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Prune hydrangea petiolaris

Super gardenerSuper gardener Posts: 106
in Plants
I need to prune back my mature hydrangea petiolaris which has become too thick.  I think I should have done it last summer after it flowered, but didn’t.  I don’t really want to leave it until after it’s flowered this summer as it is encroaching on a seating area.  It’s in bud now.  Can I prune it back to buds nearer the wall now?  If so, can I do it when the weather is frosty?

Posts

  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    You can prune it back but you won't have any flowers this year. Best not to do it when it's frosty though.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • thevictorianthevictorian Posts: 1,279
    We have the same issue with ours that grows on the front of our house and it gets chopped when it encroaches on the windows. We keep prunning to a minimum, stagger the prunning depths to still have cover and you don't really notice the loss of flowers in that area because that area always needs to be controlled.

    It is best to wait until the weather warms a little or is at least dry.
  • Super gardenerSuper gardener Posts: 106
    Many thanks both. We regularly prune around the windows, but it’s just grown out a long way from the wall.  I think I’ll adopt a staged approach and take off the most protruding bits in spring and then go for a proper prune after its flowered.
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    Set a limit - say, 1 foot.  Keep it prune back to this.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • Super gardenerSuper gardener Posts: 106
    Sounds like good advice.  Thankyou.
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