Farmhouse hydrangeas have a mind of their own when it comes to growth and flowering. Therefore, please do not fall under the fallacy of throwing all hydrangeas into one pot when trimming. What is optimal with a panicle hydrangea ends in floral disaster with a garden hydrangea. This tutorial invites you to familiarize yourself with the perfect pruning of peasant hydrangeas. Here you can read all the information about the right time, sensible types of cuts and expert cuts.

How the peasant hydrangea is pruned depends entirely on the purpose of the pruning

Table of Contents

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  1. Why cut?
  2. The best time to cut is in spring
  3. build-up cut
  4. thinning cut
  5. taper cut
  6. Cut endless summer
  7. vase cut
  8. frequently asked Questions

    9. Why is it useful to cut peasant hydrangeas?

    There is uncertainty among home gardeners about the correct pruning of farmer's hydrangeas. For fear of damaging the nostalgic beauty of flowers, pruning is often done away with altogether. In fact, the secateurs should be used at least once a year. The following table documents the occasion on which a cut on Hydrangea macrophylla is advisable as a brief overview:

    cut type goal/occasion
    Development and education section controlled growth in tubs or when there is a lack of space
    thinning cut Encouragement of vitality and willingness to bloom
    taper cut revitalize old shrub
    Maintenance cut modern varieties Cut care from Endless summer and Co.

    Another editing option is out of the ordinary in terms of deadline and procedure. We're talking about cutting peasant hydrangeas into vases to decorate the home with their huge balls of flowers. This tutorial also leaves no questions unanswered for this cutting variant.

    The best time to cut is in spring

    A farmer's hydrangea already prepares its plants for the next year's flower festival in the previous year, including the leaf and shoot buds. This property significantly influences the choice of date for a cut. So that the valuable buds do not fall victim to the scissors, spring is the best time. Shortly before budding between the beginning/mid-February and the beginning of March, even home gardeners with little experience can clearly identify the terminal flowers and exercise appropriate caution when pruning.

    tips

    In gardens where there is a risk of delayed ground frost, the prudent house gardener will have a garden fleece ready until mid/end of May. If the meteorologists report frost at night, a farmer's hydrangea should be protected from frostbite at the shoot tips. This is especially true if the ornamental shrub has been cut.

    Top-up pruning - disciplined growth in the tub or small garden

    If a peasant hydrangea has at least 150 centimeters of space in width, a harmonious structure develops naturally. In a small garden or tub, there is the option of aligning growth with the lack of space right from the start. You can do this by limiting the number of bottom shoots as part of an upbringing. How to do it right:

    • Build up a framework with 10 to 15 ground shoots during the first 3 to 4 years in the bed
    • Raise 7 to 10 scaffolding shoots in the bucket
    • Cut off excess shoots at the base

    During the development phase, the one-year-old, unbranched shoots remain uncut because they bear the loveliest flowers in summer. At the latest in the spring of the fourth year, the upbringing leads to the following clearing cut. Please note that a farmer's hydrangea is not suitable for training as a standard. Panicle hydrangeas (Hydrangea paniculata), which are much more tolerant of pruning, are predestined for this design.

    Gentle cutting is the key - instructions for the thinning cut

    A single ground shoot of your farmer's hydrangea will remain vigorous and willing to flower for up to 4 years. During this phase and afterwards, it branches more and more, the flowers lose volume and the branch arches over to the ground. You counteract this development with a gentle pruning, so that the flowering shrub still thrives young and energetic even after many years. This is how the exemplary clearing cut succeeds:

    • Cut off any faded flower heads
    • Position the scissors over the new, rounded, thick flower buds
    • Cut away a quarter of the oldest skeletal shoots at ground level
    • Leave a corresponding number of one-year-old ground shoots as a replacement
    • Remove weak, inward-pointing or criss-crossing bottom shoots

    In the last step of the thinning cut, devote yourself to the remaining three quarters of the scaffolding shoots. By the age of 2 to 4 years they have already flowered at least once and developed several side branches. Trace an aging hydrangea branch to the most promising annual side shoot. With this cutting technique, you cut off the old wood where the young shoot branches off. The figure below shows the different steps of a thinning cut.

    Cut off the wilted flower heads above the next pair of buds. Cut senile shoots at the base. Unbranched, annual bottom shoots remain uncut. Strongly branched, perennial branches are derived from a vigorous, annual side shoot.

    Rejuvenate old peasant hydrangea - this is how it works

    Without regular pruning, peasant hydrangeas will age within a few years. With a rejuvenation pruning, you can wake up the over-aged ornamental shrub from its slumber. The following strategy has worked well in practice:

    • Examine the shrub thoroughly for overwintering wild animals and, if necessary, cut it later
    • In accordance with the Federal Nature Conservation Act, carry out the cutting measure before March 1st
    • Cut off all dead shoots at ground level
    • Prune back shoots that are not bare by one to two thirds
    • Position the scissors 0.5 cm above a pair of leaves or a sleeping eye
    • Enrich the root disk with 3 liters of compost and 100 grams of horn shavings per square meter

    There is no cause for concern if a taper pruning leaves few or no shoots. The organic fertilizer and regular watering get growth going again. In the following year, you move on to the build-up or clearing cut. If, despite your efforts, no new bottom shoots form, the farmer's hydrangea is completely exhausted and should be cleared.

    All aged, dead shoots are cut off at the base. Unbranched young shoots remain. If there are no annual shoots on the ground, adding compost will stimulate growth.

    Special case: Endless summer & Co. - courageous maintenance cut

    Competent breeders have succeeded in growing modern peasant hydrangea varieties that bloom on both last year's and this year's shoots. The series 'Endless summer' opened the round of new varieties, followed by further innovations such as 'Forever & Ever', 'Everbloom' or 'Double Star'. The more flexible growth behavior opens up more leeway in the design of the cut care, as shown in the figure below.

    It is up to your horticultural decision to cut back new farmer's hydrangea varieties more in spring. This is especially recommended when a severe winter or late ground frosts have damaged the shoots. At the age of 3 to 4 years, lower shoots should be pruned to make room for fresh wood. Withered inflorescences should also be cleaned out on the new varieties every spring to make it easier for the new buds to develop.

    Fading is removed down to the next pair of buds or further down. Older ground shoots have to give way. Two- and three-year-old shoots redirect you to a lower-lying, one-year-old side shoot.

    Cleaning out in summer is rewarded with reblooming

    Endless summer and other modern strains have the potential to reflower. If you trim off the first blooms after they have faded, these farmer's hydrangeas will produce beautiful blooms again. Combine this flower care with the addition of compost and horn shavings,(32.93€) optimize the prospects for a colorful second bloom in late summer.

    Cut peasant hydrangea for the vase - this is how it works

    The right time for the vase cut guarantees that the beautiful branches of a farmer's hydrangea decorate your home for many weeks. If you cut the shoots too early or leave the woody stems in the water untreated, the romantic beauties will droop their heads sadly after just a few days. How to do it right:

    • The best time is in August when the flowers are getting stronger
    • Cut out a maximum of one third of the shoots from a hydrangea bush
    • Set scissors or knife over a pair of leaves or a sleeping eye
    • Cut the green end of the stem diagonally, split the woody end of the stem
    • Remove any leaves that may be standing in the water

    Please do not tap a woody flower stalk with a hammer to soften it. This destroys the important pathways that are supposed to transport the water into the flower. Change the water every 3 to 4 days and trim the stems when you do.

    frequently asked Questions

    Frost damage to my farmer's hydrangea - what to do?

    A harsh winter puts every farmer's hydrangea to the test, because the younger shoot tips in particular are not completely hardy. If the branches freeze back, this is no reason to clear the affected ornamental shrub. When you see the full extent of the frost damage at the end of February/beginning of March, cut back the brown, often limp shoots back into the healthy wood. Place the scissors just above a healthy pair of buds.

    How can you tell if a hydrangea branch is dead or not?

    Woody hydrangea shoots cannot always be seen at first glance as to whether they belong to deadwood or whether there is still hope of budding. With a simple vitality test, you can dispel any doubts. To do this, scrape off a little bark from the hydrangea branch in question. If juicy green tissue appears, the shoot is spared from the scissors. Yellowish to brown tissue signals that the branch has died and can be thinned out.

    The withered flowers bother me. Can I clean a farmer's hydrangea in autumn?

    It is up to you to decide when to remove the withered inflorescences of a farmer's hydrangea. If you find the brown, parchment-like balls annoying, cut them off just above the next healthy pair of buds or a branch. You then carry out the actual thinning cut in February as planned. You can then use this opportunity to remove damaged shoot tips that have had to do without the natural winter protection of faded hydrangea blossoms and have frozen back.

    Are farm hydrangeas poisonous?

    All hydrangea species contain the glycoside hydrangin and other toxins. The intentional or unintentional ingestion of plant parts can lead to typical symptoms of poisoning, ranging from dizziness to nausea and vomiting. Frequent contact with the plant sap can also cause skin allergies. Hydrangeas are not only poisonous for humans, but also for animals such as dogs, cats, guinea pigs and rabbits.

    The 3 most common cutting mistakes

    If the pruning of peasant hydrangeas does not lead to the desired result, the gardener has become the victim of a misunderstanding. The following table with tips for effective prevention lists the 3 most common mistakes when pruning farmer's hydrangeas:

    error result Prevention/Correction
    Peasant hydrangea cut like panicle and ball hydrangea Failure of the next flowering period Only trim and thin out peasant hydrangeas
    cut in the fall Frost damage to the unprotected shoot tips ideally cut in spring
    never cleaned and cleared prematurely aged hydrangea with sparse growth and few flowers remove wilted flowers and thin out dead wood every year
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    tips

    This tutorial also applies to the hydrangea (Hydrangea serrata), velvet hydrangea (Hydrangea sargentiana), oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) and the popular climbing hydrangea (Hydrangea petiolaris). These hydrangea species do the same as the farmer's hydrangea. Already in the previous year you plant all types of buds for blossoms, leaves and fresh shoots.

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Vegetable garden