Gardeners have been warned not to prune their hydrangeas too early in the year, as it could result in fewer flowers when the plants are in bloom in the spring and summer months.
By Siobhan Dixon
Making sure your hydrangeas are full of flowers when it warms up is all about pruning at the right time (Image: Getty Images)
Get ready for your hydrangeas to burst with blooms. With one simple gardeningtrick, you can have bigger and better flowers this year.
Even though it's cold and your garden plants aren't blooming, now is the time to think about spring and summer. Gardening buffs say there's a way to make sure your hydrangeas are full of flowers when it warms up - and it's all about the right time to prune them.
A woman took toFacebook's Loving Your Garden page to seek advice for herproblem.
She wrote: "My hydrangea is very tall and reaches my window. I used to make a mistake by pruning it in February and cutting it right down. I've recently read that you have to leave it after frost which I will do this year."
She added: "Due to pruning it too early It stopped flowering as much as it used to. What should I do? It's a mophead. Had it for years, and used to have so many flowers. Last couple years stopped flowering as much so I haven't touched it yet."
READ MORE:Hydrangeas will bloom prolifically and grow larger flower heads with 1 easy task
A woman sought advice because she pruned her hydrangea too early and stopped flowering as much as it used to (Image: Getty)
People were quick to advise the woman not to trim it now, as they said her type of hydrangea doesn't like being cut back too much. Instead, she should trim "just under the dead flower heads" in spring, when the flowers start to die.
One gardening fan explained: "If you prune a hydrangea that flowers on old wood, meaning these type flower on last season's growth, too far back you will lose flowers for a year. You prune just under the dead flower heads in spring with these types."
"Prune to the new buds/leaves that are growing just under last year'sflowers- do that in spring after the last frost. If you want one of those types to flower, just prune it right down low near the ground above growing buds in spring after the last frost, but you will lose flowers for a year till that new growth gets old enough to flower again."
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There are only two types of hydrangeas - hydrangea paniculata and hydrangea arborescens - that flower on new wood and need to be treated differently from all other types, and should be pruned back annually to allow new branches to grow.
Other people agreed, saying the type of hydrangea the woman has should be pruned much earlier in the year to let branches grow during the autumn and winter months.
Another person wrote: "You can hard prune in August. I had the same issue and had so many nice new shoots in the spring when I always give a light prune."
"When new shoots are about an inch long I trim leaving at least three on the stem in case of a late frost so can cut another back. Never had an issue with lack of flowers and it's better for it, but I do feed it."
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One gardening fan explained: "If you prune a hydrangea that flowers on old wood, meaning these type flower on last season's growth, too far back you will lose flowers for a year. You prune just under the dead flower heads in spring with these types."
When you prune, make your cut just above a set of large, healthy leaves. If a branch is broken or dead, it can be removed completely. If in doubt, don't prune! No hydrangea requires pruning to grow and bloom well.
Instead, hydrangeas should be pruned in the spring. "It may not be ideal to keep the leafless stems up in the garden, but you want to be sure you're not cutting off any old wood that is dormant because you'll be removing your blooms for early in the season," he says.
In late winter or early spring, these shrubs can be cut all the way back to the ground. Smooth hydrangeas will produce much larger blooms if pruned hard like this each year, but many gardeners opt for smaller blooms on sturdier stems.
So if you chop them back too far in spring, you could be cutting off the buds. You wouldn't have any flowers this year. That's why simply dead heading back to the first set of buds works for both plants flowering on old wood and those flowering on new.
Hydrangeas are one of the most popular blooming woody shrubs in Minnesota landscapes and, as you'd expect, people often ask how and when to prune these beloved shrubs. Heading cuts redirect growth or shorten small branches. The high point of a heading cut should be about 1/4 inch above a bud.
It is easy to grow these hydrangeas because they bloom every year regardless of how they are cared for or treated. They can be pruned to the ground in the fall and they will emerge in the spring with bountiful blooms. However over a period of time this drastic pruning may cause the plant to slowly weaken.
Along with planting them in the right place, properly watering your hydrangeas is essential to bigger and better blooms. "Hydrangeas should be watered deeply several times per week to encourage deep root growth," says Enfield. "Water should be applied at the base of the plant to keep the leaves and flowers dry.
The primary reasons hydrangeas don't bloom are incorrect pruning, bud damage due to winter and/or early spring weather, location and too much fertilizer. Hydrangea varieties can be of the type that blooms on old wood, new wood or both. Old wood is the current year's growth and new wood is next year's (spring) growth.
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