Okay, so I’ve got this ‘Blushing Bride’ hydrangea, right? It’s supposed to bloom on both old and new wood, which is great, but it also means pruning can be a little tricky. I wanted to make sure I did it right, so I wouldn’t mess up the blooms for next year. Here’s how it went down.
Figuring Out When to Prune
First things first, I had to figure out when to prune. I learned that with these guys, you can kinda prune them at two different times. I could do it in the late winter/early spring, before they start actively growing, or right after they finish flowering in the summer. I missed the early spring window, so I targeted the post-flowering prune.
The Actual Pruning Process
I waited until most of the flowers had faded and started to turn brown. Grab a tools, I prepared a pair of sharp pruning shears, and my gloves.
- Finding Dead Wood: I started by looking for any dead or broken branches. Those were easy to spot – they were brown, brittle, and clearly not doing anything. I snipped those off right at the base of the branch.
- Shaping the Plant: Next, I stepped back and looked at the overall shape of the hydrangea. It was getting a little leggy, with some long, spindly branches sticking out. I decided to trim those back to make it look a bit more compact.
- Cutting Above a Bud: For the branches I wanted to shorten, I made sure to cut just above a healthy-looking bud. I remembered that’s where the new growth would come from, so I wanted to be careful not to cut too low.
- Removing Some Old Growth:It’s still important to remove some of the oldest canes (the really thick, woody ones) to encourage new growth. I cut about a third of the oldest canes right down to the ground.
The Aftermath
After I was done, the hydrangea looked a lot neater. It was a bit smaller, but I knew it would be happier and healthier in the long run. Plus, I’m hoping this will encourage even more of those beautiful blooms next year! I cleaned up all the cuttings and gave the plant a good watering. Now it’s just a waiting game to see how it does next season!
