In this video you'll learn how to quickly prune limelight hydrangeas for optimal health, get quick pruning tips, and discover what supplies are needed. Learn the pruning method to get the best bloom yield!
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Video transcript:
Today, I'm going to show you how to prune a limelight hydrangea bush. It's springtime here in Boone and limelight hydrangeas bloom on new growth. So that means that I can leave the flower heads on them all winter long and have that nice winter interest in my garden, and then I can go ahead and prune in the springtime because it's not going to affect the buds. There aren't any buds on this bush yet. So what I'm going to do is three steps, I'm going to trim the bush down, and that is going to help me have uniform sizing. It's also going to create a nice, sturdy base for all of these big blooms to come out and away from. The next thing I'm going to do is thin out some of the stragglers, the ones that aren't quite as strong, that won't support the blooms quite as well as some of the sturdier branches. Now, as I'm doing that, it means that I'm going to get less blooms but I'm going to get a higher quality bloom, I'm going to get a bigger bloom. So that's why I'm going in and clipping out some of those side shoots. Then, I'm going to clip anything that's crossing over one another. So that, kind of, crowding that happens, I want all of my branches to have some elbow room, I want them to have space for water to drip down and through, I don't want them growing all in and around each other. So I'm going to thin and trim in that area as well. To get started here today, I have a pair of pruners. And the important thing with pruning is to make sure that your clippers are very clean before you get started because you're basically doing plant surgery, right? So I have a Chlorox solution that I'm dipping my clippers in and just sanitizing and cleaning them off. The first step is measuring to 18 inches, that's what I've chosen for where I'm going to do my cuts on this particular bush due to its size. So I'm going to go ahead and measure to 18 and then I'm going to clip on an angle. Just like this, so this keeps the water from sitting in there and the water just can run off the sides. And I'm going to continue doing this using that as a general guide. And as I clip, I'm looking for these little areas of three. These two types of hydrangea, the limelights and the pink diamond, bloom on new growth. It's very important to know the distinction between the different types of hydrangeas because some bloom on woody growth. So this type of pruning would affect the bloom for you if it was another variety of hydrangea. So I'm going to continue doing this the whole way around. Now, what we've just done is created a strong base for the new growth to come up and out on. Now, we're at a point here where you have to make a decision. Do you want bigger blooms? Or do you want smaller blooms and more of them? If you want bigger blooms, it's important to go back down into the plant and to clip out some of these smaller, weaker stems. So that's what I'm going to do, I'm going to clip out some of these because these aren't really, these ones that are curved and wonky aren't really supporting... New growth that will come up. And I want to use strong stems like this that have a really great base, so I'm just going to cut some of these... out... Of the plant. But I'm not going to prune quite as hard as some people may who are searching for bigger flowers because in design work for me, unless I'm doing a really large scale piece, really giant limelight hydrangea blooms, they're kind of giant, even the small ones are a little bit giant. So I would prefer to have more blooms and less of them. But right now I'm just going to get rid of these smaller stems that aren't going to be a big support for the plant. The other thing I'm paying close attention to is some of these stems that are inner-locking. I want them to have a little bit of room, so I'm going to trim out any that are crossing over each other. Thanks so much for tuning in. I'm looking forward to seeing your nice, healthy, strong hydrangea bushes.