Pruning Flowering Trees & Shrubs

Hydrangea-- Panicle and Smooth Varieties

• Scientific Name

  H. paniculata; H. arborescens
• Image & Information

  

  Hydrangea paniculata. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

  These hydrangea varieties begin to bloom in the mid-summer on wood that forms during the current growing season. They can bloom well into the fall.

  Pruning is best performed during the winter, before new growth begins.

  Removing spent blooms at the base can keep a plant looking tidy without sacrificing wood on which flowers form.

   

• When to Prune

  Winter
• Flowers/Fruit on New or Old Wood

  New Wood
• How & What to Prune

  Remove dead, diseased, or damaged wood.

  Remove or shorten crossing branches.

  Cut back all remaining branches to as low as ten inches from the ground if the plant is a focal point of the garden or to as low as 24 inches from the ground if the plant is in the back of a garden or along a border. Once this woody structure is established, cut back branches each year to their two lowest buds. Cutting back more severely to maintain a desired woody structure typically stimulates new growth.