When do you prune your hydrangea? It depends. If your hydrangea blooms on “old” wood, you should NOT cut back in the fall, or you will sacrifice next year’s flowers! See our handy chart on when to prune common types of hydrangea.
When to Prune Hydrangeas
Hydrangeas should be pruned based on whether they bloom on old or new wood. Bigleaf, oakleaf, mountain, and climbing hydrangeas bloom on old wood and should be pruned after flowering in summer. Panicle and smooth hydrangeas bloom on new wood and should be pruned in late winter or early spring.
Hydrangea Pruning Chart
Use this hydrangea pruning chart to determine the correct pruning time for each variety.
| Hydrangea Type | When to Prune | Where Flowers Appear |
|---|---|---|
| Mophead and Bigleaf (H. macrophylla) | After flowering (summer) | On old growth |
| Oakleaf (H. quercifolia) | After flowering (summer) | On old growth |
| Panicle (H. paniculata) | Late winter/early spring, before spring growth | On new growth |
| Smooth (H. arborescens) | Late winter/early spring, before spring growth | On new growth |
| Mountain (H. serrata) | After flowering (summer) | On old growth |
| Climbing (H. anomala subsp. petiolaris) | After flowering (summer) | On old growth |
Photos and Tips by Hydrangea Variety
Both mophead and lacecap hydrangeas are considered bigleaf or macrophylla hydrangeas, so they can be pruned right after flowering by cutting back the flowering shoots to the next bud. If you have older plants that aren’t blooming well, you can cut up to a third of the stems off at the base in late summer to encourage new growth.
Mophead and Bigleaf Hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla)
There are hydrangea hybrids that grow on both old and new wood. My ‘Endless Summer’ mophead hydrangea (hardy from Zones 4 to 9) has the wonderful ability to bloom on both old and new wood. ‘Endless Summer’ hydrangeas thrive with sun in the morning and shade in the afternoon. You do not have to prune your ‘Endless Summer’ since they bloom on both old and new growth, but if you need to cut back, do so immediately after blooming. Remove only dead stems in the spring.
My other blue hydrangea is a lacecap type, called ‘Let’s Dance Starlight’, but instead of the huge, mophead type of flower cluster that ‘Endless Summer’ has, the lacecap hydrangea bears a flat blossom made up of many small, fertile flowers surrounded by a few showy, sterile flowers. It is hardy from Zones 5 to 9 and blooms on both old and new wood. As with ‘Endless Summer’, pruning is generally not needed, but it may be trimmed lightly after the first flowering.
Bottom line: Mophead and Bigleaf hydrangeas should only be pruned just after the flowers have faded and no later.
Panicle Hydrangeas (H. paniculata)
The hydrangeas grown most often in cooler climates are the panicle types, since they are not only beautiful but also very hardy, surviving Zone 3 winters with no problems. One of the oldest and most reliable favorites is ‘Grandiflora’, also known as Pee Gee hydrangea. Native to China and Japan, it was the first Asian hydrangea cultivar introduced to the United States in 1862. They were a big hit during the Victorian era. The flowers start out a creamy white and turn a rosy pink as they age. They can be dried and look lovely in a winter arrangement. Find out how to dry these lovely hydrangeas here.
There are many panicle types to choose from. I have one called ‘Pinky Winky’ that has long, cone-shaped white and pink flowers, and also ‘Vanilla Strawberry’, which has panicles that color from white at the tip to pink in the middle and red at the base. For something different, try ‘Limelight’, which has chartreuse flowers that gradually turn pink in autumn.
Bottom-line: Panicle-type hydrangeas should be pruned in late winter or early spring. While they could be pruned in fall, we highly advise waiting until late winter/early spring to reduce the risk of injury.
Smooth Hydrangeas (H. arborescens)
Smooth hydrangeas are North American natives, originally found growing wild in Pennsylvania. They tolerate light shade, begin to bloom in June, and continue to blossom until fall. Their white flowers are round and can reach 12 inches in diameter.
The popular cultivar ‘Annabelle’ grows to be 3 to 5 feet tall and can be used to light up a shady path or as a mass planting at the edge of the woods. It is hardy to Zone 3.
Bottom line: Smooth hydrangeas can be pruned back to the ground in late winter or early spring. While they could be pruned in fall, we highly advise waiting until late winter/early spring.
Oakleaf Hydrangeas (H. quercifolia)
Oakleaf hydrangeas are another North American native, having been discovered in Georgia in 1773.
Also called swamp snowball, it is hardy to Zone 5, and though it prefers full sun, it can take some shade and still blossom well. It blooms a little later than the other hydrangeas, beginning in August. Its flowers are large panicles that start out white and turn dark pink as they age. The leaves, which are deeply lobed like an oak leaf, turn a rich maroon red in the fall.
Bottom line: Oakleaf hydrangeas, which bloom on old wood, should only be pruned just after the flowers have faded and no later.
Learn More
Not sure which hydrangea you have? We can help. See our article on Different Hydrangea Varieties (with pictures!).
Enjoy our complete Guide to Hydrangeas for all your planting, growing, and pruning questions!
Comments
I have not found a chart but to distill it down, don't prune until after your hydrangea has bloomed, if you must prune it at all. Fertilize in the spring by scratching in some slow release fertilizer, well-rotted manure or compost around the base of the plant (not touching the trunk). Coffee grounds are slightly acidic and many gardeners claim that they will change the soil pH enough to change the color of a mophead from pink to blue. As far as helping next year's blooms, if your plant has not been blooming stop pruning it, make sure it gets at least 4 hours of sun a day, gets sufficient water throughout the season, and if frost is damaging your buds give the plant some winter protection.
Going from Vancouver to Kentucky is a huge change! Most macrophylla hydrangeas bloom on last year's wood so if yours died back to the ground this spring you won't have any flowers this year. Let this years' growth stay on the plants (don't prune them) and if it overwinters, you should have flowers next year. The hot summers do take a toll on these plants so plant them where they get morning sun and afternoon shade and be sure they get plenty of water. Instead of a macro, try an oakleaf hydrangea, which is native to the southeast. If a full sun area is all you have to work with try a paniculata type. Hot summer sun will also blast your peony flowers. Early season varieties are recommended for the south. They will bloom before hot weather arrives and shortens the life of the blossoms.
Hi Gary, Look at my answers to Linda and they may help you as well. Find out what variety you are growing and go from there. If you got a few blossoms this year on old wood then I would guess that you have a macrophylla too. Continue to not prune at all. If there is a lot of dead wood in the spring you can take that out but not all the way to the ground. Check the amount of sunlight the plants get and don't over-fertilize. You might consider giving the plants some winter protection like a wire cage full of leaves.
First it helps to know what type of hydrangea you have. I assume since you had some blue flowers it might be a macrophylla.
There are many reasons why hydrangeas don't bloom. Macrophyllas bloom on old wood so the buds may be getting damaged by late spring freezes or winter winds if the plants are not protected over the winter. The buds for macrophyllas are formed a whole year ahead of time so there is lots of time for them to be damaged. The variety you have might not be appropriate for your zone. Lack of sunlight could be the culprit; they need at least 4 hours of sun a day. Have your soil tested. If the plants get big and bushy but have no blossoms they may be overfertilized. Too much nitrogen grows a big plant with no blossoms. If you fertilize your lawn to green it up in the spring that fertilizer can wash into the root zone of your hydrangea and give it too much nitrogen. Phosphorus encourages blossoming. A soil test will tell you what you are lacking. Do some research starting with the variety and if it grows well in your zone. Good Luck!
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Hi Brenda, I just found a good source of info on pruning hydrangeas at the University of Maryland Extension. Here is the link https://extension.umd.edu/sites/extension.umd.edu/files/_docs/programs/hgic/HGIC_Pubs/ornamentals/HG106_Pruning_hydrangea_2018.pdf. I hope you find it helpful!