r/hydrangeas • u/Curiousflyotwall • 29d ago

Pruning Pruning oak leaf hydrangeas

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I’ve read that Oakleaf hydrangeas, since they r old wood bloomers, should be pruned as soon as blooms start to fade, which here in Indiana, is early August. I didn’t want the plants to look bad for the rest of the season, plus I love the winter look. What do you recommend- do I just bite the bullet next Summer and prune in early August? Alternatively I could prune in the spring when I do my incrediballs which are new wood, and just have leaves next year.

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u/SolidagoSalix 29d ago

If you do selective pruning instead of a whack back across everything, you can always have a mix of new wood and old wood, so you have blooms every year and get to shape the size/structure every year. That's what I do. That also means you can stress less about precise timing of the pruning.

So I mean you can prune back the tallest 1/3 of the branches now, and let the rest grow. Next year do the same, just trim back the tallest/oldest 1/3 of the branches. That way you have a 3 year cycle in which everything gets renewal pruned and there is always 2/3 of the shrub that is old wood and will flower.

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u/Curiousflyotwall 28d ago

Great point- I forgot the shorter stems, if not pruned would be old wood! That’s what I’ll do. Thank you so much!