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Help please
andy.mchugh
Posts: 21
Hi all.
i have a hydrangea (see forefront) but am reading lots of different views on when and how to pune it. I think it needs a good cut back (as does the rose). Any advice would be welcomed
i have a hydrangea (see forefront) but am reading lots of different views on when and how to pune it. I think it needs a good cut back (as does the rose). Any advice would be welcomed 0
Posts
If you cut all of it hard back then you risk losing the floral display this summer as flowers are produced on old wood. The centre is quite congested so you could take out a third of the stems down to ground level and give the rest of it a light trim back to a pair of strong buds. I prefer to wait until March to trim as this affords emerging buds some frost protection.
The confusion with hydrangea pruning stems from the fact that other types, such as Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle', flower on new wood, i.e. wood produced in the spring of the same year.
Also remove old flowers in Spring, cutting back to the first buds bellow the flower.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
It benefits them because they then get a better airflow, and the new wood will be more productive, giving a better display overall.
They're very hard to kill, so no need to worry unduly about removing a bit too much, and you can do a bit over a couple of years to rejuvenate it. Pruning back the good stems to buds is certainly best done in late winter/ early spring.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
After the flowers have faded, leave them on the plant over winter and cut them off in spring. The flower heads protect the new buds from frost/weather.
I normally cut all the flowers off in March then have a good look at the Hydrangea. I always have a look at the bottom of it and remove any dead looking twiggy stems. That often gives some space for air to circulate around the plant. Cut to just above the bud below the old flower. If you cut further, you wont get a flower that year but you will the following year you will.
From spring, I water my hydrangea with cold black tea. It is always something I have done with my hydrangea and a good mulch too.
This forum is a busy place with many new threads every day so it makes sense, if you want to attract the best advice, to use an informative or enticing thread title as it helps avoid people just skimming past your thread.
Editing to add:
Mophead and lace cap hydrangeas flower on old wood produced the previous season. The flower buds are formed in the previous season and sit just behind the old flower head. Pruning at the wrong time and in the wrong way will mean a season with no flowers. I would therefore do as @pundoc advocates above and prune out to the base up to a third of the stems, choosing the weakest, thinnest and any broken stems. Come spring, after the worst frosts are over I would do as @PurpleRose advocates and remove just the spent flower heads and feed it with rose, tomato or sepcialist hydrangea fertiliser.
Once the flowers have opened and are starting to fade I would remove a further third of the stems and feed again with a balanced feed and I would be very careful to make sure it does not go thirsty in hot or dry spells. Removing a third of the stems each year means the shrub is automatically renewed every 3 years so retains its flowering vigour and stays aerated and healthy.
Paniculata type hydrangeas flower on new wood so can be pruned hard and fed in spring. They are a good choice for gardens which are cold or exposed to frosts or storms which can kill the stems but not the crown.