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Variety | Blooms on old/new wood | When to prune |
Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris, or climbing hydrangea |
Blooms on old wood | Do not prune in the first 2-3 years as it establishes itself. Prune immediately following bloom period if shoots are growing beyond the desired area. |
Hydrangea arborescens (Annabelle types) | Blooms on new wood (this year’s growth) | Prune in the fall, winter, or early spring. Pruning in early summer removes potential flower buds for the current season. ‘Annabelle’ (H. arborescens) is sometimes cut to within a few inches of the ground each fall or winter and when pruned this way they can be used as beautiful hedges. One problem that can result from this is that the young stems will not be stout enough to support the large flower heads (up to 10” across). To avoid this problem, prune back to 18-24” tall and allow the older stems to increase in diameter from year to year. |
Hydrangea macrophylla, big-leaf hydrangea | Blooms on one-year-old wood | Prune in July as blooms start to fade but before flower buds are set for next year. Do not prune fall, winter, or early spring. Susceptible to winter or frost injury. |
Hydrangea macrophylla, bigleaf hydrangea, ‘Endless Summer’ and ‘Let’s Dance’ cultivars | Bloom on old wood (last year’s growth) and new wood (this year’s growth) | Removing spent blooms will promote new blossoms. Prune in the spring. When these types of hydrangea are about 5 years old, remove about 1/3 of the stems down to the ground each summer after blooming to revitalize the plant |
Hydrangea paniculata PeeGee’ types |
Blooms on new wood (this year’s growth) | Prune in the fall, winter, or early spring. Pruning in early summer removes potential flower buds for the current season. The ‘Pee Gee’ (H. paniculata) type hydrangeas can be pruned in fall, winter or spring. Annual pruning is not necessary except to trim out crisscrossed branches or dead wood. This type of hydrangea is the only kind that can be pruned into a tree form. When pruning, leave the trunk and the top branches. |
Hydrangea quercifolia, oakleaf hydrangea |
Blooms on old wood | Prune in July as blooms start to fade but before flower buds are set for next year. Do not prune fall, winter, or early spring. When these types of hydrangea are about 5 years old, remove about 1/3 of the stems down to the ground each summer after blooming to revitalize the plant. |