Pruning - Endless Summer Hydrangeas

Pruning many plants will help rejuvenate them so they can produce healthy new foliage and beautiful flowers. Endless Summer Hydrangeas is a plant that benefits from this practice. Early spring is the perfect time to prune them to help prepare them for the season. A little work now will pay off with healthy growth this year. Be sure your hydrangeas are the Endless Summer variety, because they are one of the few varieties that will bloom the same year they are pruned. Endless Summer Hydrangeas are usually the ones that bloom most of the summer, in pink or blue. If your hydrangea is not an Endless Summer or if you are unsure of its variety, the best time to prune it for shape and size is immediately after it is done flowering. This will prevent you accidentally removing the buds that it will set for the following year.

A pair of clean bypass pruners (those that cut like scissors) will be best for the job.  Pruners can be cleaned by using household cleaners, such as Lysol, to help reduce the spread of disease. Cut your hydrangeas back to about one foot from the ground by making an angled away from the bud. Pruning the center slightly taller will help achieve a nice shape. If any branches are crossing one of these branches should be removed. 

Pruning can be continued throughout the growing season to remove any diseased, damaged or dead material. Any pruning outside of these seasons will open up your plant to possible stress and disease.