That’s because some hydrangeas bloom on what is called “old wood”, or branches that are at least a year old. Others bloom on “new wood”, which is the new growth of the current season. This is not a problem with the many new hydrangeas on the market. They take the guess work out of when or if you need to prune your hydrangea, because most bloom on both old and new wood. However many of us have older hydrangea shrubs in our yards that can cause a lot of frustration when they don’t bloom. Since the blooms on an older hydrangea usually depends on when it was pruned, you will need to know what type of hydrangea it is. Here are ways to help you identify what type of hydrangea is growing in your yard with tips on simple maintenance and care. Lacecap hydrangeas bloom on old wood, so you could prune after flowering, to shape and control the shrub. However after about three years, the blooming will diminish. To keep your lacecaps flowering well, prune out 1/3 of the oldest branches each spring. This will encourage new growth every year, while maintaining some relatively older growth for producing flowers. You can also prune the tips of the remaining branches, after flowering, if you want to control the size of the plant. Old fashioned mophead hydrangeas bloom on old wood and are pruned in the same way as the lacecap hydrangeas. Each year you should remove one third of the oldest branches and prune the remainder back slightly after flowering if you want to keep the shrub’s size in check. Many of the newer, so called continuous bloom hydrangeas like ‘Endless Summer’ and the ‘Forever and Ever’ Series are simply hybridized Hydrangea magrophylla that were bred to bloom on both old and new wood. Oakleaf hydrangea bloom on old wood. You could not prune at all or prune by about one half in spring or fall. Both fall pruning and no pruning result in more flowers, but they will be smaller. If you prune in early spring, you will sacrifice some bus and get less flowers, but they will be larger, since there are fewer flowers competing for the plants resources. Peegee hydrangeas bloom on new wood. Wait until early spring and then start by removing all sucker branches at the base of the plant. Then prune all the branches back about three to four inches. This prevents the plant from getting too tall and flopping over when in bloom. It also encourages blooming throughout the shrub, rather than just on the tips of branches.
