For those who want a plant that will endure the chilly season, hydrangeas are a superb choice for your garden. These hardy shrubs are champions of winter survival, unfazed by frigid temperatures or frost, and adorning your space with an array of forms from round clusters to elegant cones. While hydrangeas can bear the brunt of winter well, they do tend to shed their flowers and any blooms left might dry out or brown. A spot of TLC is necessary in winter, and one expert has shared his wisdom on how to care for these plants.
Ben Hayman, gardening expert at Hoselink, took to TikTok to give his pruning advice. According to Ben, a good prune can yield "spectacular blooms" and ensure the plant grows "healthier" come spring. He shared a video on hefting Hydrangea paniculata – amongst the most beloved types – giving the rundown: "Today I'm going to show you how to prune and get masses of flowers on your panicle hydrangeas, or as you may know them, hydrangea paniculata.".
With a nod to their dramatic cone-shaped blooms that dazzle in gardens and floral displays alike, he outlines the prime pruning window: "These are the ones with the big cone-like flowers that look just as stunning in the garden as they do in any flower arrangement. We prune these guys in winter to early spring - and they're really easy to prune they flower on the coming year's growth.". Ben advises in the TikTok clip to first eliminate dead, damaged, and diseased branches, setting the stage for pruning the plant down to a sturdy structure.
The next step in your gardening adventure is to thin out the bushy bits, letting light and air dance through the heart of your plant. Then, it's time to grapple with its towering stature. The goal? Chop it down to a neat 30 to 40cm above ground to encourage new growth. In his TikTok tutorial, the green-fingered experts advised to snip just over a double bud for "as many flower stems as possible.". If you are worried about getting things wrong, you really should not be according to the expert. He says one of the best things about this type of hydrangea is that you can prune it above rot or below that 30 to 40cm guide and it won't matter.
