Hydraengers

I think it would be best to prune in Spring,too The old wood protects the new growth :)We prune ours each year ald it always flowers well I took this pic a couple of days ago

Just took these, less flowers but they're biguns !

Shall we do a swap ;D

Lovely blooms Esther and Merlin. I have one whopper of a bloom on a fairly new plant....will take a pic of it later

I do mine in March, Wf - as long as the frosts aren't too severe, of course.

You did say they are lacecaps. These are stronger and that flower on the pretty shaped bush contains lots of seeds, so it should have been snipped off to prevent the plant exhausting itself by ripening a crop of seeds. It is probably too late now but it would be cut just above the second pair of leaves from the top.

The hortensia flowers are left until spring. This is to allow us to see the swelling buds easily because sometimes they are not the buds just under the old flower. The curator of the National Hydrangea Collection at Holehird Gardens said that it is a myth that the flowers are left on for protection.

Old ungainly shrubs are best rejuvenated by cutting everything down to the ground and starting again. Spring would be the best time.

I prune mine in Spring too, on the larger bushes I cut a couple of the oldest stems right back and the others back 2/3 buds, the stems that are cut back hard then produce new shoots during the summer. Because my soil is alkaline those in the ground are all pink, but I have one in ericaceous compost in a pot which I give 'Hydrangea Blue' powder mixed in water so that the flowers are blue.


Lou, I love your white one