How and When to Prune Hydrangers

[sindy]

Hello there, hope you are all having a super weekend, what glorious weather, can someone help me with my hyrdangers. I have two that I bought last year, both flowered well but are tall and leggy, the label states prune in spring, could you tell me when and how and how much, I have one which has got lots of new bud leaves on it and the other which is looking a bit sorry for itself and has no new buds but def not dead as green inside. Also do they need any food. Thank you

[nick the grief]

Hi Sindy,

This was always my job for my mum at her old bungalow. She had two massive hydrangeas that always looked crap this time of year but the old flower heads with a bit of frost on look "architectural"

Leave it till about April and you'll see them starting to shoot away and just cut back to some good strong health buds (out facing). You can be quite hard with them

As to feed, I think a good general purpose feed wouldn't go amiss (Blood fish and bone) or if you've some home made compost a bit of that, but nothing too high in nitrogen otherwise they'll make all leaf.

[sindy]

Hello Nick and thanks for that advice, I will hold fire until April and then have a go, Could be back for more advice, apoloqies for poor spelling it was late