In this post, you’ll learn not only how to prune hydrangeas, but why you should prune and also how to identify different types of hydrangeas.
If I could only grow one type of shrub in my garden, I would pick hydrangeas. In fact, the first garden we made at Not Quite a Homestead (back when it was not quite Not Quite a Homestead, haha) included a row of Little Lime™ Hydrangeas.
We’ve planted more hydrangeas on our property since, including Incrediball™, BloomStruck™, Pop Star™, and Fire Light™, and I hope to find space in the following years to add a few more other kinds!
Hydrangeas are my favorite flowering shrubs. The blooms look gorgeous in the landscape, in bouquets and flower arrangements, and dried for wreaths and crafts.
When they are happy and healthy, hydrangeas are absolute showstoppers in the garden.
I know a lot of home gardeners struggle with getting their hydrangeas to bloom and be happy, so I’m writing this post to help my hydrangea-owning friends learn to prune their shrubs so they can enjoy them just as much as I do in my own garden!
Pruning feels like a complex topic, but once you learn the basics, you’ll find that it’s not as difficult as it seems at first.
I would like point out, though, that young, newly planted hydrangeas do not need to be pruned. Pruning is really for big, old, mature shrubs that may not be as spry as they once were in their youth!
This post will cover the following topics:
- Why You Should Prune Hydrangeas
- What Kind of Hydrangea Do You Have?
- Materials Needed to Prune Hydrangeas
- How and When to Prune Each Type of Hydrangea
Feel free to jump to the topic that most interests you.
Why You Should Prune Hydrangeas
Hydrangeas are a low-maintenance flower shrub and will do just fine for many seasons without any pruning. But if you want to get the best show out of your hydrangeas and set them up to thrive for years to come, get your pruners out and learn when and how to prune hydrangeas!
Pruning hydrangeas at least once a year is good practice for several reasons.
- Keeps the plants healthy. Removing dead, broken, or diseased limbs right away helps hydrangeas focus their energy on growing healthy branches, leaves, and flowers. Thinning out crowded branches also allows better airflow and allows light to reach the innermost parts of the shrub.
- Increases vigor. Pruning the oldest branches on a hydrangea shrub will signal the plant to grow fresh, new branches to replace them.
- Improves shape. Is your shrub too tall? Too wide? Has wonky branches or an uneven shape? Feel free to prune your hydrangea until it has a pleasing shape.
- Produces bigger blooms and stronger stems. This works best in my experience on paniculata hydrangeas like Limelight and arborescens hydrangeas like Incrediball. I’m not sure about the others!
New gardeners often worry that pruning will kill their plants. To be honest, sometimes I have doubts that a plant will grow back when I do a heavy prune!
With hydrangeas, especially mature hydrangeas, you don’t have to worry. A mature hydrangea will have a strong enough root system to regrow and rejuvenate itself even if you end up cutting off more than you intended.
Plants are pretty amazing like that.
What Kind of Hydrangea Do You Have?
Before pruning, it’s good to know what kind of hydrangea you have!
While there are many named varieties, or cultivars, of hydrangeas, all hydrangeas will fall into certain categories (the species name) and this is what you are trying to identify before pruning. I find it easiest to mostly use the Latin species names as the common names (in parentheses) can vary.
- arborescens (smooth or mophead)
- paniculata (panicle, sometimes PG)
- macrophylla (big leaf)
- serrata (mountain)
- quercifolia (or oakleaf, which is definitely easier to say!)
If you know the cultivar name of your hydrangea (i.e. Incrediball™), you can look up its Latin name or species to see what type of hydrangea it is.
You may have inherited a hydrangea shrub from a previous owner and not know exactly what kind it is. Here are some questions to ask yourself and characteristics to look for to help you identify your hydrangea.
- What shape are the bloom clusters? Cone-shaped blooms are most likely a paniculata type. Round, ball-shaped blooms will most likely be macrophylla or arborescens, but could also be serrata. Open blooms, like some are big and some small often called lacecap, can be serrata or macrophylla hydrangeas.
- What color are the flowers? If the colors can change from blue to pink, you may have a macrophylla or a serrata. If the color stays white or is unaffected by soil pH, it’s likely one of the other hydrangea types.
- When does it bloom? Hydrangeas that bloom in spring or early summer likely are blooming on old wood (last year’s growth). These include macrophyllas, serrata, and oakleaf hydrangeas. Hydrangeas blooming exclusively on new wood from mid-summer to early fall will likely be paniculata hydrangeas or arborescens. If your shrub blooms on both old and new wood, it’s likely a macrophylla or serrata.
- What shape are the leaves? Most hydrangeas have large heart-shaped leaves; but oakleaf hydrangeas, as the name implies, have leaves shaped like oak tree leaves.
- Does it like sun or part-shade? Oakleaf, serrata, and macrophylla hydrangeas prefer being in part-shade and will burn in full sun. Paniculata hydrangeas perform well in full sun, although too much sun may cause some burn, especially in hot, southern climates.
This post from Proven Winners might also help you ID your hydrangea if you need more examples.
Materials Needed to Prune Hydrangeas
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Here’s what you’ll need to prune your hydrangeas:
- Clean and sharp Felco #2’s
- Bucket or wheelbarrow to put cut branches
I recommend heavy-duty pruners like Felco #2’s to be able to cleanly cut through the old wood of a hydrangea. Strong, sharp pruners are best because they will cut cleanly and do the least amount of damage.
You may also want long-handled pruners to get into hard-to-reach spots if you have a large shrub.
How and When to Prune Each Type of Hydrangea
For all types of hydrangeas, start by pruning off branches showing the 3 D’s:
- Dead
- Diseased
- Damaged
Afterwards, follow the instructions given for the type of hydrangea you have.
Hydrangeas that Bloom on Old Wood
Hydrangeas that bloom on old wood include: bigleaf macrophylla, serrata, and oakleaf hydrangeas. Any reblooming hydrangea should be pruned like these as well.
Popular hydrangea varieties in these categories include the Endless Summer™ series, Gatsby™ series, and Tuff Stuff™ series.
Prune these after flowering in summer so it can grow new buds for next year.
Remove only the spent blooms in the summer, cutting between the bloom and first set of leaves after the bloom.
You can remove more, if you wish, just know that you may be sacrificing some of next year’s blooms by pruning off the stem.
Do not cut old wood hydrangeas back in the fall or winter unless you don’t want it to bloom.
Hydrangea flowers dry extremely well, so if the flowers still look good once you’ve pruned them, you can save them for floral crafts and decor if you wish.
Hydrangeas that Bloom on New Wood
Hydrangeas that bloom on new wood include: paniculata and arborescens, or smooth, hydrangeas.
Popular hydrangea varieties in these categories include Limelight, the Fire Light™ series, Quick Fire™ series, Vanilla Strawberry™, Incrediball™, and Annabelle.
Prune these types of hydrangeas in late winter or early spring. I usually wait to prune until the buds start to swell so I can also see if any of the branches have died back.
Cut just above a set of live buds.
You can remove up to a third of the overall shrub to maintain its shape. I like to prune a few branches at a time, then take a step back and see if the shape looks good before going back in.
Enjoy Your Hydrangeas
Hydrangea shrubs are a beautiful, low-maintenance plant to have in the landscape. I hope this post helped you learn how to prune the kind of hydrangea you have and that you learned a bit more about these amazing plants.
What kind of hydrangea do you have? I’m always looking for new ones I might want to add to my garden!
Thanks for reading and happy gardening!