Hydrangeas are a great addition to anyone looking to brighten up their , known for their large and colourful bloom. And if you’re already growing the in your garden, as spring approaches, it’s the perfect time to spruce up your bush that likely dried out over the winter, ensuring they bloom in time for the warmer months.
Taking proper care of your hydrangea is crucial to ensuring it can continue to bloom. While they should be left alone in winter months, most hydrangeas will start to flower again in spring, and with proper upkeep, hydrangeas can live for up to 20 to 50 years. While ensuring your plant gets enough water and sunlight, paying attention to how you prune the flower is also vital to ensuring it blooms in season.
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Hydrangeas will ‘tell you’ where to cut off (Image: Getty)
Garden expert @davetheplantman has shared his technique for knowing how to prune your hydrangeas, removing any dead flowers from the bush to make room for new ones. And instead of hacking away at the plant, Dave instructs viewers to carefully chop the flowers away at one specific point in the video posted to .
“I wait until I see the new shoots come in and then the hydrangea basically tells you where to cut off.”
In the video posted on , Dave explains that when cutting the dried-out flower from the bush, you should cut just above the new shoots. This method means you’re essentially picking away the dead flowers to make room for new foliage.
But you should only keep hold of the branches with new shoots sprouting. Dave explains that he cuts off anything that hasn’t got a shoot.
The more flowers you remove, the easier it will be to spot any brown branches in the middle that can be removed from the plant, making room for “a bit of air in the centre so that it will breathe and make room for the flowers to grow again.”
One user, Tina Reddel, commented: “I’ve had mine for 25 years and it’s huge, and I never know when to prune. Yours is the clearest advice I’ve ever heard, thank you.” Another user, Dee, said, “I normally do mine mid-end of March. Along with some feed. Come mid May they’re always perfect.”
And with the dead flowers, Dave recommends holding onto these and putting them to use elsewhere, pointing out that they’re “lovely for flower arranging.”