Hydrangea pruning tip on precise place and time to prune plants promises 'so many flowers'
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.
Get ready for your hydrangeas to burst with blooms. With one simple gardening trick, 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 to Facebook's Loving Your Garden page to seek advice for her problem.
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
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's flowers - 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."
