Hydrangea Pruning 101

[@starlakelsey2782]

I watched one of your old videos on trimming. I hadn't really thinned out the little scrubby stuff before on my 5 year old Lime Lites. I had only topped 3rd of growth on them and they flopped really bad. I may go in and thin more after watching this. My husband sorta freaked out and asked me if I knew what I was doing. Our secret....Nope. But I feel much better about what I did after watching this. Thanks

[@gwenb4531]

I can so relate!

[@heatherw.2751]

Oh, I love the sound of pruners!!!

[@j.m.7056]

Thanks for the refresher. I just rewatched the video and then went outside and did the deed. Whew! My Little Lime looks good!!!

[@kimbailey742]

Best video this year. Hi, I'm Kim, and I overthink trimming everything! 🤣 nots no more 👍

[@rscalise2011]

Thank for your concise hydrangea pruning lesson ❤

[@katedorman7042]

Yes! Have been waiting for this post and am headed out to do some pruning. Erin, you’re getting so close to 100,000 subs🎉🥳🍾. Will you do a ‘live’ cocktails and garden chat when you get there? I’m getting so excited for you.

[@karolgordon7596]

I’ve been gardening for years and have never had the different ways of pruning hydrangea explained so well. You’re so full of knowledge. Thank your for sharing it with us!

[@JOHara-yv5pl]

This is the best tutorial I have ever seen regarding Hydrangeas. I have had a Niko Blue for about 15 years. In the coming weeks I’ll be confident to prune it the right way. Thank you!

[@sallywoods7131]

This is the best tutorial I have seen. Thank you, Erin, for simple straightforward explanations and examples. Love your videos.

[@ashleyh4781]

I love the anxiety people get watching you prune…Calm down, Patsy. Girl knows what she’s doin. 😎😜😆

[@peggyriordan9857]

Thanks so much for the tutorial! I've been watching several of those videos and was very confused. I did know what types I had, but there were so many different versions as to how to prune them! Now, it will be much simpler for me to do this week!

[@ineedmickey5170]

Just waiting for this one to come out! Felco’s in hand.

[@laurenwellman2516]

It’s always still helpful to have reminder videos every year on what to do. 🥰. Thank you! 💕

[@betsymaltby6788]

Paniculata I find easy. Macrophylia isn't difficult either, however so many say to prune in late summer after bloom, but I like the dried flower heads for winter interest. So as you pointed out, I just cut off the dried flowers and get blooms every year. Sometimes I need to rein in some of my larger Macrophylia shrubs, so I do a hard cut, knowing I will be sacrificing this season's blooms. Hydrangea pruning 411 is always welcome, and we all do "overthink" it...but we're gardeners...that's what we do! LOL!

[@lisac8082]

Love, love, LOVE hydrangeas!!!

[@upnorth21]

Thanks for the encouragement to just chill! :) Great info as usual!

[@Rougebasque]

hello Erin, you have motivated me to plant a limelight as a specimen like your big one. Cant wait for it to grow. As for Annabelle, I totally agree with you. I tried everything for it not to flop. The 20 inches method was the worst, because the new growth started exactly from the cut of 20 inches and the stems were even weaker. So I prune the from the ground! Merci beaucoup.

[@bettyfadrigon673]

I’ve been watching your video, You are quickly one of my favorites!! Your style, and presentation is easy to understand, and relate to. Last year I decided that I wanted to trim my three eight foot lime light trees back into shrubs, so I cut them back to a trunk of 18”. Well, neighbors, husband, even I thought that was the end until I saw your video on pruning your limelight!! They are coming back, not sure if they will ever look like shrubs again, but your video reassured me that I hadn’t gone mad!! If you accept pictures, I would like your opinion???

[@anitahadley2871]

I had to take a bit more off of my macrophyllas this year. We had a late cold snap and even though I covered them they took a hit. It’s a wait and see if they bloom well. I’m sure I’ll get some on my Dear Delores as they are a remontant variety. It’s also very satisfying to remove all of the dead stems that sort of just pop out.

[@amydeeds6248]

Serrata and panicle are my favorite for Michigan. I have one Endless summer that occasionally blooms. This coming winter I’m going to wrap it in burlap and fill with leaves to see if it protects the buds. Your big limelight almost looks like a standard! Friends keep asking me how to prune their hydrangeas but they never know what kind they are lol. 😊

[@maureenlevy207]

So helpful Erin. Still fuming that my landscape people took it upon themselves to cut back my Tuff Stuff! Uggh. They have never done this and I do all my flower gardens and pruning. I guess no flowers this year and praying for my Limelight that they also hacked on with bad cuts. I went back over it with clean cuts and will hope for the best! Thank you for your uncomplicated, clear and concise explanation for pruning!🌱🌱

[@TheImpatientGardener]

I'm fuming for you!

[@eileenchang2173]

Maureen, I ran out in time to tell my lawn service folks not to touch any of my flowering bushes! I hope you get to enjoy the limelight!

[@wendywerner3242]

I have my first dahlia flower coming in 🌸

[@JJ-fm3hr]

well said!

[@judymertz7670]

Please do a video on pruning oakleaf hydrangea. Mine are huge. Maybe that's ok. I've heard you should trim after they bloom but the blooms look good until December. I'm in z6, Kansas. Thanks, Erin. Love your videos.

[@ginafriend1690]

I'm glad it's not a big deal, and I do research, as I'm certainly Not afraid to cut (prune)! Thats from being a hairstylist 😊 What'cha going to do with all those dried flowers (?) Heck, make wreaths and sell them! Enjoy your weekend! 💚

[@lanacameruci4523]

Hi Erin, I am looking to visit some public gardens and know that you have encouraged this as a way to get ideas. I was wondering if you might do a video about some gardens you recommend visiting that are worth the trip. I tend to be a homebody and love spending time in my own garden so taking time away from my own garden in the summer needs to be time well spent.

[@junewrogg6137]

I like pruning mine. It's the easy part! Cleaning up the mess is the grunt work! LOL ( And I do grunt! ughhhh, bending over! LOL)

[@cindylouwhobohl6983]

I have a huge hydrangea Paniculata about the size of yours in my back yard but we are out in the country…..on top of a hill and the wind prunes all the flowers off of it for me!

[@yonokzeller5402]

🙏🙏🙏

[@jucjuc314]

Let's just take a minute and appreciate your filming skills Erin! 😄The camera held in your mouth is a fantastic idea and we could see perfectly what's happening! 😄 I was just wondering where and how did you hold the camera the second before you changed the angle and released the secret 😄 Greetings, Judit 🙋

[@TheImpatientGardener]

I bought a special mouth holder attachment for that GoPro. It is the weirdest thing to be running around my garden with that thing. 🤣

[@quercus21]

Nice video. Just done mine. Is that a pair of Niwaki secateurs? If so I have the same ones, hard to beat.

[@dylan8285]

You just confirmed my assumption about why my little lime flopped the first 2 years I had it not enough water, as last year the 4th season with it we were super wet over the summer and it didn't flop. Probably that its stronger now too from fertilizing each year and getting established better. But defiantly from dryness it flops

[@Jessie577]

Great video! Do you treat the cut ends with anything?

[@elianaathayde]

Is it too late to reduce the height of my various little or not so little limes by pruning the branches shorter? I just deadheaded them but in a case or two would like a smaller plant… not sure I see buds just yet. I’m in southeast michigan and that late snow storm did a number on many shrubs. As an example, my viburnum Shasta looks sad and is barely blooming.

[@bettyboop1524]

I have a couple of hydrangea that I'm not sure what they are. How should I tackle regarding pruning? Last year was my first year with hydrangea and most were purchased on sale some had no tags. I wasn't sure if the deer were going to eat them so didn't want to make a huge investment in paying full price. Thank you

[@terrimarkus3448]

Do you fertilize your limelight hydrangeas? I’m close to your location and have similar soil conditions (near Lake Michigan) and want to plant a limelight hydrangea border.

[@rebeccamasters3943]

I was wondering if you have trouble with deer eating your hydrangeas? I have a lot of deer and really want to plant some, but have been leery. Also what a huge jump in subscribers! That’s awesome! Can’t wait for you to get to 100k!

[@breakingburque2200]

One of the key things missing in my garden is a good hydrangea

[@TheImpatientGardener]

There are SO many coming out these days! I bet there’s the perfect one for your garden out there.

[@margaretfrise8047]

So I am in Southeastern Ontario zone 5B-6. I have 5 hydrangeas: annabelle, limelight, Pinky Winky, quickfire and Oakleaf. The first 4 were all growing in together and not being highlighted and hiding everything underneath them so last fall I trimmex them down by about 1/3 and took off the lower branches to make them all more kind of tree form. There are still lots of flowers I've left on all winter and I'm just going to go out and trim them back to the first Bud now. Have I made a mistake?

[@loismaudson6322]

Enjoyed the video thank you ( u k )

[@4tgarden989]

Your plant has many flower Are her flowers dry? What month does the Hydrangea flowers last

[@TheImpatientGardener]

Yes, these are all last year’s flowers. It starts blooming in July and the flowers last until October when they start browning.

[@kellyferren2705]

I have a pinkie winkie hydrangea which one is it it's fairly large I have had her for 6 years and I have never pruned her,for fear of losing blooms and she is getting a little out of control

[@seeta5409]

The pinky winky hydrangea is a hydrangea paniculata. It blooms on new wood. So pruning is recommended in late winter/ early spring.

[@kellyferren2705]

@@seeta5409 thank you 😊

[@janetvorenkamp3655]

Do you have a good source for the metal edging?

[@TheImpatientGardener]

This stuff is called Everedge and I installed it 10 years ago and I don’t love it. In fact I toyed with replacing it this year but don’t feel like doing that job. I think I bought that locally but I have ordered other edging from A.M. Leonard, I believe.

[@margaretfrise8047]

I should have added, the oakleaf is my favorite but it is really getting too large for its space, interfering with my clothesline etc. But I hesitate to do any trimming to it since it blooms on old wood.

[@karenbudnick]

I had to take my oak leaf down because it was blocking a window. That resulted in fewer blooms last year but this year should be back to normal. Sometimes you gotta do what ya gotta do...

[@margaretfrise8047]

@@karenbudnick so you just gave it a big trim?

[@karenbudnick]

@@margaretfrise8047 Yes but after the booms faded in the fall. It's in leaf now so I'm expecting plenty of blooms this year. I normally just cut off the spent flowers but they can get huge so sometimes you just need to cry a little and cut. I have snowflake which is a smaller variety anyway. I have 6 different hydrangeas and no matter what anyone says, pruning can be confusing.

[@margaretfrise8047]

@@karenbudnick I know what you mean. I have five but I think only the oakleaf blooms on old wood.

[@karenbudnick]

@@margaretfrise8047 Lacecaps & mopheads bloom on old wood. Paniculata (pointy head) on new wood. What type are yours? I think my favorite (beside the oak leaf) is my tree form "Quick Fire".

[@christypalumbo4214]

What if you don’t know what type of plant you have?

[@TheImpatientGardener]

Don't prune and just watch it for a season. The worst thing that will happen if you don't prune is that you'll get a lot of probably tall growth, nothing you can't live with for a season while you figure it out.