Garden

[Lilysmom]

Mine are still in bloom.  I just cut back one of them by one third.  I didn't cut the current blooms.  Did I cut off next year's flowers?  I can never remember which blooms on old and new wood.  I think I would have cut it back anyway.  TIA.  LM

[Zita]

My beautiful blue hydrangeas turned to pink and green this season, but still pretty. Now they are all foliage and no buds. We are in the Zone 5 and I just use pots. Can I winter these inside? Or do I toss them?

[terrier3]

I have a lot of different hygrangea varieties.

I always wait until spring to cut them back. When green shoots start forming, it's easy to see which stalks are going to bloom and which ones are dead and need to be pruned.

Your garden is LOVELY, BTW!

[Lilysmom]

@terrier3, thanks for the reply. I usually wait until spring too but this one is getting so big I decided to go for it and away I went!  Some times I get on a roll out there and I'm hard to stop.  We shall see.  If it blooms on new wood I am good to go.  If not, I may have a year with few blooms.  LM

[Lilysmom]

@Zita, can you name the hydrangea?  I am in zone 5 also but all of mine are in the ground.  Some hydrangeas are not hardy to our zone so they will die over the winter if planted in the ground.  LM

[Sweetbay magnolia]

Nikkos bloom on old wood.  Any hydrangea macrophylla (big leaf) does.  Pruning now will reduce next year's flowers.  The paniculatas (PeeGee) and arborescens (Annabelle) bloom on new growth and thus can be pruned differently (my preference would be late winter/spring).

That said, thinning out old macrophylla canes is sometimes necessary, but beware - they can look dead well into the growing season and suddenly surprise.  Or they die completely to the roots and never bloom in a harsh winter (like my "variegata").  And then have to be cut down anyway.

Oak leaf hydrangea (quercifolia) is another story.  And then there's the climber.

[Lilysmom]

@Sweetbay magnolia, thanks for the info.  I know exactly what you mean about old canes looking like the are dead and coming back to life.  The one I pruned was getting so big I couldn't resist even though I suspected what you said.  LM

[Sweetbay magnolia]

I hear you, @Lilysmom.  Gotta do what you gotta do!  Hydrangeas are some of the prettiest garden plants out there, in my book, but like anything, can sometimes be too much of a good thing.

As long as you didn't whack the whole thing back you'll probably get blooms next year (unless you get winter dieback).  Happy gardening!

[Lilysmom]

@Sweetbay magnolia! Hydrangeas are my favorite shrubs.  They generally do very well on our property although I have one oakleaf that I moved for the final time that has never bloomed.  I planted it in woodland surroundings and gave it a stern warning.  Grow and bloom or your days are numbered!  Well, it must have listened to me.  I cut it back and it has grown about three feet.  No blooms yet but the growth has given it a stay of execution for the time being!  LM

[Zita]

Hi Lilysmom: sorry, I don't know how to reply directly to you. About my blue hydrangeas. Don't know the name (not Endless summer) but i bought at Aldi's last summer and they were lush and beautiful all season. But of course winter is coming here (!) with a vengeance and i hate to just throw them out. Will they be OK if I bring them in the house, do you think?