Growing Hydrangeas: Learn When And How to Prune Them?

While growing Hydrangeas, the biggest question that people often have is when and how to prune these flowers. Since hydrangeas flower wonderfully, people are often wary of cutting them, but it is important to know that pruning is an essential step while caring for any plant, as it motivates new growth and ensures that the plant does not dry out. Now, if you have also planted Hydrangeas and wish to know how to prune hydrangeas, then you can do the same very easily. 

There are a few things that you need to keep in mind when you have to prune a Hydrangea, and this article will make sure that you have the proper information related to the pruning of this beautiful plant. 

How Can You Correctly Prune Your Hydrangeas?

The first thing that you need to do when you decide to prune your Hydrangeas is to determine which type of flower you have planted. There are five main varieties of the flower (bigleaf, mountain, oakleaf, panicle, and smooth) that you will find in North America. Certain varieties form their flower buds on old wood, which means that buds that will bloom next summer are already present in winter and fall. 

On the other hand, there are varieties that form their buds in spring. This is why it becomes important to recognise which variety of the plant you have, as you can inadvertently cut the buds while pruning. 

After you have found out the type of Hydrangea that you have, the same information will help you when you are trying to find out when to prune Hydrangeas. Hydrangeas that bloom on old wood should be pruned once they have flowers; however, you should also know that such plants do not have enough time for pruning and regrowth, which is why it is said that you should avoid pruning such hydrangeas and only focus on removing leaves and branches that are completely dead. 

Hydrangeas that bloom on new wood can be pruned, and you should do the same in late fall. During this time, the plant has gone dormant, and there will be no buds until the next spring, which is why you can prune it anywhere from late fall to early spring. 

How Much Should You Prune Your Hydrangeas?

Along with this basic information, you should also know how many branches or leaves you should cut from your plant to encourage proper growth for the next season. Usually, it is safe for people to prune around one-third of their hydrangeas that bloom on completely new wood. This means that if you have a six-foot-tall plant, then you can cut around two feet from the top and sides to prune it safely. 

Keep in mind that you should not prune too much, as this can drastically affect the framework of the plant and result in the plant being unable to stand on its own. Along with this, you should make sure that there is enough foliage that makes an adequate amount of food to support the plant. Yourhomify is the perfect website for you to learn all about different plants and how to grow them if you are interested in starting your gardening journey.