I have a blue hydrangea i would like to know if i should pick off old buds in fall of year?

Wow. I just found *the* site on pruning hydrangeas:





http://www.hydrangeashydrangeas.com/prun...





Amazingly thorough. It would make no sense just to repeat this, as the photos are very useful. And thanks for asking; now I know how to prune mine!





You need to look at this because, depending on your type of hydrangea, it blooms on either old wood or new. If it's an old-wood bloomer and you prune it hard like one answer suggested, you might not get any blooms next year. They probably have the other kind.

I have a blue hydrangea i would like to know if i should pick off old buds in fall of year?
According to everything I've read you should leave the flower heads on for the winter as they will help protect the new growth happening a little further down the stems. They say you should cut off the dead heads in the spring when the new growth gets going again.
Reply:I've always read that you cut hydrangeas down to about a 1-foot long cane in the winter, like you would do with roses. And all flowering plants bloom better when you cut off the dead-heads, regardless of what time of year it is.
Reply:When pruning the plant in the winter, any stems that flowers the previous season should be pruned back. Unflowered stems should not be pruned, as these will provide the flowers for the next year. Any dead stems or weak parts of the plant should also be pruned back at this time.

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