PRUNING YOUR HYDRANGEAS

Hydrangea Paniculata 'Tickled Pink' Mid-Season

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…

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Hydrangea Care For July – Part Two

Big leaf hydrangea needs to be pinch pruned

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?…

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Pruning Your Old Wood Hydrangeas

Is it time to prune this big leaf hydrangea or time to wait?

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…

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Hydrangea Pruning: ‘Annabelle’ and ‘Limelight’

Annabelle hydrangea before spring pruning

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…

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Get Ready For Hydrangea Pruning

Hydrangea being pruned

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…

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Time To Prune New Wood Hydrangeas

New wood hydrangea Pinky Winky needs to be pruned.

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…

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Pinch Prune Your Hydrangeas

Big Leaf hydrangea in mid-season

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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Last Call To Prune New Wood Flowering Hydrangeas

This is your last call to prune new wood flowering hydrangeas. If you haven’t cut back your hydrangeas that bloom on this year’s stems — your new wood bloomers — you are running out of time. We’re talking about ‘Annabelle’ hydrangeas, and all those beautiful Invincibelle® Spirits, Incrediballs®, and other hydrangea arborescens. New wood flowering…

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Time To Prune New Wood Hydrangeas

New wood blooming hydrangea in early spring

Yes, it’s time to prune new wood hydrangeas. Now that it is mid spring and your hydrangeas are dormant or just beginning to leaf out, this is the time to get those clippers out for some of them. When I say some, I mean those that bloom on new wood, the growth they will put on in the…

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