There’s one mistake you could be making with your hydrangeas, but luckily, there’s an easy fix. Hydrangeas are a popular plant to have in your garden. Their bright colours add life to your outdoor space and make things look more put together.
But making sure you take care of this flower properly is important for making it look its best. With these simple tips, you won’t risk ruining your plants, and your garden will thrive this summer. “The biggest mistake people make has to do with pruning,” explains Lorriane Ballato, author of Success With Hydrangeas.
Pruning is necessary for growing a healthy hydrangea bush—it involves cutting live branches or stems to improve plant health, shape, and structure, and it’s often done during dormant seasons, reports Real Simple.
One of the most important tasks in summer to grow “bigger and healthier” hydrangea plants is also mulching them.
If you’re a novice gardener, pruning is easy to get wrong but there’s some simple tips you can follow to avoid any drastic mistakes.
Firstly, you should make sure to prune your plants at the right time.
While some gardeners may think the time to prune is spring, a hydrangea bush needs to be pruned in August to prepare it for the following season.
Real Simple says: “Second, you need to prune the correct type of wood. There are three types of wood on a hydrangea: dead wood, which snaps easily when twisted and should be removed, old wood, which should be preserved because it’s where blooms form, and new wood, which is green and flexible and should not be cut.”
RHS says deadheading is also important. It says although the blooms on mophead hydrangeas can, in mild areas, be removed as soon as they have faded, it is best to leave them on the plant over winter to provide some frost protection for the tender growth.
If you’re hoping to keep your hydrangeas in their best shape this summer, following these simple tips could help you keep your plants looking their best.