How to Prune Hydrangeas
Time
Budget
Skill
★Whether you plant them or pot them, hydrangeas are a beautiful flower for any yard. Once you choose the color and variety of your hydrangeas and plant them, you will need to do some light pruning to keep it looking fabulous. Need to know when and how much? We have the answers for you.
Greenprint courtesy of NCNLA member, Mitchell’s Nursery.
Tools
Bucket
Hand Pruners
Determine the variety of Hydrangea that you will be pruning.
You will want to prune in the very late fall or even in the winter.
If you wait until early spring to do any pruning, try not to cut off the new growth, as this may affect the number of blooms you have.
Be sure your pruning shears are clean and sharp – skipping this step could prove fatal to your plant with the possibility of spreading disease.
Prune the stems back by about one third.
Remove any dead wood that you find on your hydrangea.
Be sure to fertilize your hydrangea in the spring (a slow release fertilizer works best).
If your hydrangea is in a pot, you may want to put off the fertilizer until you see that it is coming out of dormancy, at the first sign of new growth.
- Hydrangeas can give you years of beauty if they are properly cared for. Pruning is needed to keep the plants healthy and beautiful all season.
- When choosing your fertilizer, be sure to use one that is all purpose or specifically for hydrangeas.
- Take care not to cut away too much of the plant as it will take an extra growing season sometimes to get your blooms back.