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BRDon’t make this mistake with your hydrangeas.
Before you prune, make sure you know which type of hydrangea you have growing in your garden.
Right now in late winter and early spring many gardeners start pruning hydrangeas, but different types flower on different growth. Some hydrangeas form their flower buds the year before on what’s called old wood. If those stems are cut back now, you may remove the flowers before they ever open.
Hydrangeas that usually bloom on old wood include:
🌸 Bigleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla)
🌸 Mountain hydrangea (Hydrangea serrata)
🌸 Oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia)
Because of that, pruning should be minimal.
I usually leave my oakleaf hydrangeas mostly alone unless they need shaping or there is dead growth to remove.
For bigleaf hydrangeas, I prefer to wait until the plant fully leafs out before touching it. Once the leaves emerge, it becomes much easier to see which stems are alive and which ones didn’t survive winter. At that point I’ll remove dead stems and clip off old blooms if needed.
Reblooming varieties like Endless Summer can bloom on both old and new wood, but the earliest flowers still come from buds that formed the previous season, so I still prune them carefully after the plant fully leafs out.
Hydrangeas that bloom on new wood can be pruned in late winter or early spring. These include:
🌸 Panicle hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata)
🌸 Smooth hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens)
These are the ones I’m pruning back right now.
A helpful rule of thumb when pruning hydrangeas is to avoid removing more than about one-third of the plant at a time.
Save this post so you remember before pruning your hydrangeas this spring. 🌿🌸
@bricksnblooms
