To rejuvenate the hydrangea, remove up to 1/3 of the older living stems down to the ground each summer. This will revitalize the plant. If necessary to control the size of the plant, cut back before late July to allow for buds to develop. Usually the plant will return immediately to its former size.
Pruning Mature Hydrangeas
Remove any stems that are dead or crossing. Cut stems as close to the ground as possible. Only cut what you have to, or you might be cutting down your blooms. Don't remove more than ⅓ of the stems during a single season.
The first and only of its kind, Invincibelle Wee White® smooth hydrangea is the only dwarf 'Annabelle' hydrangea around. It's the smallest smooth hydrangea available! Growing to be 1-2.5′ tall and wide, this is one small hydrangea. Thanks to its small size, we've found it to be an incredibly versatile choice.
Hydrangea macrophylla, big leaf hydrangea
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).
Hydrangeas do not require strict reqular pruning; simply keep them healthy by removing dead wood and they will grow and flower well.
To rejuvenate the hydrangea, remove up to 1/3 of the older living stems down to the ground each summer. This will revitalize the plant. If necessary to control the size of the plant, cut back before late July to allow for buds to develop. Usually the plant will return immediately to its former size.
So the bottom line is that if a hydrangea is too large for the location where it has been growing, the best thing would be to move it and plant a smaller variety in that spot.
Hydrangeas are long-lived shrubs, sometimes living for up to 50 years if properly cared for. They enjoy morning sun but afternoon shade, and they need frequent watering during the growing season. Prune them in the fall after the blooms fade so they can grow on strong stems the following summer.
Pruning is an important part of caring for Endless Summer hydrangeas. Pruning helps to maintain the size and shape of the shrub, as well as encourages new growth and blooms. The best time to prune these plants is in late summer when they are done flowering.
In addition to encouraging hydrangeas to produce more flowers, pruning these shrubs each year helps keep them healthy if they get damaged by weather and allows you to shape them however you like.
The best remedy for a Hydrangea receiving too much sun is to transplant it to a more suitable, shadier location. If your area does not have such a location, then you might want to consider a different variety of Hydrangea that does well in heavier sun.
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.
To reduce the size of a hydrangea that blooms on new wood, cut off about one-third of each stem in late fall or early spring before it begins to leaf out. If your hydrangea blooms on old wood, prune right after it has bloomed when the flowers are fading.
So, in October or November, simply cut all branches back to about 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 cm) from the top of the trunk. Once you've gotten your hydrangea tree back into a more winter-resistant shape, start pruning early in the spring rather than the fall.
Hydrangea size
Some only grow to about 2 to 3 feet tall and wide, while others grow up to 6 feet tall with a 6 foot spread. Smaller hydrangea varieties are perfect for compact garden beds, patio pots and areas with limited space.
As rapid growers—averaging about 2 feet of growth per year—larger varieties of hydrangeas can reach up to 15 feet tall. Applicable in growing zones 3 to 9, hydrangeas are a low maintenance plant that will return year after year with proper care.
Sometimes bigleaf hydrangeas become overgrown and need to be trimmed. However, too much pruning will greatly reduce or eliminate flowering. In late summer, after the bloom period, dried flowers can be removed.
Generally, it is safe to prune as much as one-third off of your hydrangea that blooms on new wood.
Bigleaf hydrangeas actually do fairly well without any pruning at all, but if necessary to control its shape or size, do the pruning carefully just after the flowers have faded, never removing more than one-third of their total growth.
Some gardeners report success in turning their hydrangeas blue by applying coffee grounds to the soil. The coffee grounds make the soil more acidic, allowing the hydrangea to more easily absorb aluminum. In addition, fruit peels, lawn clippings, peat moss and pine needles, are thought to have a similar effect.
While some plants bloom on new growth, others primarily set flower buds on old wood. Regardless, it is best to wait to prune all hydrangeas until spring. In the fall, hydrangeas (and all trees and shrubs) are in the process of going dormant. They do not produce very much new growth until the following spring.
However, stop deadheading hydrangea shrubs in mid to late fall, leaving any spent blooms in place. This not only provides winter interest, but also ensures you don't remove the buds that will become flowers next spring.