As the weather starts to warm up, it’s a great time to get back into the garden and take care of our plants. One of the tasks I really enjoy is getting my pruning shears ready to tidy up the garden from last year’s growth. Today, I want to share my simple method for pruning hydrangeas to encourage the most beautiful blooms in the springtime, and also point out some common mistakes to avoid. Trust me, I’ve learned these lessons firsthand!
Here in Texas, I usually start to see fresh, new growth on my hydrangea plants around the month of March. Depending on where you live and your specific climate zone, this new growth might appear a little earlier or later. But for me, this time of year is the ideal moment for “Spring pruning hydrangeas.” In the past, I made the mistake of trying to prune them in the fall, and every single time I did that, it actually stopped or “stunted the blooms.” (insert unhappy face) Do you want to know the reason for this? Well, the majority of the flowers appear on the new stems that grow in the current season. While it’s true that “some varieties will also bloom on old-growth,” I’ve personally “found that this works best” for the types I have. It can sometimes feel like “a real guessing game,” so it’s always a good idea to “do some research on your variety before trying this method” to understand its specific blooming habits.
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