There are many reasons why you might want to trim your oak leaf hydrangea. If it’s getting too big and taking over the garden, if it’s not blooming properly or if you have a diseased plant, then this is the article for you.
How To Trim Oak Leaf Hydrangea
Here is the complete process explained in detail on how to trim oak leaf hydrangea:
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.
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 canes by one-third to one-half their length (depending on variety).
Leave an outward-facing bud on each cane so it will produce new branches next year…
Tips for How To Trim Oak Leaf Hydrangea
Here are 5 things to take care of with respect to how to trim oak leaf hydrangea:
1. Trim the leaves so that they are a similar size and shape.
2. Trim them when they are dry, not wet. They will be easier to trim and you won’t get cut because of their sharp edges!
3. Make sure you have a good pair of pruning shears or garden snips. You can use regular scissors but it might take you longer and it won’t be as clean of a cut!
4. Make sure that your hydrangea is in a place where it will get plenty of sunlight! If it doesn’t, the leaves may turn brown and fall off easily!
5. It is important to trim your hydrangea in the spring or early summer before new growth begins to appear on the plant (usually around June). This will ensure that your hydrangea looks its best all season long!
FAQs
Interesting Facts About Hydrangea
Here are 5 things you should know about hydrangea:
1. They are native to China and Japan, but were introduced to the U.S. in 1816 by a French botanist.
2. The name hydrangea comes from the Greek words for water and vessel, because the flowers contain large amounts of water.
3. Most hydrangeas are hardy only in Zones 6 through 8, so if you live outside those zones, you’ll want to grow them as container plants or do some winter protection like mulching and covering with burlap or straw.
4. To get your hydrangea blooming profusely all summer long, prune it after it finishes flowering in late spring or early summer (depending on your climate). Pruning will encourage new growth that will bloom again later in the season and into fall! If you prune too late, you may not get any new flowers that year. Here’s how to prune a hydrangea bush:
5. Hydrangeas can be grown as annuals! Yep – just plant them in pots or planters with good drainage and keep them indoors during the winter months! Or plant them outdoors in full sun where they’ll get lots of heat and light…but remember, you’ll need to bring them inside for the winter if you live where temperatures drop below freezing!
The best time to trim oak leaf hydrangea is in late winter. This will give the plant time to recover and re-grow before the growing season starts up again.
How to prune oak leaf hydrangea?
Oak leaf hydrangeas should be pruned when they are dormant, in late winter or early spring. Pruning is done by removing dead and diseased branches, as well as those that are crossing over each other. You can also remove some of the older stems if you want a denser plant. The goal is to keep the plant open, with plenty of air circulation around it.
What type of fertilizer do I use for my oak leaf hydrangeas?
You can use any type of fertilizer for your oak leaf hydrangeas, but make sure it is one that is intended for flowering plants or shrubs. Oak leafs need nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (N-P-K) fertilizers. If you have a soil test available, you can determine what nutrients your soil already has and add more of what it lacks. For example: if your soil test shows low levels of phosphorus but high levels of potassium, then you would add more phosphorus than potassium to your fertilizer mix. If your tests show that there are sufficient amounts of both nutrients in your soil then you can just add a general purpose fertilizer such as 10-10-10 or 5-10-5 to your plants once
Deadheading is not necessary for oakleaf hydrangea. If you do choose to deadhead, wait until the plant has finished flowering and all of the petals have fallen off.
How can I help my oakleaf hydrangea flower more?
Oakleaf hydrangeas are very easy to grow, but they do require a few conditions to be optimal: full sun, acidic soil and regular watering. If your oakleaf hydrangea isn’t blooming as much as you’d like, try improving these three things and it should start producing more flowers.
I have a white oakleaf hydrangea that has grown too large for the space. I would like to prune it back by at least half, but am not sure how far back I can go on this plant.
Can you help?
You can prune hydrangeas at any time of the year. In late winter, you can trim back older stems to encourage new growth. In summer, you can trim back stems that have flowered to encourage more flowers. It is important to leave at least one or two sets of leaves on each stem so that the plant has a food source and water supply during the growing season.
How do I care for my hydrangeas?
Hydrangeas need very little care once they have been planted in full sun and well-drained soil. They will grow best if you fertilize them in spring with a high phosphorous fertilizer such as 10-10-10 or 20-20-20 and then again after flowering in summer as needed. Be careful not to overfertilize your hydrangea because too much nitrogen will cause it to grow lots of foliage but few flowers. If your soil is acidic (pH less than 6), apply lime around the base of your hydrangeas every three years or so to maintain a pH between 5 and 6. To help keep your plants healthy and vigorous, mulch around their roots with bark chips or pine straw to keep weeds down and moisture in the soil.