So, while fresh flowers have a particular type of loveliness, in some ways hydrangeas improve when Autumn throws a restraining hand on the foliage, adding pink, purple and yellow where there was only green. The flowers both brighten and fade, losing some of their stiffness and gaining a more soulful air.
Mophead hydrangeas look lovely in the fall when their blue, purple and pink flowers contrast with the fall foliage. Brown flowers can be snipped off if they annoy you, but you don't have to remove them. Look for flowers like this to dry or for making Hydrangea Wreaths.
As to when hydrangeas bloom, the simple answer is that a usually a hydrangea flowers from mid-spring through the late summer or early fall.
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.
Unfortunately, their beauty doesn't last all year. Once the flowers and foliage die back in fall, you'll need to head out into the garden for your annual hydrangea maintenance session. These tasks are vital to keeping your plants looking great and ensuring they come back even stronger the following year.
But when to prune them? Prune fall blooming hydrangeas, or old wood bloomers, after they bloom in the summer. If you prune old wooded hydrangeas in fall, you are cutting off next seasons blooms. Summer blooming hydrangeas, or those that bloom on new wood, are pruned in the fall, after they stop blooming.
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.
During the winter months, most of the blooms fall from the plant and whatever is left often turns dry and brown. The cold winter weather can leave the remaining foliage and buds of hydrangeas dead and damaged - but what's the most likely cause?
As the season progresses, the flowers deepen their pink finally turning red in the fall.
Learn how to grow hydrangeas and, from July into October, you can enjoy these shrubby stalwarts adorned with generous blooms in shades of cream, lime, pink, or blue.
"Stop deadheading in the fall, when bigleaf hydrangeas produce their last flush of flowers, to enjoy the dried blooms throughout the winter," she says. "These can be removed to help produce healthy buds in the spring."
Some introductions such as the Forever and Ever series or the well known Endless Summer family bloom both on old wood and new wood. The spring flowers occur on the prior year's old wood, while the fall flowers occur on the plant's current-season new-wood growth.
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.
Brown, tan, yellowish or black spots on hydrangea leaves may be anthracnose. You can also identify it by cankers that form on stems and branches. Anthracnose can be fatal to hydrangeas, so prune out dead or diseased plant parts and destroy them.
If you're looking for hydrangeas that are going to continue producing large, fluffy blooms even once the weather starts to cool, Justin Hancock, a Monrovia horticultural craftsman, says you'll want to look at Hydrangea paniculata varieties like 'Limelight' and 'Candy Apple,' which bloom in the summer and continue ...
Quick Fire® Hardy Hydrangea: This Paniculata actually starts blooming a month earlier than her brethren…but will continue to bloom into the fall. Her blooms start out white, but turn to dark pink as time marches on. She'll grow to be about 6'-8' tall and wide.
They are not winter flowers. Hydrangeas primarily bloom during the summer months. A few varieties of Hydrangeas may bloom in spring or late summer, depending on the climate. Although Hydrangeas do not bloom in winter, you still want to care for them over the winter months, especially in cold climates.
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.
In order to figure out how much water your new hydrangea needs, start by watering it two-three times per week (less in spring and fall and more in summer) and checking the soil in between waterings. Use your finger to feel into the soil around the base of the plant and check for dryness.
Hydrangeas do not require strict reqular pruning; simply keep them healthy by removing dead wood and they will grow and flower well.
Wrap with winter protection.
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.
In late winter or early spring, these shrubs can be cut all the way back to the ground. Smooth hydrangeas will produce much larger blooms if pruned hard like this each year, but many gardeners opt for smaller blooms on sturdier stems.
Bottom-line: Panicle-type hydrangeas should be pruned in late winter or early spring. While they could be pruned in fall, we highly advise waiting until late winter/early spring to reduce risk of injury.