New to Hydrangea?

Okay, so I bought my mom this lovely hydrangea plant with three huge but beautiful flowers - two pink and the other blue. But I'm confused about the care for it. At the moment, the entire plant itself is young, well maybe. It's close to about a foot high. It's a hydrangea macrophylla type I guess according to the plant info. Now I'm suppose to prune this thing? It seems too small? But if I don't prune it, will it bloom next year? If I do have to prune it, where do I cut? Will this thing survive Chicago winter? How should I protect it? Help!!

New to Hydrangea?
You should not prune a shrub the first year it is planted.





You do not need to prune hydrangea to promote bloom.





You live in Chicago %26amp; it probably will never bloom again after this summer. Hydrangea macrophylla or Big Leaf Hydrangeas are not stem hardy in zone 5 (Chicago). That means the stems die back to the ground when the temperatures get to our cold lows below -10 degress F. After these cold temps, Big Leaf Hydrangea can recover and grow new stems next year but, the problem is that they flower on second year wood (stems). When the stems die back each winter, the shrub only has first year wood (stems) and, therefore, no flowers. Only if you live in a very protected site in Chicago and you have some kind of little niche of a microclimate (zone 6) in your yard will you ever see it bloom again after this summer. Good luck and enjoy the blooms.





P.S. 99.9% of the time they sell Nikko Blues (Hydrangea macrophylla) in the Chicago area. Yes, Nikko blue is a 'hortensias' or mophead as the previous post suggests. In zone 6 or higher, these shrubs need no prunning. In zone 5 you will be prunning out stem dieback every spring.
Reply:It'll survive Chicago because I have two and they survived Montréal, Québec, Canada winter!


You can cut the flowers once they're wilted that's about it. Only part of the stems freeze in winter. About half freezes so that's where I cut it off. It might not freeze so much in Chicago.


The flowers will all be pink unless you add aluminum sulfate cristals to your soil.


Happy gardening!
Reply:It doesn't need pruning yet. As the flowers die (spent blooms) they should be trimmed off. This will encourage repeat blooming. I assume that this was transplanted into a garden. The acidic level in the soil is what causes the flowers to be pink or blue. If you want blue adding a little peat moss to the soil surrounding the plant. I prune only after winter to trim away any stems that don't sprout.





Good luck!
Reply:OK...don't stress too much about the pruning right now. Generally you will prune off the dead flowers when it is finished blooming. That variety is deciduous and will go dormant in the winter, the main problem with Hydrangea is their lack of tolerance for hot afternoon sun in the summer. You are best to keep it sheltered (ie in a shaded position close to your house) and don't forget to feed it regularly, especially when it comes out of dormancy and starts to bud up.
Reply:we live in ark. the ones we have, we have never pruned. they get bigger each year.my husband suggest you pack a good mulch around the base and cover it about 3 to 5 inches up the trunk.and best if its planted on the north side of house.
Reply:Hydrangeas that small really should not bloom, as it inhibits their growth. Growers force the blooms this time of year, however, to push them for Mother's Day sales. They are usually grown for a one-time, spectacular show. The plant has been fed specifically to produce many large blooms quickly, quite often at the expense of the future health of the plant.





Macrophylla means it's either a lacehead or a mophead, your's is a mophead. It's important to know that mophead hydrangeas do not have to be pruned back - ever - unless they are very old. Removing dead stems is the only pruning that must be done for the health of the plant, and these can be removed at any time. Dead blooms can also be removed at any time.

miriam