Pruning Hydrangeas
Hydrangea Care Late Winter
Are you as anxious to get outside as I am? Especially to engage in some late winter hydrangea care? Despite my itchy fingers, I know I am in the HYDRANGEA DANGER ZONE™ (HDZ). Doing the wrong thing at the wrong time can rob me of my flowers for the season if I’m not careful. So…
Read MoreHYDRANGEA PRUNING
My apologies for being absent for so long. I have been working on a new hydrangea book about pruning to the exclusion of just about everything else. But I am seeing lots of questions in a variety of formats asking about hydrangea pruning. Clearly, it’s time to open the hydrangea pruning discussion for 2021.
Read MorePRUNING YOUR HYDRANGEAS
If your hydrangeas live in the milder parts of the U.S. and Europe, and the spirit moves you, you can consider pruning only your new wood blooming hydrangeas now. It’s hard to conceive of that when you live where I do. Last March we had 3 Nor’easters. Not only did they bury everything, but the…
Read MoreHydrangea Care For July – Part Two
Hard to believe we are past mid-July – already! NOW is the time to deal with the last bit of mid-season hydrangea care for July, ideally by August 1. JULY HYDRANGEA CARE: PINCH PRUNE Hydrangea care in July involves “pinch pruning” any of your hydrangeas that flower on old wood. What’s the science behind this?…
Read MorePruning Your Old Wood Hydrangeas
Pruning your old wood hydrangeas may be possible now. But not all of them which is a source of much confusion.Which ones should you examine for this task? Your old wood plants include big leaf hydrangeas (macrophylla), mountain hydrangeas (serrata), oak leaf hydrangeas (quercifolia), and climbing hydrangeas (petiolaris). Even if your plant is a rebloomer…
Read MoreHydrangea Pruning: ‘Annabelle’ and ‘Limelight’
Hydrangea pruning of ‘Annabelle’ and ‘Limelight’ is the order of the day in my April Connecticut garden. They both flower on the growth they will put on this year, better known as “new wood.” In hydrangea-land, those new wood plants are woodland/smooth hydrangea arborescens like ‘Annabelle’, or for example any plant that has Incrediball® or…
Read MoreGet Ready For Hydrangea Pruning
It’s just about time to engage in a gardener’s spring ritual and get ready for hydrangea pruning. We have had a few teaser days of 50 degrees but where I live in Connecticut the footing hasn’t been safe enough to go out and do much. But it has been a good time to get things…
Read MoreTime To Prune New Wood Hydrangeas
It’s time to prune new wood hydrangeas, especially if your plants live in warm parts of the U.S. (zone 7 and up) and elsewhere. It’s hard to conceive of that when you live where I do (zone 5) as we stare down yet another frigid blast of cold air over the next few days. But…
Read MoreHydrangea ‘Limelight’
Panicle hydrangeas including ‘Limelight’ are in full bloom in my part of the U.S. right now.
Read MorePinch Prune Your Hydrangeas
Just when you thought you were finished w/pruning your hydrangeas, now I tell you it’s time to “pinch prune” them. But wait – someone said I’m not supposed to cut them at all! Yes and no.
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