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Young hydrangea Annabelle- should I prune?

lornahannigan1lornahannigan1 Posts: 4
in Plants
Hello, 
could someone please help me with my question.  I have X4 young Hydrangea Annabelles.  (Less than 6 months in the ground, bought in 2l pots.  They appear to be growing well but some more that others.  Should I prune this young plant? I can see lots of advice on pruning generally but not sure about a young plant.

thank you in advance, Lorna 
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Posts

  • PalustrisPalustris Posts: 4,307
    Pruning for these is normally done in early Spring as they flower on new wood. Personally I would not touch them at this time of year except to remove broekn branches.
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    I would have thought so (in late winter) but would like to see a photo. If there are several short stems I probably wouldn't bother, it can continue growing from there. If there are one or two lanky stems, I would cut them back to hopefully instigate several new stems and establish a 'bushy' framework for the plants.
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • ViewAheadViewAhead Posts: 866
    Generally with hydrangeas you leave the old flower heads on through the winter.  Then in late Feb, you can prune back to the nearest pair of good buds coming through.  Prune back too far and you will have fewer flowers.  
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    ViewAhead said:
    Generally with hydrangeas you leave the old flower heads on through the winter.  Then in late Feb, you can prune back to the nearest pair of good buds coming through.  Prune back too far and you will have fewer flowers.  
    Not with Annabelle and H. paniculata, most people cut into old wood every year to produce larger flowers.
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    As @Loxley says Annabelle is not like a mop head, so is pruned by cutting into old wood. It flowers on the new growth.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • ViewAheadViewAhead Posts: 866
    Ah, fair enough.  Ignore me, @lornahannigan1.  :)
  • bcpathomebcpathome Posts: 1,313
    I would leave it alone . Pruning not necessary till spring .
  • lornahannigan1lornahannigan1 Posts: 4
    Thank you everyone for your advice.  My thinking was them being young plants would they need it.  I will however post a photo tomorrow morning.  I appreciate your time in replying. 
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    That variety is a paniculata, so gets pruned back hard in late winter/early spring, as @Loxley and @punkdoc describe. However, they're young plants, so may need very little - if any, pruning at all until they grow and harden up a bit.
    Some people find that pruning them back too hard early on can mean the flowers are big, but also heavy, and as they're on newer, softer stems, they can flop quite badly, so it can be better to prune lightly and leave a small, heftier framework for good support. Whether that happens can depend on your conditions and how fast they grow after pruning. Lighter pruning will produce slightly smaller flowers, but the shrub may look better, and be less likely to collapse, and possibly have broken stems through the season.
    Re the differing sizes of your plants since planting - that's perfectly normal. You can plant identical specimens of any plant in the same conditions, but they won't grow at the same rate.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • lornahannigan1lornahannigan1 Posts: 4
    So here are my 4 varying sizes of Hydrangea Annabelle’s. All planted on the same day/time.    It’s a west facing fence and gets good amount of sun and shade.   I wasn’t sure due to their age/size if I should miss pruning and leave it until next year.  Again, I appreciate all the advice.  Thank you. Lorna 
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