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!
When should mophead hydrangeas be pruned?
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.
Where should a mophead hydrangea be pruned?
What kind of gardener someone is depends on a variety of factors. We all have different cleaning habits. Some of us prefer to clean up in the spring, while others prefer to clean up in the fall. It’s the ideal time to break out your pruners and get to work if you like to prune in the spring. Hydrangea macrophylla is one of the plants that is frequently clipped at this time of year.
Whenever you prune hydrangeas, keep the following goals in mind:
- removing the previous season’s spent blossoms.
- Elimination of dead wood.
- removing some of the shrub’s leaves will help: older-than-three-year-old stems; large, intricate branches; Branches that cross in the middle and frequently rub against good stems; roots and stems that extend horizontally along the ground, enlarging the plant’s overall size.
- forming the shrub into a spherical, symmetrical, and natural-looking shape.
Take these actions:
- Look at the plant’s overall size and shape for a moment. Is it too big for the room it’s in? In foundation plantings, hydrangeas typically “Over time, consume the lawn. Instead of cutting the plant back to an unnatural shape, think about enlarging the bed to fit the mature growth of the plants. In “Nikko Blue” Particularly hydrangeas have a propensity to grow quite tall and wide, blocking windows and pressing up against home siding tiles. If you are struggling with enormous plants, think about replacing them with a smaller variety because it is impossible to keep a “Nikko Blue” Hydrangea from blooming every year and shorter than 4 feet.
- From the stem tips, remove all of the spent blooms. Always make pruning cuts slightly above a healthy cluster of buds. It is not necessary to “If there are no faded blooms to remove, tip branches. The plant’s topmost buds that overwinter have the ability to bloom. The plant could not flower at all if too much of the plant is removed.
- Remove all stems that are damaged or dead. Wherever feasible, it is desirable to entirely remove dead stems from the ground.
- Using the tips above, take away about a third of the stems’ total mass. As a result, the center of the plant receives more sunlight and air circulation, promoting the production of flower buds and vigorous new growth from the base.
- If you must, trim the shrub to get it below a window or railing no more than a few feet from the top. Remember that by the middle of the summer, the plant will swiftly revert to its normal size.
- Take a step back and evaluate your efforts. Finalize your cuts so that the bush is rounded and balanced.
How is a mophead pruned?
First and first, it’s crucial to understand that mophead hydrangeas never need to be cut back, unless they are quite old. The only pruning necessary for the plant’s health is the removal of dead stems, which can be done whenever you like. Additionally, dead blooms can always be removed.
However, if your hydrangea is getting much too big (or old) and has to be pruned, utilize one of the techniques listed below.
If you have mophead or lacecap hydrangeas (the only varieties that are often blue or pink) or oakleaf hydrangeas, use Method One (leaves shaped like large oak leaves, white blooms).
If you have paniculatas (PeeGees) or “Annabelle,” use Method Two (arborescens). PeeGee and smooth hydrangeas have white blooms.
How is a mophead hydrangea cared for?
Mophead hydrangeas are easy to grow and don’t require much skill. As long as they are planted in the right locations, these shrubs thrive with little upkeep. If you plant mophead hydrangeas in USDA plant hardiness zones 5 through 9, caring for them will be the simplest. They thrive in full sun in temperate climates, but in areas with hotter summers, choose a location with afternoon shade.
There are only a few key elements to keep in mind if you’re looking for advice on how to grow a mophead hydrangea.
Include routine irrigation with your shrub installation. Their water requirements decrease as their root systems mature. Typically, you only need to water during extended dry spells of more than a week. However, you might need to water more frequently if you’re growing mophead hydrangea in direct sunlight. You can use less water when irrigating once the summer heat has passed.
Pruning is not always necessary for mophead hydrangea maintenance. If you do want to prune your hydrangea, do it immediately following the shrub’s flowering season.
On aged wood, do mophead hydrangeas bloom?
The variety that forms buds on “aged wood” is the one that is most frequently discovered in gardens. This comprises varieties of Mophead, Big Leaf, and Lacecap hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla), as well as the Oakleaf variety (H. quercifolia). On aged wood, they all create blossoms.
Which hydrangeas ought to be left unpruned?
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 pruning. 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 bloom on old 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.
Cut back these shrubs in late winter before new growth begins
Shrubs that flower on young wood typically start blooming later than old-growth bloomers, beginning in June and continuing until the first frost, because they need to grow and set buds the same year that they bloom. As long as you avoid trimming when the flower buds are opening, these shrubs are understanding if it is not done at a specific period.
1. Trim the flowers all the way back for larger blooms.
These bushes can be completely removed from the ground in late winter or the beginning of spring. If cut severely like this every year, smooth hydrangeas will produce much larger flowers, but many gardeners prefer smaller blooms on stronger stems.
2. Maintain an old growth foundation to lessen flopping
Especially after watering from above or after a heavy storm, the branches of some hydrangeas frequently topple over from the weight of their blooms. Cutting the stems to a height of 18 to 24 inches will help to reduce this flopping by creating a strong framework for fresh growth.
Janet Carson is the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service’s horticulture specialist.
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