Gardening expert's five 'essential' steps to prune hydrangeas for best blooms

Hydrangeas are a existent stalwart successful the plot with their large, globular blooms and easy-care nature. Here's however to prune them decently to get the champion flowers travel summer

Keen gardeners whitethorn beryllium worrying astir their precious hydrangeas being deed by the cold frosts of February.

But fearfulness not – it's clip to sharpen those shears and springiness your plants immoderate TLC. These perennial showstoppers request a bully pruning now, much than ever, to guarantee they travel backmost with a riot of colour erstwhile the sunshine returns.

Get successful determination earlier your hydrangeas aftermath afloat from their wintertime snooze astir precocious February oregon aboriginal March to debar undue accent and truly spot what's going connected with those bare branches. A due prune ensures each that pent-up works vigor is directed astatine fresh, vibrant maturation alternatively than wasted connected the withered twigs of yesteryears.

Lee Burkhill is an award-winning gardener, and connected his website, Garden Ninja, guides america done the pruning technique. He reckons knowing your mode astir a hydrangea trim is "essential" for a summertime plot splashed with "beautiful blooms", reports the Express.

Lee said: "Hydrangeas are some iconic and amazingly casual to look aft with immoderate cautious pruning to get the champion retired of them." He added: "I prune excavation present successful the UK successful precocious February. It doesn't instrumentality agelong to prune hydrangeas and there's precise small harm you tin bash that won't turn back.

"So delight don't beryllium enactment disconnected pruning successful the interest you volition someway harm your Hydrangea!" According to Lee, hydrangea pruning "couldn't beryllium simpler" arsenic each you request is simply a brace of crisp and cleanable secateurs.

How to prune a Hydrangea successful 5 casual steps

Lee said: "I bash this archetypal earlier thinning oregon reducing the tallness of the shrub arsenic it gives maine a amended presumption of the wide shrub size and shape." Lee explained: "By removing astir 1/4 of the oldest wood/stems, you tin assistance support your Hydrangea productive arsenic vigor volition past beryllium sent into caller caller growth.

"Over time, older stems volition get longer and little productive, starring to imaginable bare patches and little productive displays." This is done to promote caller blooms and guarantee you get bigger and much vibrant petals rapidly erstwhile the hydrangea flowering play begins.

Simply bladed retired and region immoderate tangled oregon crossing branches arsenic they pb to the works becoming much damaged and much hard to look aft implicit time.

Lee said: "Don't panic if you instrumentality disconnected excessively overmuch during the pruning process. Plants are incredibly pugnacious and volition ever bounce back. A hard prune ever gives your plants an added boost during the adjacent increasing season!"

Lee said "If you permission it arsenic is, though it whitethorn flower, it often becomes top-heavy and looks bare further down. Cutting it supra a bud 1/3 of the mode down gives a full-looking shrub travel flowering time."

Lee said: "Once you've finished pruning, your Hydrangea clippings tin beryllium composted, and your Hydrangea is present successful a cleanable presumption to enactment connected gorgeous flowers each summertime long!"