How To Prune Hydrangeas – What To Do With Hydrangeas After They Bloom : Did you know that how you prune and care for your hydrangeas after they bloom can affect their performance following year? This can affect whether they blossom at all!
Hydrangeas beautify any scene. Their vast leaf canopies and blossoms give massive flower power and appeal. They’re one of the most popular perennials for home planting, and each year brings more lovely types and hybrids.
How To Prune Hydrangeas – What To Do With Hydrangeas After They Bloom
Hydrangeas are low-maintenance, adding to their appeal. They need little water or nutrients once established. A basic all-purpose fertilizer administered each spring usually keeps them healthy and vigorous.
How To Determine When To Cut
What is the best time to trim your hydrangeas? Actually, everything relies on the kind of hydrangea you are cultivating and the timing of its bloom.
The good news is that hydrangeas actually only come in two main varieties: those that bloom in the summer and those that bloom in the late summer or early fall. And you’ll know precisely when to prune them when they bloom!
Summer Blooming Hydrangeas
Of the two varieties, summer-blooming hydrangeas are significantly more commonly planted. They consist of climbing, mountain, bigleaf, and oakleaf kinds. These include the always well-liked mop-head blooming hydrangeas, which have enormous flower heads.
Hydrangeas that bloom in the summertime should be pruned as soon as the blooms end. Aged wood is where these plants bloom. Essentially, the blossoms for the following year will be carried by the new growth that appears from July until the first frost.
By pruning as soon as your bloom cycle is over, you give the plant plenty of time to continue growing and producing new wood for the remainder of the season. And that very wood will be ready with flowers for the next year.
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When To Prune Late Summer/ Fall Blooming Hydrangeas
Fall or late summer The smooth and panicle kinds of hydrangeas, which have a huge but more cone-shaped bloom head, are among those that bloom. Typically, these types bloom anytime between mid-August and late fall.
Pruning for hydrangeas that bloom in late summer and early fall can take place in the early spring before the plants leaf out, or very late fall as the blossoms fade. This is so because wood that grows in the same season, or new wood, is where smooth and panicle kinds bloom.
Pruning & Deadheading Hydrangeas After They Finish Blooming
Hydrangea pruning and deadheading go hand in hand. The process of eliminating wasted blooms from a plant is known as deadheading. Deadheading will maintain plants more enticing for almost all annual and perennial flowers.For hydrangeas, it basically means cutting the bloom head off the plant. This not only makes your plant seem better, but it also helps the hydrangea store energy for when it comes time to bloom again by encouraging the growth of new wood.
Hydrangeas require a great deal of deadheading. Old flowers deplete the plant’s energy if they are permitted to stay. Less energy is available to withstand winter and create the flowers for the next year.
Avoid Late Fertilizing – How To Prune Hydrangeas
As mentioned earlier in the article, hydrangeas are not heavy feeders. Too much fertilizer will actually hinder bloom development. Instead of creating more blooms, the bush will only use the extra energy to grow bigger.
Early April is the ideal time to fertilize hydrangeas. This will contribute to a healthy leaf cover and early season growth. Use an all-purpose plant food that contains the same amounts of potassium, phosphorus, and nitrogen when fertilizing.
Granular fertilizers are an effective way to give hydrangeas a gradual delivery of nutrients. Fertilize no later in the growing season. In fact, this may encourage late growth that could otherwise freeze over the winter.
