Hydrangea Pruning Guide – What Varieties Should Be Pruned Now

Spring is my favorite season – I love it when trees start to bud and flowers start to bloom – but late winter is my prep time to make sure those things happen beautifully. My favorite plants are my hydrangeas. They were the first plants I got when we moved into our home and needed something for our bare flower beds. They bloom early in the summer and their flowers last into the fall. I have so many different varieties of hydrangeas like Quickfire, Bobo, Limelight, Oakleaf, and Tuff Stuff – they are all so different and add many colors and textures in my garden.

There are varieties of hydrangeas that should be pruned in the early spring (now) to help create more flowers and strudier branches, those are the Panicle and Smooth Hydrangeas. If you don’t have those – don’t prune your hydrangeas right now!! I follow this chart from the site Nature Hills, which helps me remember when and how to prune them.

All my plants have been purchased from local nurseries including Platts, Magnolia, &Flagg’s. If you purchase a hydrangea in the Spring or Summer, make sure you water it every day for the first few days and slowly taper down waterings to weekly, as needed. Plants typically need lots of water when they are transplanted, especially on warmer days!

*Tip* When you purchase your hydrangeas, try to keep the tag so you can remember their name and type which will help you when it comes time to pruning them. If you need to figure out what kind of hydrangea you have, check out this site!