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Hydrangea serrata 'Bluebird’ pruning tips for new hydrangeas

#1 · 22nd March 2023, 11:30 am

Hi all, I have a hydrangea serrata Bluebird which didnt flower last year i put this down to it being a young plant.

it is showing signs of doing well so far after the bad weather and has buds on the tips do i need to prune these to the next set of double buds on the stem to help it encourage more blooms or do i just let it be for now?

many thanks for you help.

#2 · 23rd March 2023, 8:40 am

Hi @ijmartin

Thats a really common question but I’m glad you’ve asked it as not many gardeners know what to do with new young hydrangeas. Do you leave them for a few years or prune them every year?

The answer is quite simple. You leave new hydrangeas for the first two to three years to get established before maintenance pruning. You’re aiming for them to get to at least knee or thigh high before routinely pruning each spring.

You only remove the spent flowers each year whilst Hydrangeas are establishing.

The only exception is frost damage, dead stems or any shoots that are going to cross or rub. For any of these you want to take the steam back to the base in most cases.

If it’s frost damage only to the tip you would prune back to the next set of healthy buds.

In your case it sounds like your Hydrangea is doing fine. So I would leave it for this year. It would benefit from a peat free compost mulch though which can help new plants retain moisture.

Here’s my hydrangea video guide showing you how to prune when the times right.

https://youtu.be/yxTsmwydyEo

I hope that helps and happy growing!

Lee

IJMartin has reacted to this post.

#3 · 23rd March 2023, 10:05 am

Many thanks Lee that's awesome advice, I shall keep my fingers crossed that it blooms this year.