According to the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), annual pruning of hydrangeas “encourages new, vigorous growth and a better flowering display” in the summer. The most common types of hydrangeas found in English gardens are lacecaps and mopheads. The former, lacecaps, have “tiny flowers in the centre of the bloom and an outer border of large petals”.
Meanwhile, mopeds “are identified by their full, roundish heads of large petals”. Whichever hydrangeas you have in your garden, “early spring” is primetime for pruning, which means April is the perfect month to get started.
“Remove the dead flowerheads in early spring,” the RHS instructed. “Cutting back the stem to the first strong, healthy pair of buds down from the faded bloom.”
And cutting off the oldest stems at the base of the plant all encourage the precaution of new growth “that will produce more flowers”.
Echoing the same sentiment that early spring is the best time to prune hydrangeas, one gardening professional demonstrated how to prune correctly.
Multi-award-winning garden designer, Pollyanna Wilkinson – based around London and Surrey – uploaded a video of herself pruning her garden plants.
On her TikTok channel, Pollyanna is seen pruning her hydrangeas down to “20cm to the ground”.
As for her reasoning for the severe cutback, Pollyanna said it would “create really strong stems in the summer that can withstand heavy rain”.
Her variety of hydrangeas, however, is that of the Annabel variety, which is a small, bushy deciduous shrub.
The RHS adds that for this type of plant, “no routine pruning is necessary” as long as any diseased, damaged, congested or crossing shoots are removed.
Top gardening jobs in April
- Sowing seeds outdoors, particularly hardy annuals, herbs and wildflowers
- Protect any fruit blossoms from any frost
- Keep weeds under control
Expanding on the final gardening task, the RHS said: “Remove weeds that will smother seedlings and small plants by hoeing or digging out.”
There’s no need for chemicals to remove weeds, which would otherwise be a risk to other plants in the garden.
“Try hand-removing, trimming or smothering them rather than resorting to weedkiller,” the RHS advised.