Hydrangeas are sold in North America in five types: bigleaf, mountain, smooth, panicle, and oakleaf. Some form their flower buds on old wood, meaning next summer’s buds are already formed. Pruning hydrangeas depends on the type and variety you are growing. Most pruning is carried out in late winter or early spring, but climbing hydrangeas are pruned after flowering in summer. Climbing hydrangeas can tolerate heavy pruning, which should be done in early spring around March, before it leafs out.
Shrub hydrangeas are usually pruned in mid-spring. Learning how to prune hydrangeas is an easy gardening skill, but knowing when to prune them takes a more experienced grower. Cutting hydrangea stems at the wrong time of year could mean that old flowers can get tangled with new growth. New wood hydrangeas (panicle and smooth varieties) should be pruned in early winter, but fall pruning can be dangerous.
To prune hydrangeas, it is essential to trim them each year to keep them in a neat and tidy shape. Cutting back stems to just above a fat bud, called a heading cut, in fall, late winter, or spring is recommended. Climbing hydrangeas such as Hydrangea anomola subsp. petiolaris and Hydrangea seemannii should not be pruned until after they have flowered in summer.
For most hydrangeas, late winter and early spring are the best times to prune and remove their old seed heads. The Royal Horticultural Society recommends pruning hydrangeas in late winter or early spring, which is typically February or March in most of the UK.
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