Hydrangea problem.

[bobbin]

Hi all.
I have a Hydrangea question.
I've a couple of Lime light hydreanger in pots. They flowered well last year but all the stems are dreadfully spindly and struggled to hold the flower heads up. I'm afraid the answer may be to cut right back so obviously they would not flower this year. Any tips on generally bulking up the stems as an alternative? Feeds etc ? :confused

[Thelma Sanders]

If you wait a while to prune and the cut down to a pair of already growing buds about half way up the stem, you should still get flowers this year. As the plant gets bigger/older the stems should thicken up a bit anyway

[DannyK]

I don't prune my hydrangeas until after frosts as new buds get frosted.

Spindly stems could be down to too much shade or too much feed. Maybe try high potash. Mine are in soil and never fed.

Limelight are potentially large, 8ft high X 6ft wide. Hope you've big pots!

[Nicos]

Have you thought about drastically cutting back half the stems, then the other half next year?
Sort of every other one so you maintain the general shape?