Led by Claire Tatler, Head Gardener at Wollerton Old Hall in Market Drayton on the 12th April 2025
On a beautiful Saturday morning, members of Cleobury Gardeners assembled, secateurs in hand, at one of our gardens in Catherton to take part in a practical session on pruning hydrangeas of various types. The garden in question has many hydrangeas – the garden’s owners describe themselves a keen hydrangea lovers but bereft of pruning talent and know-how! So here was a chance for us all to learn from Claire Tatler, who has run such workshops as part of her role as Head Gardener at Wollerton Old Hall in North Shropshire.
Claire kindly gave us a very easy to follow handout, so we could take it home and have it to hand when we start pruning our own hydrangeas. The information that follows is taken from the handout; we are grateful for her permission to use it in this article.
Background
Hydrangea means ‘water vessel’ in Greek, which is fitting given its love of water. Native to eastern Asia, Japan, China and Korea, there are over 70 species: they have been cultivated in Japan for centuries and are often planted in Buddhist temples. However, they produce large blooms and they fell out of fashion in Victorian times since they were thought to demonstrate boastfulness and vanity. It’s probably true to say that, even today, gardeners vary in the love or otherwise of these beautiful plants but evidence in garden centres currently seems to show that interest in them is relatively high.
Hydrangea species
General pruning rules
- Hydrangeas flower from mid-to-late summer and they flower either on the previous year’s growth (so you risk cutting of flower buds for the following summer if you prune without care) or on this year’s growth. It’s important to know which!
- Most pruning is carried out in late winter or early spring. Climbing hydrangeas (Petiolaris) are pruned after flowering in summer.
- Mopheads and lacecaps will bloom with very little attention, but annual pruning encourages new, vigorous growth and a better display of flowers. Paniculatas and Arborescens should be pruned every year so they produce strong stems and large flower heads.
How to prune
- Those that flower on last year’s growth: mopheads and lacecaps
- Cut out one or two of the oldest stems at the base to encourage the plant to produce new replacement growth and more flowers the following year.
- If the plant is poorly shaped and in need of renovation, cut all the stems off at the base of the plant. Don’t worry – the plant won’t die! Stems will grow but you will have to wait until the following year for flowers to appear and bloom.
- For general pruning of mopheads, leave the blooms on the plant over winter to provide some frost protection for the tender growth beneath the old flowering heads. In early spring, cut back the stems to the first strong, healthy pair of buds down from the faded bloom.
- Lacecaps are hardier. For general pruning, the flowerheads can be cut back after flowering to the second pair of leaves below the head. This prevents seeds developing that will sap the plant’s energy.
- Pruning Paniculatas
- Paniculatas produce flowers on this year’s wood.
- These hydrangeas have a loosely branched pyramidal flower cluster, and produce a strong woody framework. Pruning needs to preserve this framework, so, in spring, cut back last year’s stems to a pair of healthy buds.
- You can them give them a light, lazy prune, trimming the plant just below each flowerhead – basically dead-heading the plant. This tidies the plant and encourages the stems to grow a bit more , so the plant will be a little taller, and can grow to two metres!
This will result in smaller flowers but lots of them. Blooms will be able to support themselves, perhaps with some new blooms shooting near the base, giving a very natural look.
- Alternatively, you can give them a medium prune. To do this, trim all the hydrangea stems to 40cm above the ground. The blooms will be good-sized and self-supporting – not too big, not too small.
- Or, you can opt for a very brave, deep prune. This will give big, buxom blooms that will be show stoppers! Cut the plant down to 20cm.This is the best option for getting the best out of the hydrangeas and will encourage plants to stay more compact and in a better shape, especially if the hydrangea is in a pot.
- Pruning Arborescens
- To produce larger flowerheads on strong, upright branches, cut all stems down to about 30cms to a healthy bud. If you prefer more height, cut to about 60cm.
- Pruning climbing hydrangeas (including Petiolaris, Seemanii and Serratifolia)
- Cut back any over-long shoots immediately after flowering . Most flowers are produced towards the top of the plant, so try to leave as much of this unpruned as possible.
- Established plants can tolerate hard pruning in spring, but if cutting is extensive and done in one go, this will most likely reduce flowering for around two summers. To avoid flower loss, stagger such drastic pruning over several years, thus reducing the size of the plant gradually.
- Serrata can be pruned like mopheads and lacecap hydrangeas, since they flower on last year’s wood.
- For Quercifolia and Sargentii, don’t prune if you can possibly help it!!
So, with clear explanations and expert demonstration, Claire helped us to understand that pruning hydrangeas isn’t difficult, so long as you are clear about whether the flowers grow on last year’s or this year’s wood. Other than that, it’s hard to go wrong and, despite their tender appearance, they are hard to kill! So, with renewed confidence, members were encouraged to have a go – under Claire’s watchful eye!
