Cutting back hydrangeas....

My mother gave me her hydrangea...we dug it up in the spring and I transplanted it at my house in the fall.

We do not know what kind it is. I live in zone 5b and it does not die over our harsh winters if it is wrapped in burlap before snow. Please see pic below to help identify. The flowers look pale, but they are actually blue and purple. After the blue and purple began to fade in early fall, they are a yellow-green with pink and purple splotches all over them...quite stunning.

Anyway, I know some get pruned in fall, some in spring. Since I am not sure what I have, what would happen if I did not prune it at all? Would it be safer not to prune it instead of risking no blooms for several years? Any advice?

Thanx in advance,
Lisa

Do not prune now or you will lose the blooms for next year. I don't know which one you have but the blue mopheads bloom on old wood. I believe they set their buds in November for next year. The white ones can be cut back all the way in the spring. If it is and Endless Summer or Penny Mac (the ones that bloom on new growth)..you could cut it back anytime.

Is Nikko Ble a blue "mophead"? It gets lots of new growth every year and I've never cut anything back so it's really full but I've never had more than 2 or 3 flowers in 10 years.

Yes Nikko is a mophead...don't know why you have not gotten many blooms unless a harsh winter froze the buds..but don't cut it back and maybe protect it a little for the winter.

I never knew what anyone was talking about when they said "mophead" but kind of thought maybe it was because of what the blooms look like.
Thanks for clearing that up.

Hi everyone.
My SIL is wanting to plant Endless Summer hydrangeas on the north side of her house this next spring. However...she wants to keep them around 3 ft. tall. I know they get taller than that at maturity...and I also know you can prune them anytime and get rebloom. My question is, will it hurt them or keep them from blooming if they are kept at this height? Seems to me, if you have to keep pruning them to keep them small..they might not bloom at all? Thanks for any help.

I'm jumping in here. My Blue Wave didn't bloom this year much at all. When does it get pruned?

Thanks

Endless summer blooms on new wood..you can cut at any time..Even if you do not cut it will still bloom from more branches. Blue Wave do not cut...it should bloom for you .. do not know why it did not in Ca. Couldn't have been "a hard winter". How old is it?

It's quite old and it bloomed like crazy in the previous years. We'll leave it alone and see if perhaps it will bloom again. Thanks for the information. These hydrangeas are more complicated than I ever thought.

And I thought that clematis were complicated. LOL No, I do have them figured out. They absoutely tell you how to treat them. Are there any general rules about how to figure hydrangeas out?

Thanks again.

Hi, think I can help out here.

There are three main types of hydrangea,

Macrophylla includes the mopheads and lacecaps, most of which you will see on the market. The lacecaps are just a little different by having the 'fertile' small flowers in the middle. These flower on the previous years wood, and all flowered heads should be removed, preferably in spring to help protect the new growth over winter, although in milder climes this is OK to be done in the autumn, a matter of preference or when you get around to it. ALSO to keep the shrub invigorated, it will take 3 to 4 years to properly establish, THEN every year or so, CUT OUT older, woody growth right to the base, a general guide of 1/4 to 1/3 of the stems. This will encourage STRONG NEW growths to keep good flowering. You could try to cut an outgown shrub right back, but will not get flowers to start with. I prefer to do it a bit at a time, not so stressful to the shrub. Also when pruning take out any damaged and weak growths, pruning all shoots back to a healthy pair of 'strong' buds. To keep the shrub small and with large flowers, this can be 6-12" from the base, but a matter of choice. The soil will make a difference to colour, acid will produce more blue tints, alkaline more pink. BUT there are varieties that have a more 'distinct' blue or pink colour, so don't believe by putting a pink plant into an acid soil you will get 'blue' flowers, it will just give a mixture. YOU NEED TO CHECK OUT WHICH VARIETIES ARE BRED TO BE SPECIFICALLY A CERTAIN COLOUR. These also include white varieties, so DON'T cut them back if a mophead or lacecap.

Then we have the Paniculata types, which flower on the present year's new growth. In spring, after the 1st year of planting, cut out all but 2 or 3 strong stems, pruning these back to a healthy pair of buds about 18" from the ground. If planted in an exposed position, and where summer temps. are not likely to ripen the stems enough to get thru a very cold winter, then cut to just above ground level. In early spring of subsequent years, cut back all previous year's growth to leave 1 or 2 strong pairs of growth buds. Again follow the procedure of pruning out older wood. These are mainly the tall, leggy looking plants with long, cone-shaped flowers. a couple of examples are H. p. 'Pink Diamond', 'Kyushu'. I think there is a Limelight, a greenish white, most are white based with other flushes.

After pruning a little general fertiliser and a good mulch around the shrub will feed and keep moisture in, but don't put too much heavy wet mulch ON the plant, around it is better, you may harbour slugs to eat the new growths, and freeze it with late frosts. Do this also with macrophylla, it will give a kick start to healthy growth.

The 3rd are other species, such as H. aspera and related forms, needing only minimal pruning in spring.

Now there is NO excuse not to have the BEST hydrangeas in the district.

Thank you so much. Since I pruned back all of my hydrangeas in the spring - like a silly fool - I should be OK this summer. I'm getting a lot of good lateral growth and branching on all of them. I do mulch since in our hot weather they sag otherwise. We don't have a frost problem though.

I don't have any Paniculata types though so that's easy. The only other type I have is an evergreen climber and it wouldn't survive your cool weather. I'll have to ask the place I bought them from although they are far too small to prune at this point.

So I think that I have it. Prune 1/3 to 1/4 of the woody flowering stems after the plants are established.

My blue waves clearly aren't blue all of the time but it's a lovely variety of colors even with generous applications of things that are supposed to make the flowers blue but I love them anyway.

The others may be whatever color they desire and now they will be pruned properly too. Please let me know if I don't have this correct.

Thanks!

hi Doss

yep, that's right but don't forget to prune back to a pair of healthy buds in early spring, the old dead wood at the top with flower heads and weak growth needs to go, just leave the strong healthy stuff, you will encourage a better shrub. Weak growths come to nothing anyway. You should continue to take out the 1/3 to 1/4 almost every year after established, but not essentially every year, just use you own judgement as to what should come out once it looks 'too old'.
We do have climbing ones, Schizophragma hydrangeoides, there has been a Moonglow or something like, also a pink one, and I have been tempted, but they need a good climbing space, and have too much else.
Good luck, it will come clearer once you get the hang of it.

Thank you so much for your help. I think that I will just let them grow this year and see what happens. I will take out any dead hems and just let them enjoy themselves for awhile.

Doss

I don't know why I just found this thread. The picture is of mine at over five feet after I cut them to the ground the fall just prior. I have let them grow for a couple of years sometimes, but mostly cut them back a LOT and they sure come back like mad in the spring, which is also when I feed them. These are planted where they get a lot of hot afternoon sun, so they also get a lot of water. They are mulched year 'round with pine straw. The colors in this picture are not very good--this was prior to getting a good camera. The flowers are really a pretty color of blue.

Well, you can't argue with that sort of success. Beautiful!

I believe they form buds in November but cutting all the way back in the fall is taking a chance on them not blooming. However...don't knock success! I have always heard cut them back right after they flower if you want to keep the shrub smallish. I am talking about the blue mopheads...and yours certainly is that.

Beautiful shrub, what you are doing certainly suits it! This one obviously puts on a lot of new growth from the treatment, and lots of sun, water, food and mulch is doing it well!

If you are pruning it to the ground, is it possible you are leaving just a bud or two from the previous years growth? They do make flowers on new growth from the previous season's growth, so this could be the case. It looks to have very long new growth on it, and a severe pruning on some shrubs does have the effect of producing long, strong new growth. A less severe pruning will produce more, shorter growths as a general rule.

Macrophylla hydrangeas however, when cut completely to the ground will miss a seasons flowers, but do tend to produce more shoots.

I do wonder if there are any 'crosses' between the two types, macrophylla and paniculata? That could then possibly produce flowers on new seasons growth.

well not the paniculata but the endless summer and penny mac produce flowers on new growth...they are mopheads however.

Ah now I am 'twigging', the 'endless summer' can ripen the wood, and behave differently. I see lots of normally cold areas in the States are having very warm weather in the winter. We don't get a lot of 'hot' weather in the summer, and it is a matter of the wood ripening, you might say we have a 'short' growing season compared. In 2004 it was quite hot for 2 months, no rain, and in November I had a camellia flowering that doesn't normally flower untill well into spring. The seasons don't know where they are any more!

We are having spring a month early here and the hydrangeas are already putting out new growth. Our camellias are blooming too and my daffodils already have buds on them. It's been a strange year. Anyway, I think that I am going to let my hydrangeas have their way this year and see what happens.

I have personally had good experiences with "Endless Summer". The fantastic part of this one is that you can cut it back to 2 foot size every spring if you like and it still manages to put out loads of flowers. In fact, if you reduce the bush to 4-6 thick canes (stems) the flowers are even bigger.

Add lots of peatmoss sphagnum and iron sulfate to the soil and they bloom blue. Use regular garden loam plus a dusting of lime once per year, and they are bright pink.

If they are white (when they should have been blue or pink .. some are white naturally) it is typically lack of fertilizer and/or you are letting the plant go through excessive dry/wet cycles. Try to mulch heavier, and/or transplant to shadier spot, and water more frequently and deeply.

Thanks for your suggestion. If it's endless summer then it can be kept in a small spot! Yours are beautiful.