To prune or not to prune....

Every year someone asks me if they should prune their hydrangeas. You should not prune spent blooms off your hydrangeas until the following growing season and after the risk of frost. There is one exception: if your blooms have been scorched or damaged and there is still enough time left in the growing season for them to bloom again. In this case you could prune spent blooms only. Hydrangeas do not respond well to excessive pruning, so if you must, proceed carefully. I do not prune my spent blooms and my hydrangeas will often bloom twice in a growing season if watered regularly. The blooms of a hydrangea change colors throughout their growing season, which adds to their beauty. In the fall they dry on the plant and their colors become muted; they seem to change into a dried arrangement and display the essence of autumn's beauty. The reasons you do not prune the spent blooms are because it can encourage growth during times of cold weather, thus heavily damaging the plant. Also, experts say hydrangeas bloom on old growth. However, I have had mine bloom on both old and new growth.

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