Pruning is one of the most important jobs when it comes to the garden as it can change the overall look and health of it.
While every plant needs to be pruned at different times of the year, now is a great time to prune mophead and lacecap varieties.
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) said: “Hydrangeas flower from mid-to-late summer on the previous year’s growth.
“Mophead and lacecap hydrangeas will bloom satisfactorily with little attention, but annual pruning encourages new, vigorous growth and a better flowering display.”
Likewise, other species, including climbing hydrangeas will benefit from a trim but not until the end of summer.
Mophead hydrangeas are identified by their full, round heads of large petals while lacecaps have small flowers in the centre of the bloom and an outer border of large petals.
To prune mophead hydrangeas, the RHS recommended deadheading them now.
They explained: “Remove the dead flowerheads, cutting back the stem to the first strong, healthy pair of buds down from the faded bloom.
“Lacecaps are hardier, and the faded flowerheads can be cut back after flowering to the second pair of leaves below the head to prevent seeds developing, which saps energy from the plant.”
When it comes to pruning established hydrangeas, Britons should cut out one or two of the oldest stems at the base to encourage new growth.
The experts added: “Overgrown or poorly shaped plants can be entirely renovated by cutting off all the stems at the base.
“However, this will remove all the flowers for that summer. The new stems won’t bloom until the following year.”
If there is any frost damage in the spring, gardeners should prune back the affected shoots to just above the first undamaged pair of buds on healthy wood.
Make sure to also remove any weak, straggly plants, focusing in particular on any stems that trail on the ground.
