When Do I Prune My Hydrangeas?

Pictured on the right is one of our 'Limelight' Hydrangeas, which is planted in front of the store. The only maintenance we perform is removing the blooms; we do not do any other pruning. This is simply to avoid a mess in the spring. Otherwise, we leave the plants alone.

If you must prune, wait until late winter or early spring. This guideline applies to other panicle hydrangeas, such as 'Little Lime', 'Berry White', 'Bobo', and 'Fire Light', as well as smooth hydrangeas like 'Annabelle' and 'Incrediball'. The blooms can be used in dried arrangements, greens arrangements, and for flower pressing. Our 'Limelight' Hydrangeas, like our 'Basjoo' Bananas, have been planted for 15 years. We really haven't done much pruning, only removing a branch or two when necessary.

Other types of hydrangeas, such as big leaf, oakleaf, and mountain hydrangeas, also do not need to be pruned in the fall. Some examples include 'Endless Summer' and the 'Let's Dance' series. Avoid pruning these types, except for removing completely dead branches in the spring once the plant starts to leaf out. This means waiting until May, maybe even until mid-May, to see if they leaf out on old wood. Do not prune before this time, or you risk cutting off blooms and wondering why there are none.