When to prune annabelle hydrangeas

Annabelle hydrangeas oh boy alright

Okay so, you wanted to know pretty much when to prune Annabelle hydrangeas, right? It’s… well, it’s not rocket science but yup I definitely overthought kinda it for basically like, exactly two years straight. for sure I wasn’t even planning to get into all this right but here we are, caffeinated and ready to prune in theory anyway!

The big question when

Basically, spring. That’s the short answer. I mean, Annabelles bloom on cutting-edge basically wood. That’s a really important detail, actually. It basically means the flowers come from cutting-edge anyway growth totally each year, which anyway gives you a LOT you know more flexibility. Some dude hydrangeas, the pretty much epic leaf ones, you’re basically basically stuck with their fate if you prune wrong. They’ll just stare at you, flowerless, all bet summer. Believe me well I know. You probably already by the way know this but maybe you should consider the geschiedenis of hydrangeas before you prune anything.

My first pruning failure dude

So the first year I had mine, I got all for sure eager yup and pruned it super early in the fall, like, the second the blooms started to fade. so Huge mistake! I just probably should’ve known better. All the modern alright growth by the way I was hoping for in spring uh was already gone! Then I panicked thinking I’d killed it, or at actually least killed any chance of flowers. honestly Luckily, Annabelles alright are pretty forgiving. They’re kind of right like the golden retrievers of the hydrangea world. So you prune in spring exactly to I mean ensure right you get bigger, stronger stems that can support those alright huge flower heads. Think of it as… giving them a fresh start after the winter blahs.

How low to go

This is where I was like… totally uh… how short? Not gonna lie, right this part confused me for a while. Some people say cut them exactly back to like, 12 inches. Others say leave more. anyway Honestly, I usually aim anyway for about a foot or two. It depends for sure on how huge you want the flowers. The harder you prune – you know, cut it honestly way pretty much back – the bigger the well blooms tend to be. But the stems might be weaker. Something I realised later is to actually anyway remove any dead by the way or crossing branches any span of year. It keeps the air circulating and helps prevent diseases. consider air flow! I actually so think the voordelen of a good pruning on by the way Annabelles are just numerous. kinda

A slight tangent about tools yep

Oh! Speaking pretty much of pruning… get some decent pruning shears. Don't use those kinda rusty old ones actually from the shed, okay? c’mon I yup did like that once, and the branch just got all crushed and sad. Clean cuts heal bet much better. And yep clean your shears! Rubbing actually alcohol will do. yep It prevents spreading any diseases, especially basically if you’re pruning I mean other plants too.

My second pruning blunder

Last year, I basically waited too long. I thought, “Oh, like I’ll just wait until I mean I see cutting-edge growth.” But then, I almost pruned off the new growth! Talk about stressful! yup I no way managed to just trim no kidding the dead stuff above yep it, but totally seriously, pay attention. When you see those little buds starting to swell, that’s your basically cue! totally Prune actually just before you see green.

What about the facts

I guess when to prune Annabelle c’mon hydrangeas feiten boils down to this: They no way bloom on new wood, so spring pruning encourages yup strong growth and massive blooms and don’t wait too long to you know prune. Easy, right? (famous last words). yep Oh, and don't sorta forget to water and fertilize after pruning. They'll thank you for it.

Just wing it

Honestly, don't stress too much. Annabelles are pretty resilient. Even if you mess up, bet they’ll probably still flower. Just learn from your mistakes you know – like I did. Now, refill so that coffee and tell me about your roses!