How and When to Prune Bigleaf Hydrangeas

Making your cuts at the wrong time can actually remove the flower buds you are hoping to get

Almost everybody is enrapture by the large , mophead blooms of bigleaf hydrangea ( Hydrangea macrophyllaand cvs . , Zones 4–9 ) . And it seems that almost everybody who grow these flowering bush has dubiousness about pruning them . The thought is often that , because they are shrubs , they must require to be pruned . Some gardener also retrieve that cutting back their hydrangea might make it blossom . Neither of these thought process is correct . Bigleaf hydrangeas grow just fine without any pruning , and make your cuts at the wrong clock time can actually remove the flower buds you are trust to get .

When do you prune bigleaf hydrangeas?

Bigleaf hydrangea typically bloom on previous wood , meaning the flower bud are on the growing bring forth the late time of year . If you prune them before they flower , you will be removing the flower buds . Many novel sort in reality produce buds on old and new wood , so pruning too early on does n’t stop the whole show , just a salutary portion of it . But if your hydrangea is n’t blooming , badly timed pruning is often the perpetrator . The secure time to swerve back a bigleaf hydrangea is just after it is done blooming . The bush then has ample fourth dimension to typeset Modern growth and harden off before wintertime .

What tools do you need to prune hydrangeas?

If you do make up one’s mind you need to prune your bigleaf hydrangea , this telecasting will give you the information you need to time your cuts right and name where to make them on the bush .

The only tools you will take are :

You might not think they are coolheaded , but it is very easygoing to poke your heart on a stem as you are trying to see down into the bush . And a carrier bag in the eye is never nerveless .

So remain dependable , time it correct , and relish your shrub .

Learn more :

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