As you may already know, there are different cutting groups for hydrangeas. So they are not all cut at the same time and in the same way. However, if you don't know this, you risk doing something wrong, which can also cost you the flowers in the coming season. How exactly should you cut the panicle hydrangeas and what mistakes should you definitely avoid?
Pruning is very important for these shrubs because the flowering depends on them. If cut correctly, you can expect lush, impressive flowers. With our help you will do everything right!
Cut panicle hydrangeas and avoid fatal mistakes
The panicle hydrangea 'Vanille Fraise', 'Sugar Rush', 'Pinky Promise', 'White Lady', 'Lime Light', 'Sundae Fraise' and not forgetting the popular and impressive 'Grandiflora' - they all always find their way into home gardens and are all cut in the same way. Don't do the following wrong:
1. The wrong time: When do you cut hydrangeas of this type?
Always prune panicle hydrangeasback in spring. However, it is also important to choose the right time period. This type of hydrangea blooms from July to September. If the pruning is carried out too late, the flowering period will also be postponed, which is why you can be a little more courageous.
Don't worry about frost as they can tolerate quite a bit of it. It is therefore recommended to cut panicle hydrangeas (Hydrangea paniculata) even at the beginning of February. If you can't do it yet, you still have until the end of the month. The absolute last date, which you should only consider in an emergency, would be mid-March.
Do you have to cut panicle hydrangeas?
In general, for this type of hydrangea, it's not a big deal if you skip the cut once. It will not drastically affect growth and flowering right away.
By the way, you can also shorten a protected panicle hydrangea in autumn.
2. You are afraid of severe pruning
“The hydrangea is so bushy right now. I can’t just cut you off like that, nothing, nothing!” Yes, you can and should! Believe us when we say that you are not doing anything bad to the shrub, but on the contrary. It will sprout again faster than you can see, and even more lushly and with numerous flowers.
And this doesn't reduce the flowers? No, because this type of hydrangea is still forming the flower buds (in contrast, other types lay theBuds appear the previous yearand if you cut them back in the spring you would remove them).
How to cut the panicle hydrangeas correctly:
- Take care of the old flower shoots first.Shorten them boldly and as much as possible. This also has a rejuvenating effect, because if you cut too little, it will have a negative impact on the number of flowers over time. The branches will no longer support as many.
- Orientate yourself on a pair of buds.Think about where you want to shorten each shoot, look for the pair of buds (also called the pair of eyes) that are there and cut off the old shoot above this pair with sharp scissors.
- The following applies:The fewer pairs of eyes left, the stronger the new growth, the more flowers and the larger the flower spikes. However, you should of course not remove all of the buds unless a shoot particularly bothers you and should be removed. Two to three couples can stay on average (more on that below).
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3. Mistake when cutting panicle hydrangeas: It's too radical
Yes, what now? Don't cut too few of the panicle hydrangeas, but don't cut too much either? Exactly, that's the rule. What do we mean by that exactly?
You don't want to affect the natural shape of the plant, which a radical cut would. That's why you can cut a lot, but not everythingradically down to the ground. Are there a few rules you can follow?
How do you prune panicle hydrangeas?
- Weak shootsremove completely.
- Inspect the center of the bush, where the thick, old branches grow from the trunk. Do you notice such an old branch that is actually quite short and only has a few thin shoots growing out of it? This can also be removed.
- Otherwise you canshoots in the middleLeave the plant a little longer and shorten the outer shoots, which are usually younger. Three or four pairs of eyes for the center and one or two pairs for the outer branches would be a good guide.
- Once you have cleaned this out, now comes the next step and this is itThin out. This is important so that enough light gets into the interior of the bush and the inner shoots and leaves can grow well. There should be enough space between the remaining branches. Remember that each pruned shoot will produce two or three new ones. If you don't have enough exposure, it will be pretty tight in there. Start by removing the weak shoots and then anything else that seems too close and crossing each other.
