Luxurious, truly royal look give hydrangeas its lush pastel inflorescences. She pleases her fans from May to October, lavishing the scent and decorating garden plots with delicate colors of flowers. To achieve the appearance of such beauty, you should make some efforts, growing this plant and constantly caring for it. The abundant flowering of bushes to a large extent depends on a procedure such as pruning. Different types of plants require the implementation of special rules during it. Their exact observance will respond with gratitude in the form of abundant flowering of bushes.
Spring pruning
First you need to determine the type of plant, because it depends on what kind of pruning is needed. Plants are divided into 2 groups, flowering on the shoots:
- Last year (large-leaved);
- This year (tree, panicled species).
The magnificent flowering of the beautiful hydrangea
How to prune hydrangea in spring depends on the type of plant.
Trimming hydrangeas of the first group in the spring should be done carefully, removing only dried inflorescences and weak shoots affected in winter. Standard - inappropriate here, it will deprive flowering bushes.
Choosing the right time: day and month, get to work. The step-by-step process occurs in the following order:
- Thin out a bush (tree).
- Weak branches are removed by stepping back from the ground to the width of the palm.
- Cut shoots located inside the bush.
- Cut branches affected by frost at the level of "living" wood.
After finishing work, the bush is fixed to the support and tied up.
Trimming Types
Proper pruning includes several types:
- A standard haircut that takes place every year. You need to trim the bush to create a strong plant with abundant flowering.
- Formative - to give the plant the desired configuration and optimal location of skeletal branches.
- Sanitary - removal of damaged, old shoots, dried inflorescences.
- Anti-aging - carried out on heavily damaged and old bushes.
Dates
Most often use spring pruning, when the snow has not yet melted. The procedure begins with swelling of the growth buds, because they determine the choice of branches that need to be cut. Usually it is the month of March or the beginning of April. In addition, specific weather conditions must be considered. Even with kidney swelling, you should postpone the event if the cold weather has returned. But you can’t postpone for a long time, because the plant must have time to develop growth that will bloom in standard terms for it.
The timing of this operation also depends on the type of plant. Treelike hydrangea develops more slowly than paniculate, more time will be required for the formation of processes, therefore, work must be done at an earlier date (March). For panicled - late pruning is suitable (in April). For large-leaved - you need to make it in early spring, but consider that it blooms on last year's shoots.
Advantages and disadvantages of trimming
In the fall, dried up inflorescences are removed, branches in the winter fall under the weight of snow and can break or be damaged.
Pruning dried inflorescences in autumn
The rest of the work is left in the spring, because the presence of sections can cause the development of diseases, lead to a decrease in frost resistance. To perform spring pruning, nature set a tight deadline: before the start of sap flow.
The benefits of pruning in spring include:
- Improving the appearance by creating the desired shape of the bush.
- Lush flowering due to increased growth of young branches after the removal of dried.
- It is easier to identify living and dying branches by the color and presence of swollen buds.
- Slices will not be affected by the cold.
Important! After any pruning, the sections are disinfected with charcoal powder. It still stimulates the growth of new shoots.
The disadvantages of the procedure in the spring:
- Short dates - during the period of rest, but the beginning of the movement of juices. Being late will harm the plant and it will not bloom.
- Reducing the time for the growth of new shoots.
- A shift in the phases of growth, hydrangea does not have time to ripen over the summer and prepare for winter.
Post Trim Activities
After spring pruning, proper care should be taken. To stimulate the rapid growth of powerful shoots, it is necessary to feed on time. Organic fertilizers in the form of a mullein or humus solution scattered around the plant are applied at the beginning of the growing season. Feeding with special mineral fertilizers for hydrangeas gives a good result.
Mulching the soil with a layer of 5-6 cm with any suitable material is another component of plant care. This will strengthen the metabolic processes in the root system, additionally protect against the appearance of weeds and the invasion of insect pests. For leaf growth and abundant flowering, regular and plentiful watering is needed. In the process of growth, it is necessary to tie up the branches so that they do not break under the weight of the inflorescences.
Common mistakes
How to prune hydrangea so that the procedure is beneficial, not harmful?
The recurring mistakes made by beginning gardeners are:
- Incorrectly selected time for work, which most often ends in a slowdown, weak flowering.
- Failure to comply with the rules, violation of the order and mode of operation lead to incorrect formation of the appearance, its thickening.
- Neglect of the indicated recommendations for specific species may result in the death of a plant just beginning its development.
- Ignorance of the type and name of the acquired hydrangea threatens with errors in the care and development of the seedling.
- Unacceptable complete lack of care.
Trimming and forming hydrangea tree
For spring and autumn pruning of tree hydrangea, appropriate schemes are used. In the fall, only spherical inflorescences are cut. In the spring spend:
- Sanitary pruning, removing broken, frozen ends of branches.
- Anti-aging, completely removing old branches.
- Thinning, which consists in cutting thin, incapable of flowering shoots in the center of the bush and zero, appearing at the edges, to maintain the strength of the flowering bush.
- Pruning for flowering, when the shoots of last year are shortened by 4 pairs of strong buds.
With the help of thinning, a beautiful bush in the form of a bouquet is formed. This species is characterized by an abundance of zero shoots that grow directly from the ground, so the plant needs annual thinning to maintain its shape and lush flowering. The newly planted bush is formed by shortening and cutting shoots.
Bush of hydrangea after pruning in spring
Rejuvenation of old bushes
In order to rejuvenate the plants, they make a complete pruning of the bush “under the stump”, cutting branches at the level of 10-15 cm from the ground. This operation is suitable for plants aged 5 to 7 years. A plant older than 10 years of age does not undergo this operation; it can die from a lack of nutrition. They use stage-by-stage pruning, in parts removing old branches within 2-3 years.
Trimming and forming panicle hydrangeas
This species is characterized by the ability to form new flowering shoots on branches of any age. Such an abundant formation of flowering branches can lead to a weakening of the plant and the appearance of small, nondescript inflorescences. In order for the inflorescences to remain large, and the flowering to be plentiful, an operation is performed annually, regardless of what form of cultivation they have chosen: a tree or a bush. In panicled hydrangea from a healthy kidney, up to 3 shoots can grow. Small branches directed inward are removed, leaving those that grow outward. Shortening last year's shoots will be enough to increase the number of flowering branches.
Panicle hydrangea after spring pruning
To form a bush, a seedling during planting is buried in the ground. The weak branches growing from the ground are cut, the strong ones do not touch, they form a bush with their help. Appearing growths are shortened, leaving 1-3 buds, which contributes to the appearance of new shoots with lush inflorescences. Thus, the formation of a spherical bush.
To create a plant in the form of a tree, choose a sapling with a well-defined trunk. The first 2 years, it is necessary to remove underground shoots and cut branches of the last year, leaving 2-3 buds on each. The shoots formed from them will feed the trunk throughout the year. In the spring they are cut out without leaving stumps, as a result of which a stem (trunk) is formed. It is attached to a support so that it extends. In spring, crown formation occurs due to last year's shoots located in the upper part of the plant. For vertical growth, the shoots are tied up, pressing to the trunk. When the tree reaches a height of 50 cm, they are shortened. Formation takes place over 3 years.
The difference between pruning hydrangea paniculata
The paniculate species is distinguished by its excellent ability to throw out a large number of young shoots, while the formation of zero branches is weak. The bush grows rapidly due to the emergence of shoots from the buds of last year and older branches. The number of inflorescences increases every year, which leads to a weakening of the plant and the appearance of small inflorescences.
The rapid growth of a large number of shoots violates the shape of the bush, makes the appearance groomed. For this reason, the plant needs annual forming pruning.
In order for the bush to bloom profusely, you need to cut old branches that select food for the development of new shoots.
Important! The stronger the prune panicle hydrangea, the more abundant it will bloom in the next season.
Types of trimming panicle hydrangea
In the fall, cone-shaped inflorescences and shoots that are too long are removed.
In the spring spend:
- Sanitary pruning, when only dried branches are cut. This is a frost-resistant species, and there are no frozen shoots.
- Anti-aging, during the execution of which branches with slow growth are removed. This species has a skeletal trunk and branches, like a tree.
- Shorter shoots for the growth of large inflorescences.
- Thinning cuts are used to remove excess shoots.
Important! From 3-4 shoots growing from one bud, the one that grows inside the bush is cut.
Spring trimming hydrangea macrophylla
The most capricious is considered this particular type of plant. He needs shelter for the winter, constant monitoring of humidity and seasonal pruning.
Inflorescences of this species are formed on the upper third of the shoots of last year, or rather on young shoots that grew from the upper buds on these branches, which formed before the cold. When pruning, this is taken into account, cutting a small part of the branches. Standard - will lead to the fact that there will be no flowering. For large-leaved hydrangea, pruning in spring comes down to thinning the bush and removing frost-damaged and broken branches. To do this is not difficult. Part of the lateral processes, branches from skeletal branches, are cut off, preventing thickening in the future. Every 4 years, to rejuvenate the bush, cut branches at a level of 40 cm from the ground.
Note! You should not trim the entire bush, only a quarter of the total number of branches is removed.
Cardinal rejuvenation
Radical rejuvenation is required by plants affected by diseases and pests, those that were neglected and oppressed. Refusing the remaining types of pruning, rejuvenation is carried out in a radical way. Bushes are cut "to the stump", removing perennial branches at a height of 50-80 cm from the ground. After this procedure, one season will pass without flowering, but in a year the bush will revive and respond with a lush crown with abundant flowering.
Care after trimming
An integral part of care to restore strength is nutrition. It will cause stimulation of the development of new shoots, exclude the thinning and extension of growth. Mineral fertilizers for rhododendrons and hydrangeas are used for these purposes.
Design composition with hydrangeas
Mulching the soil with peat, compost and other suitable materials will be important in the care. In the near-stem circle, mulch is scattered with a layer of more than 5 cm, which will additionally serve to better preserve moisture in the soil.
Hydrangea owes its popularity to incomparable magnificent inflorescences. She settled with pride in city parks, summer cottages and in the front gardens of private estates. A long flowering period and not too burdensome care served to spread the plant throughout Russia, even among beginners in the field of floriculture. Landscapes of designer compositions decorated with her presence and amateur planting do not cease to please.
