Whether you want to add color to your backyard for spring or want a porch plant to showcase your home, hydrangeas are a popular choice. And with their stunning, clustered flowers in shades of pink, white, and blue, these can instantly become the focal point of any space.
Which is why it can often feel disheartening when you see your hydrangeas wilt or suffer from winter damage. This is especially the case if you haven’t taken the time to learn how to winterize hydrangeas.
Signs of damage include discoloration (black or brown tissue), which usually indicates freeze injury caused by sudden low temperatures or late frosts. Another tip for determining whether your hydrangea is damaged is to gently scratch a stem. If you see green inside, the plant is healthy; if it’s brown, the plant hasn’t handled the cold weather well.
The good news, however, is that a simple action this month can save your winter-damaged hydrangeas and ensure you still enjoy spectacular blooms. But you’ll need to literally spring into action — here’s how.
How to prune winter-damaged hydrangeas
Simply pruning away the dead, frost-bitten branches, leaving just the living stems, can give your hydrangeas a good chance of thriving this season. But it’s vital that you know when and how to prune hydrangeas the right way.
Getting rid of dead branches will not only encourage new growth but will also eliminate pests and root diseases that can cause further damage to your beautiful blooms.
Experts recommend waiting until you see the first signs of spring growth before pruning hydrangeas. This will also give you a better idea of which branches are damaged and need removing, ideally using a sharp bypass pruning shears for a precise cut. In addition, look out for brown or brittle stems that show no signs of green; these should be easy to snap off or remove.
In fact, March and April are considered the ideal months for this task, as pruning any earlier in the year risks inadvertently removing the plant's live parts. Knowing how to prune hydrangeas properly can keep this vibrant plant in check for spring and future seasons.
For more top tips, check out how to grow hydrangeas from cuttings and avoid these hydrangea pruning mistakes.
