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Hydrangea Advice
Martin Greaves
Posts: 6
I'm not an expert gardner but I have two large Hydrangea bushes in my garden. Every year I cut the heads and every year the healthy new heads blossom with no problem. The trouble is that the branches of both bushes are tinder dry and very brittle and can be snapped very easily. It almost looks like the bushes are dead, but the heads bloom just fine every year. Any advice on how i should properly prune and look after them. The extreme dryness of the branches is very puzzling.
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That's just what I needed Edd, thanks for your advice on this matter! All the best.
Hi Verdun, we do get a lot of rain, sometimes the soil is waterlogged, but we did have a dry summer last year with hardly any rain, and I cut just an inch or two below the head when I deadhead.
Some hydrangeas (especially the lace caps in my garden) do have dry, brittle stems - i think it is just their nature. Like yours, mine seem perfectly healthy and flower well, so I don't think it is a problem.
This website http://www.hydrangeashydrangeas.com/pruning.html gives very clear and simple advice on pruning hydrangeas
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
That really helps me everybody! Thank you so much, I will follow the advice given and I appreciate it very much. Cheers!
I thought one of my hydrangeas was dead last year. All the others had masses of new growth but nothing at all on one. It finally 'came to life' a full 6 weeks after the others. I had nearly got to the stage of digging it up and taking it back to the garden centre - now that would have been embarrassing!
KT53, ha, ha, I have looked at my own bushes with a puzzled expression and very nearly decided to dig them up for good, but they look beautiful when in full bloom, so I'm grateful for the advice I've been given here and will keep them intact whilst taking the advice given!!