Pruning hydrangeas is straightforward yet prone to errors that can ruin your display. Stay calm and prune correctly to ensure vibrant flowers next season.
Begin with the classic garden hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla and varieties), known for its large, ball-shaped blooms—sometimes flattened.
Garden hydrangea
At winter's end, remove faded flower heads but leave the young, brown branches intact. Flowering occurs on apical buds at branch tips from the previous year's growth. Shortening these branches risks eliminating blooms entirely.
While pruning, eliminate dead wood and weak branches. Cut old, gray wood—which bore last year's flowers—just above new buds. Preserve healthy young, brown branches, removing only frail or poorly positioned ones.
Other hydrangea types—paniculata (panicle blooms like lilac), quercifolia (oak-leaved), and arborescens—prune more aggressively. Shorten all branches at winter's end, as they flower on new growth, similar to summer-blooming shrubs.
Oak leaf hydrangea
