How much should a hydrangea stem be cut for winter?

should it be cut all the way or part of the way?

How much should a hydrangea stem be cut for winter?
It depends on what type you have.


A common Hydrangea is the PeeGee. This flowers on new wood, so you should prune after blooming is done or first thing in the spring, to the ground. Otherwise next year you'll have old wood and new growth together, a real mess.


Another common type is oak leaf or big leaf Hydrangea. These flowers are from last years buds, so only prune after blooming, or you won't get flowers next year.


A newly popular one, which is from Minnesota, my neck of the woods, is called Endless Summer. It flowers from both old and new wood, so you can do just about anything you want. It will give you different colors depending on what you add to it's soil, eg. aluminum sulphate, lime, particular fertilizer. It's gorgeous. Find out which type you have and go from there.
Reply:Hydrangea doesn't have to be pruned. If you just want a smaller bush it should be pruned right after it blooms. On most hydrangeas the flowers grow on the old wood. The only thing you should cut on it this time of year are any dead branches. If you cut it back next year only cut about a third of it off.
Reply:Just lop off the dead flower heads once they ARE dead. If you cut it to the ground you will probably have little or no flower production the next year as they plant will spend most of its energy regrowing the plant stalks and stems.