Marianne's Response
When to prune hydrangeas, and how far?
We moved in to our new home last January. All hydrangeas were cut to the ground. They grew, of course, but of the 14 huge plants only three bloomed. We let them grow, and only pruned back about 6″ to get them a tiny bit shorter, and to remove spent blossoms. Now, next year, when do we prune and how far? Most are large mop-top types, but with new names on them, I can’t tell you more. Any suggestions. We are zone 5, Ohio.
Posted by on December 18, 2014
Marianne's Response
The large mop-top hydrangeas or big leaf hydrangeas bloom best if they are never pruned as hydrangeas flower on two year old wood. They are very tall plants however and most gardeners want to keep them shorter. The best time to prune them is early spring and just shorten the branches that bloomed the previous summer - the ones with the faded flower heads on them. Now if the weather is mild you will get lots of flowers but if a late spring frost hits then the new buds on the two year old branches that you did not prune may decide to make leaves instead of flower buds. Hydrangeas are wonderful shrubs - but very unpredictable unless grown in a greenhouse. Keep growing, Marianne Binetti
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