Mophead hydrangeas and lacecap hydrangeas, commonly known as bigleaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla), are pruned using the same technique.
With its broad, roundish heads of huge petals in colours of blue, pink, green, and white, mophead hydrangeas are a popular choice for gardens. They are therefore a popular shrub option for cottage garden ideas and are also effective shade-giving bushes.
Small blooms in the center of the bloom and a border of bigger petals on the outside help identify lacecap hydrangeas.
The experts at Thompson & Morgan suggest that in order to winterize hydrangeas, “it’s better to leave the faded blooms in place over the winter to safeguard vulnerable new buds from frost damage.”
Early in the spring, while pruning lacecaps and mophead hydrangeas:
- To promote new growth that will produce better blooms, remove one or two of the plant’s oldest, weakest stems at the base.
- Just above a pair of buds, carefully remove any old flowerheads using secateurs.
- Don’t remove any of the blossom buds, please.
- Cut the stems down to the plant’s root system if the bigleaf hydrangea shrub has been neglected and has a lot of overlapping, tangled branches. The hydrangea won’t blossom until the next year, though.
Mophead hydrangeas should be deadheaded, right?
To keep your hydrangeas looking their best and promote the development of new flowers, deadhead regularly during the blooming season.
But in mid- to late-fall, stop deadheading hydrangea shrubs, leaving any spent blooms in situ. This not only adds beauty to the winter landscape but also guarantees that the buds that will bloom the following spring are not removed.
When should hydrangeas be pruned?
Depending on which group the plant belongs to, the timing and extent of pruning are determined:
Advice on Pruning for Group 1:
- As the days get shorter and the weather gets colder in the late summer and fall, buds for the following year’s blooms start to form.
- Typically, removing dead, diseased, or damaged branches is all that is required to preserve shape, size, and a healthy plant. Otherwise, gentle pruning ought to be practiced.
- In the summer, trimming should begin as soon as flowering ends, but no later than August 1. Pruning should not be done in the fall, winter, or spring because you risk removing fresh buds.
- Tip-pruning the branches in the spring as the leaves begin to appear can promote more numerous, smaller flower heads as opposed to fewer, larger flower heads.
Advice on Pruning for Group 2:
- On the growth of the current year, flower buds form.
- Early in the spring, as the leaves are starting to emerge, prune.
- Just above a node, prune branches back by half to a third.
- After that, prune any fragile or spindly branches.
- Minimal trimming encourages huge, strong bushes with many of tiny flower heads in H. arborescens. Hard pruning between 12 and 18 inches from the ground, or even all the way down, will result in fewer but larger flower heads that may flop if unsupported.
- For H. paniculata, remove the surrounding smaller wood while leaving the larger stems in order to establish a sturdy foundation.
Pruning may be connected to flower head size. Shoots will grow more vigorously and flower heads will be bigger and fewer with more rigorous trimming. Smaller but more numerous flower heads may result from less aggressive or tip pruning.
Consideration of hydrangeas’ mature size is the best piece of advise. Place them in a location where they won’t outgrow and won’t need a lot of pruning to keep them in check. Hydrangeas don’t need to be pruned precisely or often; as long as dead wood is removed, they will remain healthy and continue to develop and bloom.
What time should I trim my mophead?
Determine the type of hydrangea you have before you begin pruning. The blossoms from the following year could be lost if you prune at the incorrect time! See our suggestions and hydrangea pruning schedules by variety.
Pruning at the incorrect time is one of the most frequent causes of hydrangeas not flowering. For guidance on when to prune your garden’s hydrangeas, refer to the chart below. While some varieties should be left alone until after their summer bloom, others should be clipped in the late winter.
Photos and Tips by Hydrangea Variety
Bigleaf or macrophylla hydrangeas, such as mophead and lacecap hydrangeas, can both be pruned immediately following flowering by pruning back the flowering shoots to the next bud. Cut up to a third of the stems off at the base of older plants in late summer if they aren’t blooming well to promote new growth.
Bigleaf Hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla)
Both fresh and old wood can support several hydrangea hybrids. My hardy from zones 4 to 9 mophead hydrangea, “Endless Summer,” has the great property of blooming on both old and new wood. Hydrangeas from Endless Summer do best in early light and afternoon shade. Since they bloom on both old and new growth, Endless Summer Hydrangea don’t require pruning; however, if you do need to cut back, do it right away after flowering. In the spring, merely remove the dead stems.
My other blue hydrangea is a lacecap variety called “Let’s Dance Starlight,” but it bears a flat blossom made up of numerous small, fertile flowers surrounded by a few showy, sterile blossoms as opposed to the enormous, mophead-type flower cluster that “Endless Summer” possesses. It blooms on both old and young wood and is hardy from Zones 5 to 9. Pruning is typically not necessary, however it can be lightly clipped after the first flowering, similar to Endless Summer.
Panicle Hydrangeas (H. paniculata)
The panicle-type hydrangeas are those that are cultivated most frequently in cooler locations since they are not only lovely but also highly hardy, easily surviving winters in Zone 3. The “Grandiflora,” commonly known as the Pee Gee hydrangea, is one of the most enduring and dependable favorites. It was the first cultivar of Asian hydrangea to be brought to the United States, in 1862. It is native to China and Japan. They enjoyed great popularity in the Victorian era. The flowers are initially creamy white and mature to a rosy pink. They can be dried, and a winter arrangement with them looks great. Here is information on drying these beautiful hydrangeas.
There are numerous varieties of panicles available. One of them is called “Pinky Winky,” and it has long, cone-shaped white and pink flowers. Another is called “Vanilla Strawberry,” and it has panicles that are white at the tip, pink in the middle, and red at the base. Try “Limelight,” which features chartreuse blossoms that gradually turn pink in the fall, for something new.
Hydrangeas with a panicle-like shape need to be clipped in late winter to prevent overgrowth.
Smooth Hydrangeas (H. arborescens)
Native to North America, smooth hydrangeas were first discovered growing freely in Pennsylvania. They tolerate light shade, start blooming in June, and keep blooming until the end of the growing season. They have spherical, white blossoms that can grow to be 12 inches in diameter.
Popular cultivar “Annabelle” can be used to brighten a dim road or as a mass planting at the edge of a forest because it grows to a height of 3 to 5 feet. Zone 3 is its hardiness zone.
Oakleaf Hydrangeas (H. quercifolia)
Another indigenous plant to North America is the oak-leaf hydrangea, which was first found in Georgia in 1773.
Although it enjoys full sun, swamp snowball is hardy to zone 5 and may tolerate light shade while still blooming. It starts to bloom in August, a little later than the other hydrangeas. It produces enormous panicles of blooms that emerge white and mature to a dark pink color. The deeply lobed leaves, which resemble an oak leaf, turn a deep crimson scarlet in the fall.
Although oak-leaf hydrangeas don’t require much pruning, you can tidy them up by removing the dead stems at the base in the early spring.
Learn More
Our page on All Hydrangea Varieties (with photographs!) will help you identify your hydrangea if you’re still confused.
For all your queries about planting, growing, and trimming hydrangeas, feel free to use our free comprehensive guide!
What happens to hydrangeas if I don’t deadhead them?
Deadheading too-tall hydrangeas can occasionally be challenging. Your other option is to keep them on if you don’t have the skills to reach spent flowers or all of the spent blooms. And you can do that without suffering too much harm.
Simply omit deadheading hydrangeas, and your plant won’t suffer. At least nothing major enough to need worrying about.
Your hydrangea might not produce as many or as large of blooms as it would have if the spent blooms had been removed. It will nevertheless continue to bloom.
Having said that, you can think about pruning hydrangeas that have gotten too tall in order to make them smaller and easier to handle.
This will make it simpler for you to maintain the tidy appearance of your hydrangeas. Additionally, it will make it simpler to remove spent blooms from plants and promote future blooms with greater vigor.
What occurs if hydrangeas are not pruned?
If and when you prune is the key to happy, healthy hydrangea flowers. Of course, fertilizing and offering the ideal environment have a lot to recommend them. However, if you don’t prune properly, your efforts will be in vain. Deadheading is not the same as trimming. Pruning refers to more drastic cutting to preserve shape or remove dead growth. However, feel free to discard spent blossoms or cut fresh ones to use in arrangements.
Hydrangeas can bloom on either fresh wood or old wood, depending on the species. The wood from which they blossom determines whether and when to prune.
Old wood-blooming hydrangeas do not require pruning and benefit from it. They’ll blossom more abundantly the next season if you leave them alone. But feel free to deadhead or gently thin. Just keep in mind that while new growth may appear, it won’t bloom until the following season. In our region, four different species blossom on aged wood. Additionally, they are not limited to the hues displayed here.
Climb using suckers. On your wall or trellis, resist the desire to remove the dormant growth.
The flower heads are more conical in appearance, and the leaves are large and resemble oak leaves. It’s a pleasant surprise for a hydrangea when its leaves turn reddish-orange in the fall.
They are very comparable to lacecap types, but smaller and with more compact leaves.
Pruning should be done in late winter or early spring on hydrangeas that bloom on new wood. Trim back to two feet to prune to shape. The next season’s blossoms are produced by strong, fresh growth that is encouraged by trimming. In our region, there are two types that bloom on fresh wood. They are also not restricted to the colors displayed.
Oakleaf variants are not included in cone-shaped blooms. Keep the blooms on throughout the winter to provide interest; even dried out, they are quite lovely.
regarded as a wild kind. They often have smaller blooms and leaves than Bigleaf variants and are completely white. They enjoy full sun and can grow very tall.
Knowing whether or when to prune now will help you avoid the disappointment of a hydrangea that doesn’t blossom. Don’t forget that a robust shrub will produce more gorgeous blossoms if it has well-draining soil and good organic fertilizer. Come on in, and we’ll show you where to go to develop your green thumb.
Do you need to remove withered hydrangea blooms?
When should I prune my hydrangeas? is one of the most often asked gardening topics. We all have a tendency to want to hurry outside with the clippers and start hacking away when those billowy large flowers change from cheerful blues, purples, pinks, reds, and whites to uninteresting browns.
When to Cut Back Hydrangeas
The timing will vary according on the variety of hydrangea you have. First of all, be aware that hydrangeas do not require pruning unless the shrub has become unruly or too big for its location and requires some shaping up. Otherwise, simply deadhead wasted blooms and remove any dead branches from the plant.
How to Prune Hydrangeas02:07
But if you do decide to prune one, bear in mind to time it so that it blooms on old wood or new wood depending on the species of hydrangea you have.
If you wait too long, you can chop off the buds that are developing on old wood (stems from the year before the current summer), which would prevent flowers from blooming the following spring. Therefore, as soon as the flowers on these bushes have faded, they should be clipped.
The shrub should be clipped in the early spring before that new growth appears, but, if the shrub flowers on fresh wood (stems generated during the current season), which means that its buds are set inside the season.
Do I need to remove the Brown hydrangea leaves?
If newly emerging hydrangea leaves or flower buds are exposed to a late-spring frost or chilly winds, they will turn brown. A unexpected cold spell can harm the newly emerging buds and leaves, which are exceptionally delicate and susceptible to injury. This can cause the buds to turn brown and wither away.
Naturally, hydrangeas grow in protected regions under trees that block chilly winds and produce a more stable microclimate that allows the young flowers to open up without facing a serious risk of frost.
Hydrangeas’ newly formed buds and leaves can become mushy and their leaves can turn brown when they sustain frost damage.
Since it is more exposed to the environment, the outermost growth is typically the one that suffers from the worst damage.
Sadly, the harmed flower buds are therefore unable to bloom, and the freshly growing growth is probably not going to recover.
Frost damage to hydrangea flower buds and foliage is more common in exposed areas, so plant or move your hydrangea to a more protected area of the garden, close to your house, or close to some other plants and hedges.
Particularly hedgerows are great wind breakers since they shield your hydrangea from the elements and might lessen the effects of frost.
There isn’t much you can do to save flower buds or younger leaves after they turn brown. As a result, prune back to healthy growth any growth that has been harmed by the frost.
In contrast to the flower buds on the plant’s outermost part, which are naturally less protected, hydrangeas frequently have growing flower buds farther down each branch. These flower buds typically survive a frost.
This implies that your hydrangea can still bloom, but much later and with fewer flowers emerging. With a little patience, you should still be able to enjoy some lovely blooms throughout the Summer.