Hydrangeas are extremely popular, but there is often indecision when it comes to pruning.
We'll show you what you need to know about cutting hydrangeas.
Except for the increased water requirement, hydrangeas are relatively easy to care for and always nice to look at.
No wonder that hydrangeas bloom and sprout in German gardens.
But as with so many shrubs, there is also a lot of uncertainty here when it comes to pruning.
We explain what you need to know.
After winter: when to cut hydrangeas
The bushes have to be cut back regularly so that you can enjoy the flowers and shape of the hydrangeas for a long time.
Spring is
usually best for this
.
In any case, wait for the last frost before starting the pruning.
This should start
around the
end of February
.
How are hydrangeas cut back?
Much more important than the time of pruning, however, is that depending on the type of hydrangea, the pruning must be different.
Because you cannot treat every plant in the same way - if you cut back the wrong type of hydrangea too much, the flowering may fail completely next year.
That is why hydrangeas are generally divided into
two cutting
groups.
These hydrangeas belong to cutting group 1
Farmer's hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla)
Plate hydrangea (Hydrangea serrata)
Velvet hydrangea (Hydrangea sargentiana)
Giant-leaf hydrangea (Hydrangea aspera "Macrophylla")
Oak leaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia)
Climbing hydrangea (Hydrangea petiolaris)
The special thing about the hydrangeas of cutting group 1 is that they
develop their new shoots and buds in the current calendar year
.
So if you take a look at the buds of these hydrangeas in autumn, you should already see a new inflorescence and leaves.
As a result, the hydrangeas of cutting group 1 must
not be
cut
back too much
so that nothing happens to this fresh shoot.
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How to cut hydrangeas of cut group 1
In general, all hydrangea species can be cut in spring.
As soon as no more frost is expected,
simply
cut off
the old inflorescences just above the first pair of buds
.
If you feel the hydrangea is getting too dense, just thin it out a little by cutting off the oldest shoots at ground level.
In principle, you can decide for yourself whether you want to cut back the plants a little more.
However, you will then have to go without the flowers for a year.
You can also remove the shoots that have frozen in winter.
You can tell whether a shoot is frozen by the color of the fabric.
Just scrape something off the bark: If it lights up green underneath, the plant is still alive.
However, if it is green-yellow and dried up, the shoot did not survive the winter.
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: These are the things you should watch out for when pricking tomatoes.
These hydrangeas belong to cutting group 2
Snowball hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens)
Panicle hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata)
With the snowball hydrangeas and panicle hydrangeas you often have the opportunity to prune.
In addition to spring, autumn or both are also possible, as these hydrangea species
do not form
their
fresh flower buds until the new year
, i.e. the year of flowering.
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How to cut hydrangeas of cut group 2
With these hydrangea varieties, you can cut a little more radically: All the shoots of the current gardening year are
trimmed back so far that only one pair of eyes remains
.
In the next year the shoots grow out fresh and strengthened - on top of that, the number of shoots increases in this way every year, as two new shoots sprout from each cut shoot.
Should the crown eventually become too dense, weaker or unsightly shoots will simply cut off.
Also read
: When and where are hydrangeas planted?
List of rubric lists: © dpa / Waltraud Grubitzsch