Limelight hydrangea is a beautiful shrub that produces clusters of white flowers in summer. This plant can grow up to 8 feet tall, but with proper care and pruning it can be kept smaller. If you are looking for a low-maintenance shrub with showy flowers, limelight hydrangea may be the perfect choice for your yard.
How To Keep Limelight Hydrangea Small
Here is the complete process explained in detail on how to keep limelight hydrangea small:
1. Remove dead, diseased or damaged wood.
Use pruning shears to cut out dead wood and canes that have died back or are severely damaged. Make the cuts just above a bud or node, where there is new growth. If you want to keep the plant small, make sure to only remove the top 2-3 feet of the plant. You can do this by cutting off any new shoots that sprout from below this height.
2. Remove any suckers that sprout from the base of the plant.
These are shoots that grow out from the rootstock and should be removed as soon as they appear so they don’t take energy away from the rest of the plant. Use pruning shears to cut them off at ground level.
3. Thin out canes so they are spaced 6 to 12 inches apart .
This will give your rose bush room to grow and help prevent disease problems in future years by allowing air circulation around all parts of the plant. It will also help you see where new growth is developing so you’ll know where to cut back in step 4 below .
4. Cut back those thick stems!
This is most easily accomplished with a saw (though it’s possible with pruning shears). Cut through each stem just above a bud or node, where there is new growth or leaves (if you’re doing this in spring). Keeping these stems under control will encourage more branching on your hydrangea, which means more flowers!
Tips for How To Keep Limelight Hydrangea Small
Here are 5 things to take care of with respect to how to keep limelight hydrangea small:
1. When you are planting your hydrangea, make sure that you plant it in a spot where it will have full sun and well-drained soil.
2. Make sure to keep the soil around the hydrangea moist but not soggy. If the soil is too wet or too dry, your hydrangea can become damaged or even die!
3. You should prune your hydrangea once a year in early spring before growth starts. Pruning helps to control its size and shape and also helps to promote new growth so that it has beautiful blooms all season long!
4. You should fertilize with a slow-release fertilizer in early spring before growth starts, then again in late summer when flowers begin to fade. Fertilizing will help promote strong, healthy growth and beautiful blooms!
5. You should trim off any dead woody branches as needed throughout the year to keep your hydrangea looking its best. Dead woody branches can be cut away at any time of the year without affecting flowering at all!
Interesting Facts About Hydrangea
Here are 5 things you should know about hydrangea:
1. The name hydrangea is derived from the Greek words “hydor” meaning water and “anggeion” meaning vessel. This refers to the fact that these plants have a large root system, which stores water for use during dry spells.
2. Hydrangeas are native to China, Japan and Korea, but were introduced to Europe in the 17th century by Dutch traders who brought them back from their travels. They are now widely grown in Europe and North America as well as Asia.
3. Hydrangeas are classified into 3 groups: mophead (single flower heads), lacecap (multiple flower heads) and oakleaf (leaves are lobed like an oak leaf). There are over 100 species of hydrangea worldwide, with at least another 300 cultivars available!
4. Hydrangea petals fade from blue to pink or red when they dry out – this is known as anthocyanin, which also gives apples their red color when they go bad (and makes them taste bitter). Anthocyanin is what gives blueberries their deep purple color too!
5. Hydrangeas do not need much attention once established in your yard! They prefer full sun or part shade and average soil conditions, but will grow in most conditions provided there is adequate moisture during the growing season. They don’t require fertilizer, but will grow faster if you give them a good feeding of compost or manure once a year after flowering has finished. Pruning removes dead flowers and spent stems, keeps the plant compact and encourages new growth – prune after flowering has finished in late spring or early summer before new growth begins; cut back about 1/3 of the old stems each year for best results!
FAQs
The limelight hydrangea is a large shrub that can be trained as a small tree. It can reach up to 15 feet in height and spread 10 feet wide. The shrub grows quickly, so it needs to be pruned regularly. You should prune the shrub after it finishes blooming in the summer to keep it from becoming too big. Another option is to plant the shrub in a large container and move it indoors for the winter.
I’ve got a hydrangea that is about 10-12 feet tall and I would like to keep it short. Is there something
I can do to keep it from growing so big?
Hydrangeas are considered by many to be the easiest of all flowering shrubs to grow, but they do have one fault – they tend to get very large. The good news is that there are many things you can do to keep your hydrangeas under control. Here are some tips:
Remove any flower heads after the flowers fade, but before they turn brown. This will encourage more branching and smaller flowers on shorter stems. Cut back any branches which have become too long or leggy. Prune them right down to a pair of healthy buds at the base of the plant.
If you don’t want the plant to produce seed, remove all flower heads as soon as they fade. Remove any dead leaves or branches throughout the summer, especially if you notice an infestation of Japanese beetles on your hydrangea. (They’re attracted to dying foliage.)
You can also use a systemic insecticide such as Bayer Advanced Tree & Shrub Insect Control for Hydrangeas in early spring or late fall when most insects are not active. Spray with a solution of 1 tablespoon Epsom salts dissolved in 1 gallon water once a month from May through September. Epsom salts help strengthen plants and discourage pests such as aphids, spider mites
The best way to keep a hydrangea compact is to prune it. Pruning will help you get the plant into the shape you want, and will also make sure that the plant doesn’t grow too tall.
If you would like your hydrangea compact to remain smaller, prune off any new growth before it gets taller than 4 or 5 inches. If you would like your shrub to grow taller, then let it grow until the new growth reaches 6 inches tall. Once the new growth has reached its desired height, cut it back by half. This will encourage more branching and more flowers on your shrub.
Yes! Hydrangeas can be easily pruned to keep them small. The best time to do this is late winter before the plant starts growing again.
To trim hydrangeas, cut off any branches that are too long or crossing over each other. You can also remove some of the older flowers if they are not blooming well or look bad. If you have multiple plants in one area, you can trim out some of the weaker ones and allow the strongest one to thrive. This will allow your plant to grow more flowers instead of all its energy being directed into just a few flowers.
How to take care of hydrangeas in summer?
Hydrangeas prefer cool weather, but they will still grow in warmer weather as long as they get enough water and fertilizer. In hot weather, water your hydrangea deeply once a week or so during dry spells. To make sure it gets enough nutrients, fertilize every month with a slow release fertilizer like Miracle Grow Garden Soil for Hydrangeas or use Miracle Grow Flowering Shrubs Fertilizer with Iron & Manganese every month until fall when you stop feeding it at all until spring. If you have an established plant that is getting lots of sun and not growing well, adding fertilizer may help it grow better!