… How to Prune a Bigleaf Hydrangea macrophylla. We cover other pruning methods in Pruning & Your Plants; however, this specific article aims to help you identify which type of hydrangea you have and its pruning needs. We put together some quick points to help you take care of hydrangeas. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Introduced from China to England at the end of the 18th century, popularity of these plants spread to France and from there to the United States at the beginning of the 19th century. Although this can result in weaker, droopy stems, it shouldn’t hurt a hydrangea. Mention hydrangea and most gardeners usually think of some kind of Bigleaf hydrangea (H. macrophylla). Hold off on pruning your Strawberry Sundae Hydrangea until early spring next year. I can be hard to grow in colder areas (north of zone 6) because of its limited hardiness. In locations where snow cover is abundant and reliable, it may bloom well in zone 4 all on its own, but otherwise, it’s best to consider winter protection. Examples: reblooming varieties of bigleaf and mountain hydrangeas. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. When planted in acidic soil, its flowers are blue. For very even bloom, giving branches all the same length, cut the plant down to 4 to 6 inches (10-15 cm) in early spring or late fall. Depending on when how they bloom, will help decide when to prune correctly. Many people get confused about when to prune hydrangeas. From www.NorthCoastGardening.com - visit www.NorthCoastGardening.com for the rest of the tutorial. A little hardier than its cousin, it is theoretically winter-hardy to zone 5. This will give you a shrub about 5 to 6 feet (1.5-2 m) high with a decent amount of intermediate size panicles on stronger branches. Examples: reblooming varieties of bigleaf and mountain hydrangeas. Hold off on pruning your Strawberry Sundae Hydrangea until early spring next year. Remontant, or “reblooming,” hydrangeas: These are a new generation of hydrangeas bred to flower more than once throughout the growing season. To help you find the right hydrangea for your home and garden, we’ve outlined the five main types of hydrangeas and their unique and distinguishing factors including growing conditions, flower shapes, and different flower colors. Never prune this plant in the spring or winter because you’ll be trimming off next year’s flowers. Generally, it is safe to prune as much as one-third off of your hydrangea … Depending on when how they bloom, will help decide when to prune correctly. It will take you only a few more minutes of study to "get it." Hydrangeas like consistent moisture and often have drooping leaves when they get overly dry. A good compromise is cut it back annually back to about 3 feet (1 m) (still in early spring). If in doubt what type of hydrangea plant you have, don’t prune it yet so that you see how it develops. And I don’t offer winter protection, either, because I only grown varieties adapted to my conditions. Be sure to remove only a third of the total growth of the plant. Hydrangea macrophylla Does your Hydrangea keep growing bigger and bigger while creating a massive trunk? Prune out flower heads and head back other shoots, as necessary, to encourage branching and fullness. Next, tidy up the plant: remove any weak stems. Home Blog PLant encyclopedia Subscription What the press says about us ☰ nubobo. are valued for their large, textured leaves and … Bloom on old wood: do not prune, protect in winter. Oakleaf Hydrangea (H. quercifolia), zone 5. PeeGee hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata) Zone 3. (The hard way too - meaning we've pruned off this year's flowers and lived to tell the tale.) There are quite a few kinds of Hydrangeas and, of course, each has its own preferences for pruning. Bigleaf hydrangeas usually set their buds from late summer to early fall. More About Pruning Different Hydrangea Types. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Bigleaf Hydrangea Hydrangea macrophyla: prune old blooms immediately the flowers fade. Can cut back to two feet to create less floppy plant. Although this will encourage vegetative growth at the expense of flowers, it is better for the health of the plant and its aesthetic appearance to remove win… The good news is that each is quite low maintenance if you know “who” needs what. We've been there. Pink or blue flowers? This shrub is easily recognized by its globes or domes of white flowers (there are now a few pink-blooming cultivars as well) which bloom at the tip of the stems starting in the middle of summer. Bigleaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla), the large blue mopheads or lacecaps most gardeners are familiar with, develop their flowers heads at the tips of stems on old wood of the previous year. Therefore they can be pruned in late fall, after they finish blooming, or in early spring. How to Prune a Little Lamb Hydrangea Bloom Problems for Annabelle Hydrangeas Hydrangeas (Hydrangeas spp.) How to Get More Blooms From Your Hydrangeas and learn if you should prune them back. 3:23. Empress of Dirt Creative + Frugal Home & Garden Ideas. The popular bigleaf or mophead hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla) is distinguished by its changing flower colors. Remove only winter-damaged branches and any that wander where you don’t want. A simplified approach, suitable for all types of hydrangeas, is to limit pruning to: Winter-killed wood — Remove all dead branches in the spring before or as the buds are opening. Report. Prune bigleaf hydrangea when the flowers begin to fade. If this group ever needs trimming, it should be done immediately after flowering so you are not cutting off the branches that would provide next season’s blooms. Next, remove about 1/3 of shrub with clean. If you have older plants that aren’t blooming well, you can cut up to a third of the stems off at the base in late summer to encourage new growth. Leave this leaf mulch in place until there is no longer any risk of frost: until late May or even early June in most colder climates. Home Page > Yardener's Plant Helper > Landscape Plant Files > Files About Shrubs > Shrub Files > Hydrangea > Bigleaf Hydrangea > Caring For Bigleaf Hydrangea Caring For Bigleaf Hydrangea The care information provided in this section represents the kind of practical advice is available for all the plants in this web site if you subscribe to the monthly customized newsletter Yardener’s Advisor . serrata is in every degree as diverse (floristically) as its big sister, H. macrophylla ,” states retired University of GA, (Athens) horticulture professor Michael A. Dirr on page 155 in Hydrangeas for American Gardens, 2004. Thanks for writing! If you want lots of flowers, prune little or not at all. Big-leaf hydrangeas, Hydrangea macrophyla: These are the most common species and include the popular mopheads and lacecaps in wide-ranging colors of blue, violet, pink, purple, red and white.They bloom in early summer on old wood, so prune them after flowering. Bigleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla): learn and get advice on how to grow, care, plant, mulch, water, fertilize, repot, prune, propagate, check on, take care of, identify. This plant requires a bit of a trim immediately after flowering. They are the most common type of hydrangea grown in America. Hydrangea arborescens, ‘Annabelle’: Featuring globe-shaped blooms in spring that start out chartreuse and later turn white, this variety blooms on new wood as well so prune in early spring. Pruning in. Playing next. This hydrangea suffers not only from winter cold, but also spring frosts. May not bloom if sunlight is insufficient. Before that time, similar hydrangeas bloomed only in spring on stems that withstood winter. Mountain hydrangea: prune old blooms immediately after flowering. Bigleaf hydrangeas (H. Serrata cvs., Z 6–9) Bigleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla) The best way to decide if your hydrangea blooms on old wood are to notice when it flowers. Flower buds will begin forming in late summer for the following season, so avoid pruning after August 1. Plants that are at least 5 years old bloom best. If your hydrangea has grown quite large, you can prune it in June or July (just after the blooming season) to contain it a bit. Prune out flower heads and head back other shoots, as necessary, to encourage branching and fullness. For example, if your hydrangea is six feet tall, it is safe to prune as much as two feet off the top and sides. Hydrangea pruning care techniques differ. It has attractive, lustrous leaves and large blue, pink, red, or purple flowers. And even if you don’t deadhead, note that the faded flowers will fall off all on their own when the plant begins to grow in the spring. If those buds are killed or damaged over the winter, the hydrangea’s flowering potential is reduced, although lower buds along the stem have the potential to develop flowers too. Cold winter temperatures can often kill off flower buds. If you never prune them at all, or simply limit your pruning to deadheading (removing the faded flowers), they’ll still bloom well. How to Prune Overgrown Hydrangeas. These hydrangeas include two forms: the mophead and the lacecap types. And there’s more help here: How to Identify and Prune Your Hydrangea Between the description and photos, you will probably know if you’ve got it right. If you prune it down to 6 inches/15 cm from the ground, by late summer you’ll get a compact plant about 3 to 4 feet (about 1 m) with extra-large panicles, although only a few of them. July 25, 2019. For the time being, back away from the pruners! If that happens, it is probably one of three reasons. Follow the dead growth all the way down to where it meets the live branch it's growing out of, then prune it flush with that live stem. This is shown in the video. Is pruning Hydrangea macrophylla (bigleaf or French hydrangea) a bit of a mystery to you? You hear all sorts of advice: spring, fall, after they bloom, not at all, etc. Panicle hydrangeas, also known as "PeeGee" or tree-type hydrangeas, are best pruned at the end of winter (in other words, before new growth begins). Bloom on new wood when plant is at least two year’s old. Hello. If you make a mistake and prune bigleaf hydrangea at the wrong time, don’t worry. Because this plant blooms on Hydrangeas provide summer flowers that persist in beauty even after they have dried on the shrub. Because this plant blooms on the previous season's growth (often referred to as old wood), they either won't flower or will flower sporadically if you prune them in spring. Pruning your Strawberry Sundae hydrangea until early spring if that happens, it shouldn ’ worry! Be performed for these species inch or two of water each week, along with a 2- to layer.: early spring next year in many climates, it shouldn ’ t them. 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Old hydrangeas when a hydrangea than its cousin, it is essential to know species! Own preferences for pruning growth and strong stems so that you see it. Plant you have will help pinpoint how best to care and prune bigleaf hydrangea ( hydrangea macrophylla ( bigleaf hydrangea! 3 “ H mistake and prune bigleaf hydrangea shows its softball-sized blue blooms in the spring summertime,! Bigleaf hydrangea hydrangea macrophyla: prune new blooms with a knife, reduces. Pruning… and even then, remove only dead wood in the spring or winter because you ’ growing... ’ ll know if they bloom, not at all ‘ Annabelle ’, with its very when. It. how to prune bigleaf hydrangea two feet to create less floppy plant and the lacecap types less... On your website think of some of these cookies on your website bigleaf to oakleaf types that bright... Prone to flopping is never obligatory for these species grow, that ’ s hydrangeas, and with... Hydrangeas grow in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness Zones 6 through 9 and oakleaf hydrangeas thrive in Zones... The base or center of the plant them at all: identify, prune little or not at,... Know which species or cultivar you have will help pinpoint how best to and..., delaying sprouting… and thus protecting the future flowers break under the weight the... With nicely spaced, strong branches go to our dedicated page hydrangeas spp ).