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About a week ago, a friend said to me, “I know that you’re supposed to prune Hydrangeas in February.” We were in the middle of the very cold spell which has only just passed – what now seems to be known as the yearly ‘Beast from the East’, and I found myself thinking, “Well…yes…and no!” There is a general consensus with Hydrangeas that leaving the flower heads on over winter protects them from the cold, and I agree. But until when? I've seen a Hydrangea cut down in March but then damaged by very cold winds in April which 'burnt' the leaves and stems quite a way down. It was quite a sorry sight. My client and I thought we had done the right thing by pruning it in March, but in this case it looked as if we had made the wrong choice! In a way it comes down to compromise. What you don’t want to do is leave a Hydrangea well into the growing season, and then prune it. There are many plants that this is detrimental to, but most shrubs are pruned AFTER flowering anyway as flowers are there to be enjoyed! Some point from February to April is right for Hydrangeas, and a lot depends on the weather. If we’re in the throes of snow, ice or storms from the East – hold fire. If the weather starts to improve in February to March, perhaps you could prune. Check the long-range forecast first (the Met Office has a week or two local, and about a month applicable to the whole country) and if milder weather is the predominant picture, go for it. So how much should you cut off? Most people want their Hydrangeas to remain a certain size. Unless you have a huge garden you’re probably aiming at a height of about 1m (3ft) or so. Personally, because of the reason I’ve given above - the potential for late harsh weather- I would cut the stems down to about 30cms (12in) just above a pair of buds. You can leave longer stems, but Hydrangeas can become ‘leggy’. Being careful not to damage the buds themselves, the cut should be should be about 5mm (¼ in) above the buds. You can also prune away any dead wood or stems that cross each other or are damaged. Some gardeners cut down much more than this – to the first buds above ground level - the shrub will probably bounce back, but it’s up to you. The only other times you might want to lightly prune a Hydrangea is removing some flower heads if we get snow; they can get weighed down and break the stems. Or as we come towards winter you may want a few of the blooms to enjoy indoors. Other shrubs that can be treated similarly to Hydrangeas are hardy Fuchsias. They are hardy up to a point but the tops tend to die off in prolonged freezing conditions. They can be pruned down to the lowest buds and will usually be fine. Again, I prefer to give the plant a bit of leeway and leave about 12cms (4.5in) of stem. Two more shrubs to mention are Buddleia and Hypericum (St. John’s Wort). These are very hardy and are also shrubs to prune in February. They are very robust and I would have no qualms about cutting them down hard. They definitely bounce back! Once again, I hope this blog has helped you and covered what to do with some of our most popular shrubs in February through to spring. I hope you enjoy the new gardening season!
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AuthorHi, I'm Jo. This is where I'll be posting my observations about my gardening life and gardening advice. Please enyoy! And if there's anything you would like to ask me about gardening I will try to answer your questions. Archives
March 2021
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