Hydrangeas are easy-care shrubs that delight us with their beautiful, lush flowers from summer to late autumn (depending on the variety). But should you prune your hydrangea? And if so, when and how much? In this article you will learn everything you need to know about pruning hydrangeas.
Which hydrangea do you have?
Pruning hydrangeas helps the shrub maintain its beautiful shape and bloom year after year. The method and timing of pruningdepend on the type of hydrangea, so it's important to know what type you have. If you prune your hydrangeas at a time of year that is not suitable for them, you may cut off the flower buds that will bloom the following season.
Hydrangeas can be cut when cutdivide into two different groups: Hydrangeas that bloom on annual wood and hydrangeas that bloom on perennial wood that is at least two years old.
Hydrangeas in cutting group 1 – easy pruning after flowering in autumn
Determine if your hydrangea is blooming on old wood. In other words, whether its flowers bloom from the buds laid the previous year. Hydrangeas with this characteristic usually bloom in early summer and die back in mid-summer. At this point, the plant begins to form flower buds that will produce flowers the following year.
To the hydrangeas, theirsFlower buds on biennial woodform, these types include:
- Farm hydrangea(Hydrangea macrophylla)– 'Libelle', 'Deep purple', 'Zorro', 'Caipirinha', 'Everbloom', 'Kanmara', 'Kardinal', 'Avantgarde'
- Oak leaf hydrangea(Hydrangea quercifolia)
- Plate hydrangea(Serrated hydrangea) – 'Preziosa', 'Koreana'
- Samthortensie(Hydrangea aspera) – ‘Hot Chocolate’
- Climbing hydrangea(Hydrangea petiolaris)
Hydrangeas in cutting group 2 – cut back before budding, in spring
These hydrangeas produce new shoots every spring on which flowers appear later in the summer. They bloom later than hydrangeas in cutting group 1 because they need more time for the flower buds to form.
The following types of hydrangeas form theirsflower buds on one-year-old wood:
- Snowball hydrangea(Hydrangea arborescens) ‘Annabelle’ & Hydrangea ‘Strong Annabelle’, ‘Snowball’
- Panicle hydrangea(Hydrangea paniculata) – ‘Kyushu’, ‘Limelight’, ‘Levana’, ‘Pink Lady’, ‘Baby Lace’, ‘Pinky Winky’, ‘Phantom’, ‘Skyfall’ ®, ‘Switch® Ophelia’, ‘Unique’, ‘Vanille Fraise’, ‘Confetti’, ‘Candlelight’, ‘Magical Candle’ ®
- Hydrangea Forever & Ever® (the only Hydrangea macrophylla that flowers on new wood)
- Hortensie Endless Summer® – ‘Summer Love’
Also read:How and when you should prune the viburnum hydrangea
Pruning hydrangeas: when and how much?
It is not compulsory to cut a hydrangea in cutting group 1. So it's not so bad if you don't do it for a few years. The best time for pruning a hydrangea in cutting group 2 is early spring,around mid-March or April. Only the climbing hydrangea should be cut back after flowering in summer. Choosefrost-free weatherso that the cuts can heal well. It is also recommended tothe withered flowers all winter aboveLeave them on the plant as they provide additional protection against night frost. Make sure you always have onesharp secateursuse. This will give you clean cuts from which the plant will recover more quickly.
Cutting group 1: Hydrangeas that bloom on old wood
Hydrangeas that bloom on old wood, like this oneFarm hydrangea(h. macrophylla), dieOak leaf hydrangea(h. quercifolia) and theClimbing hydrangea(h. petiolar) don't actually need any pruning. These hydrangeas should only be cut if the plant has become too large or too wide. You just needthe dried flowersremoved by cutting them below the panicle. If a radical cut is made, oneUnlikely to bloom next year. After winter you can cut frozen shoots back to the ground.
The right time to prune your hydrangea is immediatelyafter the peak of flowering. Because these hydrangea species begin forming flower buds shortly after blooming, in late summer and early fall, it is important to cut them back as soon as the flowers begin to wilt in mid-summer. This allows you to prune the shrub before it begins to produce the flower buds that will become next year's flowers. Simply pinch off the inflorescences about 15 to 20 centimeters below the flower base.
Tipp: If you miss this time, simply postpone pruning until next year. Hydrangeas do not need to be pruned every year, so this is not a problem.
Is your hydrangea too big?or has it become too wide and would you like to make it significantly smaller? Then, after flowering, you can cut off half of the branches in the first year and the other half in the second year. This way you will still have flowers on your shrub both years. You can also cut back the entire plant at once, but then you won't have any flowers next year.
If theHydrangea a few years oldis, it starts to produce fewer flowers. That's why it makes sense to trim the shrub every two to three yearsrejuvenate.You can encourage flower growth by removing up to 1/3 of the oldest shoots. For thicker shoots you will probably need pruning shears. Cut these older shoots back to ground level. The newly formed branches will bloom not in the first year, but in subsequent years.
Tipp: The garden hydrangea Hydrangea macrophylla is the variety whose buds are most damaged by frost. If you tie the branches together and wrap them with burlap, the plant can survive the winter well. Remove the burlap when the buds begin to swell.
Cutting group 2: Hydrangeas that bloom on new wood
Hydrangeas that bloom on new wood, like this oneSnowball Hydrangea 'Annabelle'(h. arborescens)and thePanicle hydrangea(h. paniculate), are very easy to cut because they sprout new buds after pruning in spring. They even tolerate radical pruning quite well.
If you want to cut your Group 2 hydrangea, you should use oneTime before sproutingchoose, i.e. at the end of February or March. Do you want a nice compact plant? Cut all shoots to 20 – 30 cm above the ground. Do you want the plant to grow a little bigger? Then just cutthe dried flowersab.
The viburnum hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens) produces much larger flowers when pruned heavily to the ground each year, but many gardeners opt for smaller flowers on sturdier stems. In such cases, pruning should be done in autumn so that the plants can develop strong shoots before flowering. A slight pruning isalso possible at other times of the year, except for the period just before flowering in spring and early summer.
The branches of some hydrangeas often fall under theweight of their flowersaround, especially after heavy rain. One way to prevent this tipping over is to cut the trunks back to a height of 45 to 60 centimeters to create a stable framework for the new growth.
Cutting hydrangeas: summary
In general, shouldVarieties that bloom on old wood, immediately after floweringbe cut. Those whoon the new woodbloom, shouldbefore new growth begins in springbe cut. When doing a routine pruning, always remove dead, damaged or dead ones firstsick shoots. When shortening shoots, cut back to just above a pair of healthy buds. Frozen shoots can be cut back to living wood after winter.
Also interesting:Pruning panicle hydrangeas: 3 mistakes to avoid
