea is a multipartite box with seeds.

In addition to the large-leaved hydrangea, the tree-like hydrangea grows well in our climate, known for its winter hardiness and ability to recover well after severe frosts. Panicle hydrangea, known for its longevity, also winters well - it can grow in one place up to 60 years.

In addition to these three most popular species, such species as serrate hydrangea, serrate hydrangea, climbing hydrangea, radiant hydrangea, Sargent hydrangea, petiolate hydrangea, oak hydrangea and others are known in floriculture.

Hydrangea pruning after flowering

Hydrangea care includes pruning, among other things. Some amateur growers claim that hydrangea is like lilac - the more you cut, the more magnificent it blooms next year. This is not entirely true, since this statement is true for the paniculate and tree-like hydrangea, and the colored (large-leaved) hydrangea cannot be cut off. Large-leaved hydrangea blooms on the shoots of last year, so the young branches that have grown this summer must overwinter, and only next year they can bloom.

As for the white-flowered species, namely Paniculata and Arborescens, they bloom on annual stems, so after pruning, as stated, they will have many young shoots that will produce more flowers. It is recommended to prune hydrangeas in the spring, but this must be done carefully, because the juice ferments in the plants, and they “cry” when pruned. Many flower growers believe that it is better to prune hydrangeas in the fall.

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Based on these differences between species, hydrangeas were divided into two groups according to the quality of pruning. The first group includes species that bloom on last year's shoots, such as the already mentioned large-leaved hydrangea, as well as serrate, prickly hydrangea, Sargent, oak-leaved and petiolate liana. Pruning of these hydrangeas can only be cosmetic, removing last year's inflorescences to the first pair of strong buds and weak, old shoots completely.

The second group includes species in which buds are formed on the shoots of the current year: paniculate hydrangea and tree hydrangea. The main pruning of these types of hydrangeas is usually done in the spring, before the start of the growing season. The tree-like hydrangea is subjected to the procedure only if it is already four years old, otherwise it may die, leaking juice. However, if you prune in the fall, this trouble will not happen. An adult, and even more so an old plant that needs to be rejuvenated, is cut off “on a stump”, that is, only 10 cm are left from each shoot.

If the bush is too big and old, do not cut it all at once, otherwise the short shoots will not be able to feed the large root mass. Rejuvenate the bush in parts over three years.

Panicle hydrangea is pruned moderately, like a tree, without touching the skeletal branches: from several shoots that grow from one point, only those that grow outward are left.

Pruning hydrangeas in autumn is completely safe and will ensure your plant blooms luxuriantly next year. In the hydrangea species of the second group, the inflorescences are cut off so that the fragile branches of the plants do not break under the weight of snow that sticks to them in winter - this is if you do not intend to cover the hydrangea for the winter. In addition, old thick stems are removed from the hydrangea tree, and weak thin shoots from the panicle hydrangea, and the annual growth is shortened by 2-5 buds.

Preparing hydrangeas for winter

Caring for panicled hydrangeas in autumn (and for other species too), on the eve of the onset of cold weather, involves sheltering hydrangeas for the winter. Unfortunately, not a single type of hydrangea can winter in our area without insulation, so the preparation of garden hydrangeas for winter must be thorough. The most winter-hardy is the tree hydrangea, but it also needs shelter for the winter, otherwise the ends of young shoots may freeze.

Begin preparations from mid-September: remove all but the topmost leaves to speed up the process of lignification of the shoots, and feed the plants with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers (hydrangeas are not fertilized with nitrogen in autumn). Now you can cover the hydrangea.

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How to cover the hydrangea for the winter

There are several ways to cover, but it all depends on what winters are like in your area. In the southern regions, it is enough just to spud a bush of arboreal or paniculate hydrangea high. If your winters are unpredictable, then it is better to play it safe and still cover your hydrangeas. Small plants can be completely covered with peat and covered with a film on top - do not be afraid that the plant may rot, this will certainly not happen.

A well-established method that allows you to cover a medium-sized young plant and at the same time not harm it: tie a bush with a rope and pull it slowly, without jerks, to the boards laid on the ground with driven nails, to which you tie the plant. Then throw it with spruce branches or sawdust, and cover it with a sheet of old iron, grade 30 lutrasil or spunbond on top.

One more way: the trunk circle is covered with spruce branches, the hydrangea shoots are bent to the ground radially, away from the center of the bush, the bases of the laid shoots are fixed with wooden or metal brackets and the center of the bush is covered with peat, spruce spruce branches are laid on top of the lying shoots, which are covered with lutrasil . Lutrasil needs to be pressed with boards and bricks so that it is not blown away by the wind. Such a hydrangea shelter can withstand temperatures of -40 ºC.

It will be difficult to bend old powerful bushes to the ground, so the following method of shelter for the winter is provided for them: the bush is wrapped in lutrasil, which is fixed with twine or tape, then a metal mesh frame is installed above the bush, which should be 12- 15 cm. Dry leaves are placed in large quantities inside the frame, and the structure is covered with roofing material or plastic wrap on top.

Every year the winter hardiness of hydrangea increases, and over time, you can refuse to cover adult bushes, but young plants in the first years of life should be covered in any case, even if the winter turns out to be warm.

Literature

1. Read related topics on Wikipedia
2. Peculiarities and other plants of the Hydrangea family
3. List of all species on The Plant List
4. More information on World Flora Online

Hydrangea paniculata: planting, care, description of varieties
Hydrangea: planting and care in autumn

Sections: Garden plants Garden perennials Garden flowering plants Garden shrubs Plants on G Hydrangea

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Autumn pruning of hydrangeas: paniculate, treelike and large-leaved

Hydrangeas are magnificent flowers that will always attract attention with their splendor and tenderness of shades. And in order for them to proudly and dignifiedly keep themselves on the plot, it is necessary to properly put their hands on their pruning in the fall.

Why exactly and when to prune plants, as well as the features and rules for pruning various varieties of a wonderful flower, is the subject of this article.

Content

• 1 Why do you need to cut hydrangeas
• 2 when to cut hydrangeas in the fall: Optimal terms
  • 2.1 Features of autumn pruning
  • 2.2 prune hydrangeas: basic nuances and rules
    • 3.1 Pruning panicled hydrangeas in autumn
    • 3.2 Pruning tree hydrangeas in autumn
    • 3.3 Pruning large-leaved hydrangeas in autumn
  Why hydrangeas need to be pruned

  Hydrangea pruning is primarily carried out in order to ensure that the bush blooms luxuriantly and the inflorescences are large. If this is not done, then the bush will be very thickened and there will be many small flowers.

  Also trimming is done for the purpose of shaping, i.e. you can form a bush of the shape you need. In this case, you will need to mostly remove only the inflorescences and grow powerful, thick shoots, or 1 trunk.

  Paniculata hydrangea lends itself best to shaping

  Important! Hydrangea pruning up to 2-3 years is not done at all.

  But already from 2-3 years of life, the bushes begin to be cut and shaped.

  When to prune hydrangeas in autumn: optimal timing

  It is very convenient to prune paniculate and tree-like hydrangeas in late autumn, when the first frosts have passed (it is possible even after the first snow), respectively, all leaves will fly around, and only dry bronze inflorescences will remain. At this time, it is easy to understand which shoots should be left and which ones should be cut.

  Thus, the approximate timing of pruning hydrangeas in the middle lane (Moscow region) in the fall is the second half of October - the beginning of November.

  Actual question! Is it possible to prune a hydrangea when it is still white (pink, blue) and covered in leaves?

  Yes, you can, but not too early, otherwise regrowth from side shoots may occur and this will weaken the bush before wintering.

  Autumn pruning features

  If you have snowy winters, then in autumn it is recommended to prune hydrangeas , which have very large inflorescences (these are certain varieties of tree-like and paniculate), because under the weight of snow they can bend and break. Therefore, it is better to cut them in the fall. Moreover, you can cut only the flowers themselves (balls), and shorten the stems to the desired height in the spring.

  However, the main advantage of full pruning of hydrangeas in autumn lies precisely in the fact that in early spring it can be difficult to catch up to the moment when the plant wakes up and begins to grow (it will begin active vegetation), which means that the places of cuts can begin " cry" (due to which the flower may eventually weaken and not bloom).

  By the way! If you did a full pruning in the autumn, then in the spring it will still not be superfluous to carry out a sanitary pruning, removing all extinct and broken branches.

  When it is possible and / or better to prune - in autumn or spring

  Paniculata and tree hydrangeas can be pruned both in autumn and in spring, or pruned in several stages (cut off part of it in autumn, and already finish what was started in spring). But large-leaved - pruned only in the spring. Pruning of young bushes 2-3 years old (which still have thin stems) is most often left also in the spring.

  Please note! The main advantage of spring pruning is that in spring you can see which buds have survived. Therefore, in autumn they are usually cut higher, leaving at least 3-4 pairs of buds.

  How to prune hydrangeas: basic nuances and rules

  There are 3 types of hydrangeas that are most often grown in our gardens:

By the way! In some varieties of paniculate hydrangea, white panicle inflorescences turn pink by autumn.

• Tree-like (inflorescences are flatter and rounded, quite large, similar to balls).

By the way! In some varieties of tree hydrangea, the balls also begin to turn green or pink closer to autumn, and there are even pink varieties.

• Large-leaved or colored (inflorescences are similar to tree-like "balls", but it has denser leaves to the touch).

Please note! It is fundamentally important to know the type of hydrangea growing in your summer cottage, since it is the type that determines the specifics of pruning and the need for shelter for the winter.

What are the differences between different types of hydrangeas:

• Paniculate and tree hydrangeas (they are also called white) bloom on the shoots of the current year. Shelter for the winter is not required.
• And in large-leaved (color) - inflorescences are laid on the shoots of the previous year. Accordingly, it requires a completely different pruning, in other words, by making a standard pruning, we can simply deprive ourselves of flowering next year. Must be covered for the winter.

Interesting! Tree-like hydrangea grows in a bush (despite its name), and paniculate hydrangea , as a rule, has only 3-4 shoots or in general only 1 trunk . Moreover, from 3-4 shoots, you can also form a hydrangea in a standard form. Only from below there will be not one trunk, but 3-4 stems.

Video: difference between types and methods of pruning hydrangeas

Next, the features of autumn pruning of the paniculate, tree-like and large-leaved varieties will be described in detail.

As a rule, only faded inflorescences are pruned in the fall of paniculate hydrangea (1), and in the spring a full (final) pruning is carried out (2,3,4,5), that is, pruning is carried out in 2 stages, namely:

1. Removal of cone-shaped inflorescences (the same "panicles").
2. Pruning of broken, withered branches (sanitary pruning).
3. Removal of old (perennial) branches with fading growth (rejuvenating pruning).
4. Shortening of shoots for the growth of larger young inflorescences (pruning for flowering).
5. Removal of superfluous shoots (for example, growing into the bush or weak ones) in order to avoid thickening and shading of the bush (thinning pruning).

Important! However, it is considered that in the autumn it is possible to carry out a full pruning of the paniculate hydrangea , but leaving some margin. For example, when pruning for flowering (5), 3-4 pairs of strong buds should be left.

It is worth understanding , the less buds you leave , the more powerful the shoots and inflorescences will be , the more - the bush will be thicker, and the inflorescences will be smaller.

Video: pruning paniculate hydrangea in autumn (shaping pruning)

Actual question! How to form a paniculata hydrangea?

First you need to let the shoots grow upwards, removing only the lateral shoots, and this should be done in the spring. Then cut to height and form a crown.

By the way! Forming into one stem is quite dangerous - either you can accidentally break it, or strong winds. Although, if you tie it to a peg, then you can.

Video: what is the difference between pruning of the tree -like and panicular hydrangeas

Thus, only firing convexes (1) are cut off in the tree -like hydrangea, and the spring is carried out (final in the spring (final, and already the spring is performed in the spring ) pruning (2,3,4,5), namely:

1. Removal of faded globular inflorescences.
2. Pruning of broken ends of branches into 3-4 pairs of buds, as well as removal of dried shoots (sanitary pruning).
3. If the bush is old, then complete (“under zero”) removal of old (more than 4 years old) branches is performed, especially if they have weak and thin shoots (rejuvenating pruning).
4. Ground zero removal of all thin null shoots (coming from the ground) that have not bloomed. The next year they will still form only leaves, thus they will thicken the bush and take food from it. And also all new weak growths growing inside bush and thickening it (thinning pruning).
5. Shortening current shoots on old branches and all zero shoots by 2-3 pairs of strong buds (cutting for flowering).

Idea! You can make winter bouquets from tree hydrangeas by cutting off a long shoot and painting brown inflorescence hats from a spray can (optimally with golden floral paint).

Important! It is also believed that tree hydrangea can be fully pruned in autumn , again leaving some headroom. For example, when pruning for flowering (5), 3-4 pairs of strong buds should be left.

Video: tree hydrangea pruning in autumn (full)

By the way! In general, a tree hydrangea can be cut very short, 15-20 cm from the ground, and at the same time leave at least 1 pair of buds. But it should be understood that if they persist, then new side shoots will bloom powerfully, and if not, then only “zero” shoots from the root will go, which may not bloom next year.

The classic scheme of the phased pruning of large -leaved hydrangea in the fall and spring is as follows:

Automatic:

Think! Many flower growers prefer not to touch the large-leaved hydrangea at all in the fall, and do everything in the spring.

But still in the autumn you can cut off the inflorescences and remove the leaves (except for the apical ones).

Moreover, it is recommended to cut the inflorescences to the first pair of buds at the end of the branch, that is, they (the buds) should never be touched.

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