Where to plant, when to prune, and how to propagate hydrangeas are topics of interest to some gardeners. Many garden writers claim that you will never need to prune your hydrangea if you choose the right location when you plant them. This means that you allow plenty of room for them to expand over the years.
Morning sun and afternoon shade is a good rule of thumb when looking for a site for your plant. The soil should be moist and drain well. Oakleaf Hydrangeas will not tolerate soggy soil, particularly when first planted. Mulch around the plant at the base will help keep the soil moist. The mulch should be against the stems.
Pruning of dead wood can occur any time. When cutting flowers of Mophead and Lacecap Hydrangeas for flower arrangements, the stems can be as long as you wish during early summer. When you need to remove spent flowers in July, cut off as little stem as possible unless you want to adjust the shape of the plant.
H. macrophylia Mopheads and Lacecaps and H. quercifolia, Oakleaf plants should not be pruned later than July. Buds for next year’s blooms begin to form in August. If your plant is more than four years old and has become badly overgrown, early summer is the time to reduce the length of stems. In addition, you might want to cut about one third of the stems back to the base, being careful to space the removal evenly around the plant. The next year you could remove another third and eventually bring the plant into the size you want.
H. arborescens, “Annabelle,” and “Grandiflora,” bloom on new growth. They can be pruned in fall or early spring. Pruning them too severely might be a problem with “Annabelle,” because the bloom after a rain could be too heavy for new stems. One garden writer suggests that a short, 18 percent wire fence placed around them prior to their putting on leaves could help hold the branches up. The leaves will obscure the fence.
It is reported that hydrangeas can be propagated fairly easily. A few years ago I read an article about a man who had propagated 400 hydrangea plants in his yard! I’ve never tried it, partly because I’ve run out of space for another one. The easiest method is to take a 3- to 5-inch tip cutting. Remove the bottom leaves of the stem.Wet the stem and dip it in rooting powder such as Root-tone and stick the stem into potting soil.
Place the pot in a protected, shady location and keep the soil moist. The plant should root in about a month. If you know the spot where you want the plant to be placed permanently, you could prepare the soil and place the cutting there. You might want to put two or three in that location and then leave the one that is doing best.
H. Paniculatas are very forgiving. They can be pruned in the fall or in early spring. If the plant is being shaped into a tree form, special care should be taken to avoid cutting the trunk or important branches. Here you will want to following good pruning methods and take care of branches that are crossing or that seem to be in the wrong place.
