With the right cut, you ensure that your hydrangea blooms profusely every year and does not have to lose any flowers. Timing is less important. The intensity of the pruning measures, which differs depending on the variety, is more important.
If you cut back hydrangeas in autumn, you rob insects of a place to hibernate and rob yourself of a beautiful winter decoration
Autumn or spring cut?
Basically, you can cut hydrangeas in spring or just before winter. The spring pruning offers an ecological advantage, because the ornamental dried flowers serve as winter quarters for some insects. In addition, the frost does less damage because there are no open interfaces.
A cut after the winter proves to be problematic if you protect the shrub from the cold with a garden fleece. Due to the low air circulation, mold can form more quickly on the dead plant parts. If you cut off the inflorescences in the fall, fungal pathogens will not have a breeding ground. However, the risk of frost damage is higher.
How to cut properly
The pruning measures depend on the particular variety in your garden. It is important to know whether the shrub develops flowers on annual or perennial shoots. Basically, the breeds that bloom on last year's branches tolerate a more radical cut better. If the branches are too dense, you can thin out each hydrangea a little and cut these specimens at the base.
Group 1: Peasant and plate hydrangeas.
Radical pruning should be avoided, as many varieties only sparsely flower the next year. Gentle shape corrections include cutting out weak and dead branches. Remove dried inflorescences just below the base. You can remove old wood that has branched out a few centimeters above the ground. This is how you thin out the bush and the hydrangea draws new energy for the fresh shoots.
Good to know:
- Varieties 'The Bride' and 'Endless Summer' occupy a special position
- Any amount of pruning in the spring is not a problem
- severely shortened shoots from the previous year bear abundant flowers in the same year
- However, flowering begins late after spring pruning
Group 2: panicle and ball hydrangeas
The varieties that bloom on one-year-old wood are uncomplicated. By removing the old inflorescences, you can correct the growth habit at the same time and shorten branches that are too long to 30 centimeters. It does not harm the growth if short stubs with a pair of eyes remain. This will encourage dense branching. Make sure there are at least one to two pairs of buds.
Special case: climbing hydrangeas
Basically, the specimens are treated like hydrangeas of the first cutting group. Except for removing the old flowers, this group of hydrangeas requires little attention. If the shrub grows too high, a more generous pruning is possible. It can happen that after this measure the next bloom is sparse or not at all. This is due to the fact that varieties of the original species Hydrangea petilolaris bloom on perennial wood.