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.
Pruning Hydrangeas is essential in allowing it to keep producing those large balls of flowers. Hydrangeas should be pruned and cut back from late February to early March when it starts to show new growth. The old Hydrangea seed heads should then be cut back, along with any dead or crossing stems. A percentage of old gr.
The best (and easiest) time to prune hydrangeas is in the spring, just as you can see the new leaf buds forming. This makes it really easy to choose the best place for each cut. You can prune right back to just above the lowest new buds and keep the hydrangea under control that way.
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. Regular pruning of hydrangeas helps to maintain their shape and also encourages new growth and a better display of blooms.
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.
If you like the look of dried flower heads in your garden in the wintertime, leave them on and prune them in spring. If you live someplace where there is a heavy snow load or if you prefer a tidier look in winter, prune them in late fall to early winter.
New Wood Bloomers
These are the hydrangeas that set flower buds on current season wood (new wood). It is easy to grow these hydrangeas because they bloom every year regardless of how they are cared for or treated. They can be pruned to the ground in the fall and they will emerge in the spring with bountiful blooms.
Hydrangeas should never be pruned in the fall. "Hydrangeas set flower buds for the following season in the fall, so if you cut it back, you are cutting off all of the blooms," says McEnaney.
If you prune them before they flower, you will be removing the flower buds. Many newer varieties actually produce buds on old and new wood, so pruning too early doesn't stop the whole show, just a good portion of it. But if your hydrangea isn't blooming, poorly timed pruning is often the culprit.
If you pruned your hydrangea in the spring and it did not flower that summer, then it's likely one that blooms on old wood, and spring pruning would have removed the buds. If you prune your hydrangea hard in the spring, and it still blooms that year, then it blooms on new wood.
Hydrangeas bloom from spring into early fall. Some hydrangea blooms change color as they fade, creating plenty of interest well into fall and winter. To ensure you have dried blooms for the winter garden, stop pruning fading blooms in July or August before the production of new blooms begins to decrease.
Most hydrangeas are pruned in spring, between February and April. Leaving their flower heads on over winter helps protect the stems and buds from frost. Climbing hydrangeas are the exception to this rule – they are pruned in summer, after flowering.
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.
While most common hydrangea plants need some shade, especially in warmer growing zones, panicle Hydrangeas (Hydrangea paniculata) like Fire Light®, Limelight, Pinky Winky®, Strawberry Sundae®, and Vanilla Strawberry® can thrive in full sun.
The summer months require no pruning for your hydrangeas, but they will eventually require you to deadhead. As the summer progresses, your hydrangea blooms will start to fade. Once this happens, feel free to remove the spent blooms by using a process called deadheading.
The 1/3 rule involves cutting about 1/3 of wood during any pruning activity. This kind of moderate pruning is like giving your shrubs a good balance – it thins them out a bit and encourages new growth.
Cut out dead or weak stems in late winter or early spring (check for brown stems under the bark to make sure you aren't removing live branches). Remove old flowering stems as soon as the blooms fade in summer, says Becker. Trim stems by one-third just before September to manage the size of the plant.
Multiply the number of bold, bright blooms on your woody hydrangea shrubs by making sure your plants have the right amount of sunlight and soil, a fertilizer designed to increase bloom quantity, and a pruning and deadheading routine that keeps them flowering all season long.
For mop-head hydrangea, spring is the best time to deadhead your hydrangea, while lacecap hydrangea can be deadheaded at the end of summer, when the blooms are spent, Singleton says. But keep in mind that deadheading isn't necessary for your hydrangea plant's health.
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.