My Endless Summer's are OverGrown - Help!
Six years ago I bought a house with gorgeous hydrangeas, mostly Endless Summer but a few other types like lace cap and some smaller bloom pink ones all in front. Now they are so big they make my cottage look small. Last year I cut them back to about 3 feet tall. This year they are even bigger with loads of flowers on weak new stems that just fall down to the ground. New foliage grows up from the top so my bushes look like they are wearing a flower skirt with a green leafy top. Since they are on both sides of a path they nearly close the pathway off from walking. I need to know when and how to get these under control. They are edge to edge. No space between. I'm tempted to take a few out. I don't know what and when to cut. Please help. P.S I live in New England not far from the ocean on former farmland......hence the ideal conditions.
When you top plants they branch out in spades. It sorta ruins the look and shape of the bushes and trees. It helps if you take some pruning lessons so you know where to make the cuts to direct where the branches will grow out and thin the branches, so that you don't have so many weak branches.
I should know, I pruned my tree badly and then took the pruning class. I spent the next few years dealing with the water sprouts until a new leader filled in.
Now, I have learned to take more time and prune only a few branches at a time and it is best not to leave gaping holes in the canopy and always leave a leader even if it is taller than you like until the lower canopy fills in then take the leader down. For shrubs, I prune them evenly all around. I only take off 6 inches at time otherwise they look really bare. letting too much light into the inner parts of the tree or shrub just makes the plant want to fill the hole. The canopy actually keeps the lower nodes from sprouting.
I should know, I pruned my tree badly and then took the pruning class. I spent the next few years dealing with the water sprouts until a new leader filled in.
Now, I have learned to take more time and prune only a few branches at a time and it is best not to leave gaping holes in the canopy and always leave a leader even if it is taller than you like until the lower canopy fills in then take the leader down. For shrubs, I prune them evenly all around. I only take off 6 inches at time otherwise they look really bare. letting too much light into the inner parts of the tree or shrub just makes the plant want to fill the hole. The canopy actually keeps the lower nodes from sprouting.
-
luis_pr
- Greener Thumb
- Posts: 824
- Joined: Sun Jul 05, 2009 8:31 am
- Location: Hurst, TX USA Zone 7b/8a
Hydrangea Macrophylla produces invisible flower buds for Spring 2014 starting in the July-August 2013 time frame (approx). In the South where I am, the flower buds develop in July. In the New England Area, this should occur sometime in August. Caution: these are approximate times because the weather can influence the moment when the buds develop.
Choose to prune now or after they all have bloomed in 2014 (but before the end of June 2014) based on those dates and based on whether the plants are all rebloomers or not; based on weather you HAVE to HAVE blooms next year; based on whether you winter protect these shrubs.
As you discovered, pruning at 3 feet, the plants produced more growth that you wanted so prune at 1' (or another height less than 3') and see if the result is acceptable by the end of the growing season in 2014.
Unfortunately, this pruning business will become a yearly gardening chore from now on. So, also consider transplanting the large bushes into a new location where they can thrive and not need that much care. In their old locations, you could plant hydrangeas that do not grow as large as these.
Choose to prune now or after they all have bloomed in 2014 (but before the end of June 2014) based on those dates and based on whether the plants are all rebloomers or not; based on weather you HAVE to HAVE blooms next year; based on whether you winter protect these shrubs.
As you discovered, pruning at 3 feet, the plants produced more growth that you wanted so prune at 1' (or another height less than 3') and see if the result is acceptable by the end of the growing season in 2014.
Unfortunately, this pruning business will become a yearly gardening chore from now on. So, also consider transplanting the large bushes into a new location where they can thrive and not need that much care. In their old locations, you could plant hydrangeas that do not grow as large as these.