Gardening expert Charlie Nardozzi regularly shares wisdom about prepping plants, choosing gadgets and explaining chores you can do to make the most of your garden and landscape. This week, Charlie untangles the somewhat tricky rules for pruning your hydrangea bushes, so you'll get lots of flowers.
Hydrangeas can be confusing shrubs to prune because different species are pruned at different times. So, here's a Pruning Hydrangeas 101.
"Prune now" varieties
First, try to remember when your hydrangeas bloom. If they bloom from mid-summer until fall, then they probably are blooming on the new wood. This means any new growth that starts growing in spring will end with a flower.
The types of hydrangeas that bloom on new wood include Hydrangeas paniculata, such as "Peegee" and "Quick Fire," and Hydrangea arborescens, such as "Annabelle" and "Invincibelle Spirit." Prune these hydrangeas now to stimulate more new growth and flowers.
"Prune later" varieties
If your hydrangeas bloom in late spring to early summer, then they probably bloom on the old wood. This means branches that formed last summer and fall will have flower buds on them. The flowers emerge from these buds similar to how lilacs and forsythia bloom.
The types of hydrangeas that bloom on old wood are the Hydrangeas macrophylla such as "Nikko Blue," lace-cap hydrangeas, oak leaf hydrangeas and climbing hydrangeas. Prune these hydrangeas after they finish flowering.
The hybrids
A third group of hydrangeas bloom on new and old wood. These were made popular from the "Endless Summer" blue hydrangeas. Prune these hydrangeas after the first flush of flowers.
If you have trouble getting the "Endless Summer" hydrangeas to bloom, try some of the newer generation of these blue hydrangeas such as "Bloomstruck" and "Blue Enchantress." Also, pile a 1- to 2-foot deep mound of bark mulch or wood chips over the plants in late November to protect the branches in winter, and if they survive the winter, then you'll get flowers earlier in summer.
Q: How can I protect a 40-year-old, 10-foot Alberta Spruce from late winter/early spring sun damage? — Ken, Peacham
Put protection on the tree's south side, perhaps using burlap or a screen. That will help keep the needles from drying out. The other option is to spray an anti-dessicant spray, like Cloud Cover or Wilt Pruf, which will form a wax-like layer to keep moisture in.
All Things Gardening is powered by you, the listener! Send your gardening questions and conundrums and Charlie may answer them in upcoming episodes. You can also leave a voicemail with your gardening question by calling VPR at (802) 655-9451.
Hear All Things Gardening during Weekend Edition with VPR host Mary Engisch, Sunday mornings at 9:35.
