How do you prune a Hydrangea?

Late winter, meaning February-March, is the best time to prune hydrangeas so that they will bloom beautifully again in the summer. Did you know that there are as many as thirty different varieties of the Hydrangea genus? From peasant hydrangeas to plumed varieties, and from climbing hydrangeas to oakleaf hydrangeas. Not every species is pruned the same way for best results!

Henri's tips on pruning a hydrangea

• Hydrangeas come in many varieties. Some species bloom on annual wood, but there are also species that bloom on the perennial wood.
• Do you have a hydrangea variety that blooms on perennial wood? The dark wood of this type of hydrangea has formed over the past year. Leave this young wood in place and cut out the older lighter, gray wood. This is how you "rejuvenate" a shrub.
• Pruning is necessary to keep air in the bush. In the end, a hydrangea then blooms more beautifully and better!
• Pick some branches of old wood that you cut from the bottom up. So you don't trim all the branches from above, but take out whole branches from the ground up. This will prevent the bush from becoming too crowded with all the old branches.
• Use sharp pruning shears for thinning.
• Does the hydrangea variety you have bloom on the annual wood? Then check the video to see how to prune this type of hydrangea correctly. Namely, you cut back the branch just above a knot. Gardener Henri shows you how!
• You can easily rejuvenate an old hydrangea by cutting off an old, thick branch with a sharp pruning saw. The hydrangea then has another chance to produce young shoots from below.

Tip
Wondering how to prune a hydrangea? Gardener Henri Jansen shows it to you in this video!