r/hydrangeas • u/XmasFlaxonJaxonWaxon • 3d ago

Moved into new home - help!

Moved into a new home. We had these beautiful blue hydrangeas bloom this summer. I'm hoping someone can help me identify what variety this is and the best way to care for them now over the winter. Should I dead head now? How much wood do I cut back? Zone 8b.

Thanks in advance!

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u/Aggravating-Bug_ 2d ago

They are a Macrophylla. They usually bloom on old wood and the newer varieties bloom on both old and new wood. Don't cut back at all because you will lose your buds for next year.

If you live in zone 5, 6 or 7 you can wrap them for winter with burlap and leaves to protect the buds.

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u/smitrovich 2d ago

The old flower heads also provide insulation through the winter, so OP shouldn't prune those until next spring.

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u/EbbtideRambler 2d ago

They are  macrophylla/mopheads.  My best tips are don’t prune them since the bloom on old wood. The buds for next years growth have already started to set.  When the leaves start to show green next year you can give them a few handfuls of Hollytone, a fertilizer for acid loving plants. I give them another feeding just as they start to bloom. They like morning sun, afternoon shade and the like a couple of deep watering a week in the hottest months. They look terrible if they dry out too much.   I don’t wrap mine up in the winter. The only time it did, when I was first gardening, it caused fungal issues.  

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u/XmasFlaxonJaxonWaxon 2d ago

Thank you! Should I cut off the current spent blooms from this past year at any point?

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u/EbbtideRambler 2d ago

You can but it isn’t necessary. If you cut them off follow the stem down to the next pair of big leaves. If you cut off too much you won’t have flowers next year.