When and how do you prune hydrangeas?

Contrary to flipper's comment MOST hydrangeas bloom on OLD (the previous years) growth and should not be pruned in late summer or fall because you will be removing the buds for next years flowers. Copy and paste the link below for detailed information.


http://www.agnr.umd.edu/users/cmrec/art4...

When and how do you prune hydrangeas?
sorry for the typo...it should have read 'old' wood. My mistake. Report It

Reply:The French hydrangea, Hydrangea macrophylla, blooms from the previous years buds, and should be pruned in the summer when the blooms have faded. Most hydrangeas bloom on new wood so if you decide to cut your plant back now, I would think that it will send new buds again, but I can't promise you that. Since it isn't necessary to prune hydrangeas every year, I think that if it were my plant, I would snip any dead branches, and possibly do a little shaping, but otherwise let the plant go ahead on its own schedule.





I'm in zone 9 but this should work even in other zones.
Reply:Depending on the area you are in - if harsh winters and the leaves fall off, to leave them alone. If you are looking to keep the plant a certain "size" should check HGTV.com and go to gardening by the yard show. They just had a segment on this topic within the last week.
Reply:It depends. The general rule of thumb is if it blooms in the spring, prune in the summer, if it blooms in the summer prune in winter or very early spring.





Most shrubs require part of the previous season to "set" their flowers for the following season. If you wait too long, you will end up chopping off the following season's flowers.





Master Gardener, OSU, Dana