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.
No need to prune.
Leaving the old flower heads on the plants will also add some interest to the winter landscape. It's best to save hydrangea pruning chores until spring or summer after plants bloom (don't worry, the new growth will soon hide any dead stems from the following year).
"If you want a longer stem, you can make a deeper cut as long as it is done before July or August when the plant begins forming buds for next year's flowers," she says. For smooth hydrangeas, remove the spent flowers as soon as they fade to green to ensure a second flush of smaller blooms in the fall.
Hydrangeas that bloom on new wood require pruning in late winter or early spring. Prune to shape, cutting back to about two feet. The pruning promotes new, sturdy growth, which provides the blooms next season.
Without going through the deadheading process, hydrangeas will not produce as many flowers and the few produced may not grow as big to their full potential.
6. What to do if your hydrangeas have brown flowers? Clip those toasted blooms off, snipping just under the browned flower. Removing browned petals improves the look of the plant and for re-blooming varieties helps to promote the production of more flowers.
To deadhead your hydrangeas, simply take each spent bloom and follow its stem down to the next set of large leaves – that's where you make the cut.
Keep Them Cozy. Whether or not hydrangeas need protection depends on how cold the winter temperatures drop. If the air temperature doesn't go below 0 degrees (zone 7) there is no need for winter protection. In colder climates, wrap or completely cover marginally hardy hydrangeas.
During the winter, make a DIY A-frame wire cage out of burlap and chicken wire to protect your hydrangea plant. This cage will protect it from winter winds, heavy snowfall, and cold temperatures.
If your hydrangea blooms are turning brown too soon and quickly petering out, they likely need more water. Ditto if your flowers wilt during the day and don't bounce back at night. To confirm, look for brown spots on leaf edges. To fix, deeply water hydrangeas once a week.
Frigid winter temperatures, as well as winter winds, can cause winter kill on hydrangeas. The low winter temperatures can kill the plant, or they might die because of drying out caused by winds.
Know when they're beyond repair.
If you catch and treat your hydrangeas when their blooms first start turning brown, Myers says there's a good chance you'll be able to turn them around (as long as it's not due to weather damage). "However, once they turn fully brown, there's not much you can do," she says.
Hydrangeas that bloom on new wood can be safely pruned in late fall once the plants have gone dormant or in early spring. Next year's flower buds won't be formed until late spring the same year they bloom, so there is no risk of removing the buds if you prune in fall or spring.
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.
With their vibrant, plump blooms, hydrangeas offer a striking display in the warm weather - but what do they look like in the winter? As the delicate petals fade in the colder months, bright hydrangeas can quickly appear dry and brown - requiring targeted care to get them flowering again in April.
Hydrangeas are hardy, but if left in a pot over winter, it will be much colder than if left in the ground. The roots are much more vulnerable to freeze-thaw cycles if the hydrangea is planted in a pot. Pots can be brought inside during the winter, and then brought back outside in the spring and summer.
The primary reasons hydrangeas don't bloom are incorrect pruning, bud damage due to winter and/or early spring weather, location and too much fertilizer.
Hydrangeas Are Great Container Plants
Potted hydrangeas are great alternatives if you only have areas where they are unlikely to grow well in the garden due to extreme cold or heat. Hydrangeas generally grow in USDA Zones 3-9, but in either extreme, they are unlikely to do very well. That's where containers come in.
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.
Timing depends on the type of hydrangea you have, and there are many. First, know hydrangeas do not have to be pruned — unless the shrub has grown too large for its space or unruly and needs a little shaping up. Otherwise, you can simply clean up the plant by removing dead branches and deadheading spent blooms.
Flower buds form on current year's growth. Prune in early spring, just as leaves are beginning to show. Cut branches back by one-half to one-third, cutting just above a node. Next, remove any weak or spindly branches.