07 February 2024 , 16:50
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Say hello to bigger and better flowers this year.
If you've got plants in your garden, chances are you're not really thinking about them right now as the weather is too dreary and cold for them to be in bloom. But according to gardening enthusiasts, you should be looking ahead to the spring and summer months when your plants will be flowering, as there are things you can do right now that guarantee bigger and more impressive flowers when the time comes.
For example, gardening fans on social media have claimed you can ensure your hydrangeas are producing an abundance of blooms this year - and it's all to do with when you prune them.
One woman posted her hydrangea dilemma on the Loving Your Garden page on Facebook, where she wrote: "My hydrangea is very tall and reaches my window. I used to make a mistake by pruning it in February and cutting it right down. I've recently read that you have to leave it after frost which I will do this year.
"Due to pruning it too early It stopped flowering as much as it used to. What should I do? It's a mophead. Had it for years, and used to have so many flowers. Last couple years stopped flowering as much so I haven't touched it yet."
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Commenters were quick to tell the woman not to prune it now, as they said the type of hydrangea she has doesn't take well to being pruned too far back. Instead, she should prune "just under the dead flower heads" in spring, as soon as the blooms begin to die.
One gardening fan explained: "If you prune a hydrangea that flowers on old wood, meaning these type flower on last season's growth, too far back you will lose flowers for a year. You prune just under the dead flower heads in spring with these types.
"Prune to the new buds/leaves that are growing just under last year's flowers - do that in spring after the last frost. If you want one of those types to flower, just prune it right down low near the ground above growing buds in spring after the last frost, but you will lose flowers for a year till that new growth gets old enough to flower again."
There are only two types of hydrangea - hydrangea paniculata and hydrangea arborescens - that flower on new wood and need to be treated differently from all other types, and should be pruned back annually to allow new branches to grow.
Other commenters agreed, insisting the type of hydrangea the woman has should be pruned much earlier in the year to allow branches to grow during the autumn and winter months. Someone else wrote: "You can hard prune in August. I had the same issue and had so many nice new shoots in the spring when I always give a light prune.
"When new shoots are about an inch long I trim leaving at least three on the stem in case of a late frost so can cut another back. Never had an issue with lack of flowers and it's better for it, but I do feed it."