Do I prune my hydrangea now??

[somanychristmaslights]

It’s in a pot, had it for years. It’s got tall but thin so I want to prune it back so it goes more bushy. It’s starting to bud now. Am in the SE and we’ve hardly had any frost. Do I prune it now, and how far down do I cut it? I don’t want to kill it!

Prune just above the buds. Ive had the same issue with one of mine and did it on saturday.

I prune my hydrangeas in March, it’s a bit early yet, if you prune now and then we get a frost, it may not flower at all, as I found out a couple of years ago. Also in SE.

It’s budding all over, even right at the top of the twig. I’m embarrassed to take a photo as it looks horrendous. I want a nice thick bushy hydrangea that you can’t see through! 🤣

I’ve always pruned hydrangeas around/on Maundy Thursday becoming that was my Granny’s rule! It’s worked ok for avoiding frost although there was snow on Easter Day once!

What sort of Hydrangea is it?

I prune back to the last bud, it’s a bit seems strange to cut off buds, but it does grow back bushy.

Same area as you and I’ve done mine

I’d leave it a while yet, but all of ours flower on old wood.

I wouldn’t do it this week we are due a cold snap. I get a lot of hibernating creatures in mine so I do leave it late.
I do mine (mop head) to the first pair of buds, and just remove anything leggy or wooden.

I’m in the south and mine is also budding. We had snow yesterday. I’m waiting a few more weeks and will then prune it quite hard. Some buds will be culled but not all. It’ll be too lanky if I leave them all.

Whatever you do, pruning it is exceptionally unlikely to kill it. Hydrangeas are tough as old boots.

I’ve not only pruned one of mine right back to the minimum but dug it up and moved it. I have every faith it will spring right back. Another still has nice dried heads on it from last year so will get a stay of execution for a while.

I haven't ever killed one, but I've had a few years of no blooms, just a massive, bushy, healthy, leafy thing taking over my garden. It came up trumps last year though so I've kept it. I have a thread (with photos no less) in this Topic somewhere.

What kind? Is it mop head or one of the wafty ones like Annabelle? You can take Annabelle right down about now.

Thats good news because same! Last year I had a really healthy green one, but no flowers so fingers crossed this summer!

It was on its final warning!

I have just trawled though the whole Garden topic to find my old thread (which ran for 3 years!).
It's here (I name change quite a bit).

I saw so many beautiful photos while trawling....come on Spring!

The lace cap at the front, I take down to first buds when I remove the flowerheads, usually early April and take out anything straggly at that time. It's v old and about 5/6ft.

I planted some ordinary bloomed ones at the back of the house 6/7 years ago. They are not as big as I'd have liked and after a coyole of years of quite severe scale that hasn't responded well to sprays, they are on their last chance having been taken back to inches above ground in the autumn. It will make or break them.

Yes mine looks like that, but without quite as many stems. It was in a pot round the side of my house for a few years, didn’t look after it at all but it’s still alive! So this year I want to care for it and make it look lovely 🥰