How Do You Prune Hydrangeas And When?

No, no, no, a thousand times no.🤣

Why: this type of hydrangea is a macrophylla, or “big leaf” hydrangea. Next year’s flowers will form on the growth from THIS year. If you prune these stems back you will be cutting off your FUTURE flowers. You need to live with the dead-looking sticks coming out of the ground for many months. In LATE spring, if there is no new growth on them and the buds are NOT turning green, you can go ahead and cut them down to the ground. People who have hybrids however, which create flowers in the current year as well as the ones from the prior year, at least had some flower which is why that type of hydrangea is the best one to have in colder climates. This would be something like Endless Summer. Even with those: don’t prune those stems from last year.

So you can essentially leave them alone or just cut the VERY tops off where flowers used to be (this is only a few inches at most, or down to just above the healthiest set of buds once they do start to turn green). And if there are truly dead stalks from prior years, go ahead and cut or even pull those out. Clearing this stuff out leaves more room for new growth to come in.

What happens if you prune them down too early: usually just nice foliage but no flowers or very few. (You might get a few on the new growth next year but not many.)

Got it?

Note: this is completely different from panicle hydrangeas, like a limelight, or arborescens/“smooth” hydrangeas, like an annabelle. Those both form flowers on the new growth in a current year so they can be pruned back significantly.

Location: client’s house (as always, the videos are done by clients and this was done by Jackie).

#youcandoitgardening

[acasburn]

Thank you for that information.
Love your videos on Hydrangea care especially Paniculata and Arborescens.
Greetings from Australia 🇦🇺🦘

[candiburns]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge! I have learned so much about caring for my plants from you 🌸

[susansmith]

I cut them to the ground every fall. They grow back huge and luscious every year with MASSIVE healthy flowers.

[trangn]

The stalks from last year, with the dead artic-blasted buds on them, should those be pruned to the ground? I get so confused what’s dead and what’s last year’s wood on hydrangeas. Please help

[Burntshocker]

Thanks. I blasted mine one year and no flowers for a couple of years. But it’s still going strong

[Smell_yah_later]

Yes yes yes they come back even better when you prune them down

[iron_junkie.]

Which hydrangeas are these? This is what I have

[stephenholmes]

I know this already but can you tell me why my hydrangeas have hundreds of blooms for the first time ever? I am in CT

[drikonrokon]

Key is usually dried up and looks smaller then healthy new growth

[jessicakillian]

It depends what type hydrangea ....which this video doesn't mention

[maureenmckenna]

Don’t have this problem. Deer like hydrangea as much as I do, so I am taking all of mine out. Little Lime hydrangea seem to be the big time choice for them. Awful for me.

[harley-yb]

I don't like hydrangeas they are ugly and you can't trim them it's stupid