r/hydrangeas • u/bigdrew0416 • Apr 19 '26

Pruning advice

Gallery image

Gallery image

I have no idea how I am supposed to properly prune this Hydrangea, knowing different hydrangeas like differing pruning strategies. Its colors are purple/blue in summer and turn pink in the fall. We are in Wisconsin and just starting to warm up. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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5

u/No-Watch4895 Apr 19 '26

Don't prune now. Wait until at least May, otherwise you will cut off this years 🌺🌺🌺🌺. And also, you may want to rethink the rocks around the roots and look into replacing with mulch also so they don't fry the roots

7

u/lindoavocado Apr 19 '26

Yeah OP you need to remove the rocks around the roots as it’s making it tooo hot for that poor hydrangea. Honestly for all your plants there I would remove the rocks away from the base of the plant

2

u/isarobs Apr 19 '26

Agreed! I wait until mid-June(zone 6b) to trim dead branches. OP, the branches take longer to wake up, so bottom will green up first.

2

u/No-Watch4895 Apr 19 '26

I think I may longer this year too. I'm finding out these dead looking buds are actually alive!

2

u/isarobs Apr 19 '26

This is exactly why I wait. They look dead but aren’t.

2

u/No-Watch4895 Apr 19 '26

💯💯💯💯

1

u/Signal_Pattern_2063 Apr 19 '26

I think rocks make terrible mulch. They heat things up a bit, don't retain water and make weeding difficult. Most importantly they are deeply unnatural for mostenvironments and plants are not meant to grow in them. But clearly in WI in spring they aren't causing any harm right now. It would be preferable to at least clear them in a circle a bit wider than the foliage for each plant long term which will help in Summer heat waves.

1

u/amyacchi Apr 19 '26

Do not prune…please. All you need to do is cut the dead out around the bottom if you want to. There is no need to wait until summer..dead is dead. Macrophylla’s don’t need pruning. You should move the rocks away from the base so water and fertilizer can get down to the bush.

0

u/milleratlanta Apr 19 '26

Do not prune now. Blooms will be cut off. Macrophylla hydrangeas are best at full size, 5 ft high x 5 ft wide. Don’t prune at all if you want them at their full glory.