Hydrangeas remain a favourite choice for any type of garden, flourishing even during winter’s harsh conditions, but gardeners should be aware of one straightforward technique to guarantee abundant blooms when spring arrives. Whilst spring may seem distant with dropping temperatures, this is actually the perfect time to begin preparing your garden for a stunning showcase of full hydrangea flowers next year.
Gardening experts from Millcreek Gardens have shared that deadheading, which involves removing spent blooms from your hydrangeas as they start to fade and turn brown, is crucial for encouraging future flowering. The gardening specialists said, “When you deadhead hydrangeas, you aren’t harming the plants at all. Removing the spent blooms triggers flowering shrubs to stop producing seeds and instead put their energy toward root and foliage development.”
They continued: “This makes plants stronger, bigger and healthier, so by deadheading, you’ll be doing your hydrangeas a favour.”
For the best outcomes, keep deadheading your hydrangeas throughout their growing season and into early autumn, but ensure you cease before the first frost arrives. Autumn deadheading not only tidies the plant but also assists it in conserving energy.
Nevertheless, it’s essential to stop this practice well before frosty conditions hit to prevent putting the plant under stress. The gardening expert advised: “Stop deadheading hydrangea shrubs in late [autumn], leaving any spent blooms in place. This not only provides winter interest but also ensures you don’t remove the buds that will become flowers next spring.”
As the chill sets in, keen gardeners should be on the lookout for the year’s first frost to time their hydrangea care just right, ceasing deadheading activities around a month prior.
Pushing past the frost date with pruning shears in hand might open up fresh growth to frosty nights, putting the kibosh on next season’s blooming potential.
The experts claimed: “Deadheading is an easy gardening task, one many people enjoy. All you need to deadhead hydrangeas is a pair of garden gloves, pruners and a container to hold the faded flowers.”
Tool prep comes first, urging pruner sanitation with an alcohol-soaked rag to fend off fungal foes and keep your cuts clean and clear.
Zero in on blooms that have lost their zest, showing signs of wilting and brown hues, then snip them just above a duo of sprightly leaves to boost future growth. Keep a disinfectant-drenched cloth handy to regularly clean the shears.
To deadhead your hydrangeas, simply take each spent bloom and follow its stem down to the next set of large leaves; that’s where you cut.
Ensure to tidy up any fallen leaves from the ground as they can lure pests and also discharge excessive nitrogen into the soil, which can over-nourish plants.
Deadheading should take less than five minutes, but removing fading growth will assist in achieving larger, healthier and more abundant blooms next spring.