Pruning Oakleaf Hydrangea In Summer

Cut outside the collar where the stem meets the main limb or trunk.

Pruning oakleaf hydrangea in summer. This will allow these beautiful native hydrangeas time to develop flower buds for the following year. Oakleaf hydrangea can be pruned for size and shape as well as to remove dead wood promote bushiness and remove faded flowers. This is a shrub that blooms on old wood so when pruning is necessary do it immediately after it is done flowering. It blooms on old wood so you don t want to take out too many branches or you will sacrifice next season s flowers.

In ideal conditions this plant may shoot up to 10 feet which may require that you trim it down. When you prepare to prune your oakleaf hydrangea you want to remove older growth. This hydrangea doesn t need a lot of pruning but a light trim once a year will keep the plant looking neat. Cut an unruly or out of place stem back to the main limb.

Oakleaf hydrangeas are another type that require old wood to flower. Oakleaf hydrangea shrubs usually require little pruning unless you are trying to fit them into a location that is too small. These vigorous growers can easily overtake their intended place in the garden. A simplified approach suitable for all types of hydrangeas is to limit pruning to.

Test the stem for life by scraping the bark with a knife. Submitted by the editors on september 2 2015 8 20am. Prune your oakleaf hydrangea. Panicle hydrangeas are instantly recognizable for their unique cone shape.

Choose a day to prune the oakleaf hydrangea shrub after a blooming period but before the oakleaf hydrangea sets blooms for next year. Therefore to maintain a desired size and shape they should be pruned soon after flowering. In this case forewarned is forearmed. Ideally avoid pruning big leaf hydrangeas after august 1 st to avoid inadvertently removing flower buds for the next season.

Once again a light cut to remove dead growth once summer s over is all you need. Winter killed wood remove all dead branches in the spring before or as the buds are opening. Hydrangea pruning time for oak leaf hydrangeas is right after flowering and the beginning of fall or the early winter. Blooms remain on the shrub until fall turning pink then tan.

You can prune them anytime except during the summer. Oakleaf hydrangeas hydrangea quercifolia flowers develop on old wood from last year s growth. You should take approximately one third of the total growth or less but never more. Always avoid cutting off the blossoms for next year.

I say ideally because sometimes late season pruning is unavoidable. The oakleaf hydrangea is the only hydrangea native to the us. Pruning oakleaf hydrangea. These flower on new wood.

It blooms in june. Prune your oakleaf hydrangea right after it flowers.