Hydrangeas, the garden’s diligent bloomers, can produce a bounty of flowers with minimal fuss. However, gardeners are being cautioned that their autumnal care routine for these shrubs could have a significant impact on their health and flowering capacity next season.
As the nights draw in, it’s vital to get hydrangeas ready for the colder months ahead. These beautiful perennials are often misunderstood, especially when it comes to their care in early autumn and pruning.
Horticultural expert and author Jessica Walliser has warned against a particular fall gardening practice on Savvy Gardening, which might lead to a bloomless season. She stressed that no matter the type of hydrangea, “no need to do any pruning” should be done during the autumn.
Jessica pointed out: “Whether you are growing gorgeous panicle hydrangeas like these or classic mophead hydrangeas, pruning should never be done in autumn.”
It’s essential to recognize that hydrangeas are divided into two groups: those that flower on old wood and those that blossom on new wood. For varieties that bloom on old wood, summer is the time to prune, while spring is best for those that flower on new wood, reports the Express.
The green-fingered expert warned that “pruning in the autumn could remove flower buds for next year” potentially leading to a “flowerless” growth. However, pruning at the wrong time could result in “reduced blooms or even no blooms at all” in the subsequent year.
Many gardeners fall into the trap of trimming what they think are dead stems in autumn, but this can actually leave the plant more vulnerable to winter damage and could mean fewer blooms. Jessica warned: “You could even be pruning off next year’s dormant flower buds. In short, do not prune hydrangeas in autumn.”
While it’s a choice for gardeners to deadhead their hydrangeas during autumn, it’s not a must. Deadheading is the process of removing spent or dead flowers to keep the plant looking tidy and encourage more blooms.
However, as the expert highlighted, cutting off dead hydrangea blooms at this time of year “will not impact the quality or size of the flowers” for the following season. Ultimately, whether to deadhead hydrangeas is up to the individual gardener, and for those who prefer a well-kept garden, then deadheading might be a task worth doing.