We all love the beautiful blooms of the many types of hydrangeas, they bring a lovely soft feel to summertime. However, if you don’t know what you are doing when you are pruning you might end up with no blossoms at all. It pays to have knowledge about which type of plant you have so you know how to prune properly.

The first thing to know is that you don’t have to prune your hydrangeas, they will happily grow and bloom without the touch of a blade. But if they are getting too large for their space or you want to shape them then you can cut them. Here at Nature’s Friends Landscaping we have the knowledge to prune your hydrangeas, along with doing other landscape chores, so if you would like we can accomplish this chore for you.

If you have a mophead or lacecap macrophylla hydrangea (typically blue, pink, purple) or an oakleaf hydrangea (white cone shape blooms with oak tree shaped leaves), you need to prune them in the summer before August. These bloom on old wood, which means they will begin developing flower buds in early fall for the next summer. So if you prune them August or later you will be cutting off the buds for the next year.

The other types of hydrangeas which all have white blooms, paniculatas and arborescens, and they bloom on new wood which is the stem that grows in the same season as the bloom. The paniculatas (Peegees and Limelight) can be pruned in any season except summer which is when they bloom. The arborescens (Annabelle) can be pruned in any season but spring for the same reason. In addition, the paniculatas are the only hydrangea which can be trained into a tree form.

For every hydrangea it is good practice to prune out dead stems every year to maintain their neat appearance. Whatever you decide to do, be assured that your hydrangea will bloom happily every year and provide many years of garden majesty.