Woodland/smooth 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 ready.
HOW TO GET READY FOR HYDRANGEA PRUNING
Get ready for hydrangea pruning by focusing on your tools
HOW TO FIND THE RIGHT SIZE PRUNER
The best advice about pruning tools I can give you comes from Corona Tools, a U.S. manufacturer of garden tools and so much more. Corona has been around for over 90 years and not only do they know tools, but they know how to FIT a tool to you.
Take a look at these very helpful graphics from Corona of how to make sure your pruner is the right fit for your hands.
Small hands should have a pruner no longer than 6 inches at most.
A medium size hand can take a 7 inch pruner.
A large hand needs an 8 inch pruner or more.
There’s nothing worse than working with a pruner that doesn’t fit your hand. And only you are the judge of that.
HOW TO MAINTAIN PRUNERS
Fine Gardening ran an excellent article about Sharpening pruners which I recommend. It has a 10 minute video embedded in it on pruning tools with Lee Reich which is excellent.
Once you’re sure you have the right tools, then get them ready. They should be clean, oiled, disinfected and sharpened before you make that first cut.
If you have some time to cruise the internet, you can find lots of videos on caring for your cutting tools. The key is to DO IT! Not just this once but throughout the season as sap, dirt, and debris will always clog your pruners and dull the cutting surface. That translates into jagged cuts, a potentially less healthy plant, and more work for you. You might need to invest in some diamond hones and other small items but that investment will pay you great dividends over time.
So rest a bit more and get yourself and your tools ready. The days are getting longer, we have just turned the clocks and spring will soon be officially here. There won’t be enough hours in the day or energy to get everything done.
UPCOMING SPEAKING DATES
I see the excitement in my audiences as they get ready for a new season. You can always select “calendar” from my website to see upcoming speaking dates. Here’s where I’ll be for the balance of March:
Hope to see you there.
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