How to prune hydrangea flowers
When to prune hydrangeas for best bloom
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Hydrangeas are one of the most popular blooming woody shrubs in Minnesota landscapes and, as you’d expect, people often ask how and when to prune these beloved shrubs.
Heading cuts redirect growth or shorten small branches. The high point of a heading cut should be about 1/4" above a bud.Prune back stems to just above a fat bud — called a heading cut — in fall, late winter or spring. These plants have conical-shaped flower heads. I recommend leaving the dry, tan flower heads on the plant to provide some winter interest in your landscape, so I wait to prune these until late winter or spring. Some favorite panicle hydrangeas:
- Quick Fire® (H. paniculata ‘Bulk’ PP16, 812)
- Limelight (H. paniculata ‘Limelight’)
- First Editions® Berry White® (H. paniculata ‘Renba’ PP28, 509)
These plants produce buds in late summer to early fall (August-September) that will form next year’s flowers. So prune these shrubs after they finish blooming before August (again, make a heading cut).
An exception is the Endless Summer® The Original Bigleaf Hydrangea (H.
macrophylla 'Bailmer' PP15,298) and other cultivars in the Endless Summer series from Bailey Nurseries such as Blushing Bride, BloomStruck® , Summer Crush®, and Twist ‘n’ Shout®.
The H. macrophylla bloom on last year’s wood and new wood that grows this year. So it will bloom whether you prune it or not. Protect H. macrophylla in winter from rabbit browsing on the stems with a large, 4-foot tall ring of hardware cloth.
The Endless Summer hydrangea made a huge splash on the Minnesota landscape plant scene because of its pink to blue color flowers (achievable with proper soil amendment) and because it blooms on old and new wood.
Hydrangea arborescens, smooth hydrangeaLet these plants grow a season or two before doing any serious "hard" pruning. Once the shrub is established and has a couple of growing seasons under its belt, prune these hydrangeas in the spring down to the ground, or not at all if you want a larger shrub. Flower buds will grow on this season’s growth or new wood.
Some favorite smooth hydrangeas:
- Invincibelle Mini Mauvette® (H. arborescens 'NCHA7' PP30,358)
- Incrediball® (H. arborescens 'Abetwo' PP20571)
- Annabelle (H. arborescens 'Annabelle')
This tough, gnarly vine needs little to no pruning ever, except for removing any dead wood that develops.
Plant this vine in full sun on a solid trellis or fence where you want a long-living, dense screen. It is a dickens to get rid of once it gets established.
Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’ Quick Fire® hydrangea. Notice the wall color matches the late summer bloom color. This was intentional! Annabelle, a tried-and-true fixture in Minnesota landscapesAuthor: Julie Weisenhorn, Extension educator, horticulture
Reviewed by Debbie Lonnee, Product Development Manager, Bailey Nurseries.
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How to prune hydrangeas: to keep them healthy and flowering
(Image credit: Undefined Undefined/Getty Images)
Popular flowering shrubs, we must learn how to prune hydrangeas correctly to get the best from them, maximize blooms and to ensure that they can survive through winter.
Hydrangeas make a great statement piece in a bed, border or in containers. They put on a spectacular display of flowers in the summer, and then die back in winter. Tolerant of a wide range of soil and light conditions, apart from a little pruning, hydrangeas require almost no maintenance.
While learning how to grow hydrangeas is relatively simple – make sure you know when to plant hydrangeas and when to prune hydrangeas too – they can be disappointing over time if they are not correctly maintained through pruning and deadheading. Luckily, this is an easy skill to learn.
They range in color from white to pink, pale blue to deep purple. Their large, clustered flower heads, made up of lots of smaller flowers, make them a highly attractive and decorative plant, and there are many choices for what to plant with hydrangeas. Some of the flower heads are also wonderful for enduring floral displays indoors if you learn how to dry flowers.
The way that you prune your hydrangea will depend on the variety that you have.
Here we will look at the different types and how to prune them hydrangeas.
How to prune hydrangeas – for beginners
(Image credit: Leigh Clapp)
Hydrangeas are generally pretty low maintenance shrubs, and among the best flowering shrubs. Once you have identified the variety that you have in your garden, it's easy to get to grips with how to prune hydrangeas.
Some of these fast growing shrubs flower on old wood and some on new wood, so it is important to prune them the correct way so as to not detrimentally affect their flowering.
'Pruning hydrangeas will help the formation of new flowers and promote good shape,' explains Ian Wright, garden consultant at National Trust , which boasts dramatic displays of hydrangeas in many of its gardens as flower bed ideas.
(Image credit: Future)
Pruning mophead hydrangeas and lacecaps
(Image credit: National Trust)
The method for pruning mophead hydrangeas and lacecap hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla) – also known as bigleaf hydrangeas – is the same.
Mophead hydrangeas are a common choice for gardens with their full, roundish heads of large petals in shades of blue, pink, green and white. This makes them a popular shrub choice for cottage garden ideas and they also make good shrubs for shade.
Lacecap hydrangeas are identified by tiny flowers in the center of the bloom and an outer border of larger petals.
These varieties should be pruned in late winter or early spring.
As a way to winterize hydrangeas, 'it’s best to leave the faded blooms in place over the winter to protect tender new buds from frost damage,' advise the experts at Thompson & Morgan
When pruning mophead hydrangeas and lacecaps in early spring:
- Cut out one or two of the oldest, weakest stems at the base of the plant to encourage new growth that will have better blooms.
- Using secateurs, carefully remove old flowerheads just above a pair of buds.
- Be careful not to cut off any of the flower buds.
- If the bigleaf hydrangea shrub has been neglected and has lots of overlapping, tangled branches, you can do a harder prune and cut the stems down to the base of the plant. However the hydrangea will then not bloom until the following year.
How to prune climbing hydrangeas
(Image credit: Getty Images/ Catherine McQueen)
Climbing hydrangeas, such as Hydrangea anomola subsp. petiolaris, Hydrangea seemannii or H. serratifolia are pruned in summer, after flowering.
The reason that climbing hydrangeas are pruned in summer is because the flowers are produced on the previous year's wood. If they are pruned earlier in spring, before flowering, the blooms for that year will be sacrificed.
'Prune Hydrangea petiolaris immediately after flowering to shorten any branches growing out from the wall or support, otherwise only light pruning is required to remove dead or damaged stems,' advises gardening expert Sarah Raven .
Most flowers appear at the top of these flowing climbers, so the RHS advise to leave as much of this unpruned as possible.
How to prune Hydrangea paniculata and Hydrangea arborescens
(Image credit: Annaick Guitteny)
Hydrangea Paniculata with its cone-like heads of blooms, and Hydrangea aborescens with its spherical flower heads, are also pruned in early spring.
- They produce flowers on new wood, so they can be pruned back harder without sacrificing that year's flowers.
- Prune old branches back to the lowest pair of healthy buds near ground level for a neat framework.
- 'By cutting stems to different heights, you’ll get flowerheads produced at different levels,' advises Sarah Raven
Other types of hydrangea, including Hydrangea aspera and Hydrangea quercifolia, need only light pruning in spring. Simply remove dead flower heads and overlong or crossing stems.
(Image credit: Stephanie Klepacki / Unsplash)
What happens if you don't prune hydrangeas?
If you don't prune hydrangeas then they can eventually resemble a tangled mass of woody stems, and the flowers will become smaller and less showy. If your hydrangeas are not blooming, lack of pruning is often a reason.
Regular pruning of hydrangeas helps to maintain their shape and also encourages new growth and a better display of blooms.
'It's this strong, new growth that ensures you have lots of large, healthy flowers to enjoy in the years to come,' explain the experts at Thompson & Morgan.
(Image credit: National Trust)
Do you cut off dead hydrangea blooms?
Deadheading hydrangeas – or removing spent flowers from the stem to encourage better blooming later on – can be done with some hydrangeas but not all.
The RHS recommends that dead blooms should only be removed from mophead hydrangeas after flowering in mild areas.
Their advice is that it is better to leave the flowerheads on the plant over winter to provide some frost protection.
In addition, by leaving the dried flowers on the plant, they will provide interest in the garden through to spring, and can be a stunning sight when covered in a coating of frost.
The flowers on the hardier lacecaps, however, can be deadheaded after flowering.
How far back should you prune hydrangeas?
Hydrangea macrophylla, Hydrangea serrata, Hydrangea quercifolia, and Hydrangea aspera can be cut back, in spring, as far as the first pair of buds. You are essentially removing the dead flower heads. You can also open the plant up a little and improve its shape by cutting back one or two of the oldest, largest stems. Cut these back right to the ground to encourage new growth.
Hydrangea aborescens and Hydrangea paniculata produce flowers on new growth and can therefore be cut back harder after flowering.
You don’t actually need to prune these varieties, but you can do it to keep them from getting too tall.
(Image credit: John Swithinbank)
What is the best way to prune hydrangeas?
The best way to prune hydrangeas, as with all pruning, should be carried out with a sharp, clean pair of gardening tools. This is to create a clean cut that is less prone to infection. The way that you prune your hydrangea will depend on the variety that you have, and to some extent the condition of the plant.
If you find that your way of pruning is not yielding good blooms or a healthy plant, you may want to change your approach. Observe your plant through spring and summer to determine where it flowers from, old or new growth. Then prune according to this guide.
This feature was created by H&G sister brand, Period Living magazine
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Rachel is senior content editor, and writes and commissions gardening content for homesandgardens.com, Homes & Gardens magazine, and its sister titles Period Living Magazine and Country Homes & Interiors. She has written for lifestyle magazines for many years, with a particular focus on gardening, historic houses and arts and crafts, but started out her journalism career in BBC radio, where she enjoyed reporting on and writing programme scripts for all manner of stories. Rachel then moved into regional lifestyle magazines, where the topics she wrote about, and people she interviewed, were as varied and eclectic as they were on radio. Always harboring a passion for homes and gardens, she jumped at the opportunity to work on The English Home and The English Garden magazines for a number of years, before joining the Period Living team, then the wider Homes & Gardens team, specializing in gardens.
What must be done with hydrangeas after they bloom in autumn
Hydrangea is the favorite flower of the majority, so finding it in flower beds is a common practice. The popularity of the hydrangea is so great that for many it is not difficult to recognize it among the many plants in the flowerbed, because the incredible beauty of the inflorescence of this beauty is difficult to confuse. The only thing is that differences and some features are possible only by referring to the various types and varieties of plants.
The flowering period is the climax for each flower, therefore it is the most long-awaited.
The beauty and value of hydrangea lies in the fact that it blooms for a very long time, in comparison with other plants. So, you can enjoy the incredible beauty of the inflorescences already at the beginning of summer and this period will last, right up to the first frost. Due to its unconditional duration, it cannot be re-blooming this season. What to do with hydrangea when it has faded, how to properly care for the plant during this period? Let's figure it out, because flowering next year depends on the correct care.
Dealing with faded peduncles
First of all, you need to determine whether your hydrangea blooms on old shoots or not. To understand this is very simple, you just need to follow a certain algorithm of sequential actions:
In the autumn interval of the year, slightly open the bud.
Look closely to see if there is a new inflorescence with new petals. If yes, then we conclude that the laying of new flower buds occurs at the ends of last year's shoots.
Hydrangeas with this feature mainly bloom at the beginning of the summer season, and finish by the middle of it. From this moment, flower buds begin to form in the flower, from which new inflorescences will appear, only next year. Hydrangeas with such features include the following species:
- large-leaved mountain;
- oakleaf;
Hydrangea pruning is also carried out in the summer, when the plant begins to rot, around July. In general, the traditional time for pruning a flower is the interval between the beginning - the middle of spring, gardeners are guided by the swelling of the buds. No pruning is done before the buds begin to appear, because they indicate the location of fresh shoots and will help beginners prune the plant correctly in the future.
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- Cutting steps
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If, for any reason, pruning in mid-July is missed (it is very important to do it in a short period after flowering), postpone it for the next year.
It is not necessary to prune hydrangeas annually, so this will not be a problem. Removing old flowers. Immediately after they wither, cut them carefully with hand shears. Place clamps under the inflorescence at the top of the stem, and so with each. At the same time, you can remove dead or dying shoots by cutting them off at the root.
Removal of the oldest shoots. If the hydrangeas are more than 3 years old, then the splendor of its flowering grows thin over time and you can no longer fully enjoy its beauty. But all this is reversible, it is enough just to cut (reduce) old shoots to a third of their number. To remove thicker shoots, you must equip yourself with a delimbing machine. These stems need to be cut down to soil level.
Trimming a flower to reduce its size. To do this, use the same algorithm of actions as when removing the oldest stems: just cut the branches to a third of the nearest internode. Basically, the growth of hydrangea is rapid, so it will not have a neat shape for long.
This type of pruning does not contribute to the health of the flower, so do it only if the flower takes up too much space. If you are going to plant another hydrangea, then choose a site for it where it can safely grow. Garden pruning of hydrangeas that bloom on the current year's shoots
These types of plants grow new stems every spring, and later, in the summer season, flowers form on them. These varieties bloom later than usual. The formation of a hydrangea bush in paniculate autumn is carried out before the buds appear. Tree hydrangea also blooms on shoots of the current genus. But before you cut the tree hydrangea in the fall, read the following recommendations and rules:
- Is it necessary to prune hydrangea for the winter and when. If you decide to prune the stems in winter, then cut them a third, thus increasing the efficiency of flower formation, so feel free to start breeding in winter.
- If you want strong stems and don't worry about smaller flowers, then prune the flower in the fall.
Shoots that are pruned
Before you form a standard hydrangea or any other, you need to know which shoots you need to cut off and which ones are better not to touch.
Circumcisions include intertwined or dead stems that can no longer be saved. To remove them, ordinary scissors or a delimber are used. Thanks to this, the plant will be released, get better air access and get stronger. You need to leave a couple of supporting branches, as hydrangea flowers are not easy.
For hydrangeas of the first group, a modest, cosmetic pruning is recommended. This anti-aging "haircut" usually involves cutting off last year's inflorescences along the first pair of healthy and strong buds, and is also often used for thinning shrubs. Sometimes, during pruning, the plant is cut to old, exhausted, weakened, poorly overwintered branches, or because of their rare location. Naturally, you can perform a more radical pruning of the first group, during which a significant part of the shrub is removed.
But then you can expect lush flowering only after 14 - 16 months, that is, after a year and a half.
Preparing hydrangeas for winter: the nuances of common species
Hydrangea is a plant that blooms next season on this year's peduncles, so they are recommended, together with the bush, to be carefully protected from winter temperature changes and unforeseen weather manifestations.
Almost all hydrangea shrubs should be covered and wrapped, although there are some nuances. So, the tree-like hydrangea is almost never covered, but only mulched with sawdust, straw or peat. They try to move the large-leaved tree into the house for the winter, transplanting it into pots, if possible, and if not, then you should take care of its safety in the flower bed very carefully.
Hilling helps not only to protect the shrubs from severe frosts, but also to protect them from severe dampening, which also negatively affects the full development of the plant. If large-leaved or paniculate hydrangeas grow in a flower bed, you should not hesitate, but be sure to hill and mulch with a thick layer of shrubs.
Alternatively, you can use needles, rotted manure or peat. If the listed options are not available, then at least abundantly shower the bush and the near-trunk circle with foliage.
Correct hilling technology
Many experienced flower growers claim that the result of wintering depends on the hilling and the correctness of this procedure. Therefore, everything should be done according to the unspoken rules and recommendations.
- Before hilling, try to tilt all shoots as low as possible to the ground, and only then sprinkle liberally with mulch or foliage.
- For greater effect, you can fix the result with a box or some kind of box, which will reliably keep the plant from snowstorms, and will not allow the mulch to change its position or decrease in height.
- If the bush is not small, but quite massive, and it is not rational to tilt it to the ground, then tie it up, creating a semblance of a hut. Between the branches, dry foliage should be plentifully poured to the very top of the "hut".
You should also come up with some kind of shelter, which will be like a “cap” over a connected hydrangea bush. Approximate guidelines - the frame is 10 cm higher from the tips of the shoots. - If severe frosts are forecast, take care of the hydrangea and the shelter should be improved. For this, burlap or double film is suitable.
Shelter for young hydrangea bushes
Young growth, like adult bushes, is subject to weather tests, but the difference is that the shoots are still very fragile and are not able to withstand bad weather on their own. Therefore, absolutely all types of hydrangeas up to three years should be spudded for the winter. The best option would be peat, sawdust or needles, which should be poured in such a way that a layer of at least 20 cm is formed.
Spring awakening
Of course, with the stable April warming, it is necessary to completely get rid of frame shelters, and carefully and evenly distribute the mulch around the trunk circle, thereby creating light protection on dangerous spring days.
It is necessary to take care of the hydrangea after flowering in two directions - to carry out a planned manipulation with the peduncles, and also to prepare well for the winter.
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Proper hydrangea pruning: subtleties and nuances of carrying out
Lush and proud hydrangea, pleasing the eye with its luxurious flowers, can decorate any garden. But in order for the bush to look aesthetic and attractive, it needs periodic pruning.
We will tell you when and how to do it, how spring pruning differs from autumn pruning, and how best to do this procedure in autumn.
Terms and types of hydrangea pruning
Hydrangea pruning is carried out both in spring and autumn. Spring is the time for cardinal haircuts and the formation of a bush. And at the end of the season, when nature falls asleep, and the plants are preparing for winter, there is no need to radically cut hydrangeas.
Now it is important for us to thin out the bush and free it from diseased, dried and improperly growing shoots.
Autumn pruning is carried out late, usually after leaf fall, because in September the plant changes color and is as beautiful and charming as in summer.
There are several types of correct pruning for hydrangeas.
- Traditional annual pruning in order to obtain a stronger and more abundant flowering plant.
- Formative pruning, which allows you to give the bush the desired configuration and optimally position the skeletal branches.
- Sanitary cleaning, which is the removal of old and damaged shoots, dry inflorescences.
- And finally, the rejuvenation of hydrangeas with cardinal pruning, which is carried out on aging or badly damaged bushes.
Autumn pruning of hydrangeas
Although the main part of the work takes place in the spring, pruning of hydrangeas in the autumn is also a must. It is needed in order to divide all the work on the formation and improvement of the plant into two periods.
In this case, the hydrangea will endure the entire procedure safely.
When pruning hydrangeas in autumn, you need to pay attention to old, damaged branches, as well as those that grow inside the shrub. They are removed, but young shoots are not touched in the fall. Also, shoots are cut almost to the ground, which for some reason were broken in the summer.
The air temperature during this period should be plus 5-10 degrees. For different regions, this is the beginning - the end of October.
The further north the region is located, the more gentle pruning of the plant should be in autumn, since hydrangea does not like severe frosts, and shortened branches will be less protected from cold temperatures. This is especially true of large-leaved hydrangea, which is thermophilic. The remaining species are considered relatively frost-resistant.
Important! It is not customary (especially in cold regions) to carry out autumn pruning of the plant for the first three years, since the seedling needs strength to withstand and survive the adverse winter conditions.
During this period, only forced sanitary cleaning is done.
In the southern regions in autumn, you can act more decisively with the expectation of the next year. Experts believe that in warm climates, autumn pruning is even more preferable.
All varieties of hydrangeas have their own specifics for autumn pruning.
Peculiarities of hydrangea pruning by species
All varieties of hydrangeas have their own specifics of autumn pruning.
- Paniculata hydrangea. The shrub blooms on the shoots of the current year, so don't be afraid to accidentally cut off a branch with flower buds. In autumn, you need to remove flower stalks, cut off dry and lodging branches.
- Tree hydrangea. This species also blooms on the current year's shoots. The rules of the autumn haircut coincide with the pruning of the paniculate hydrangea. It is necessary to remove flower stalks, cut out dubious, broken and dry branches.
Let's dwell separately on pruning large-leaved hydrangea.
