Cutting Techniques for Hydrangea Blooms

Pruning

• Prune hydrangeas only when they lose shape, have dead or damaged wood or when an older shrub is not producing as many blooms as it once did. Avoid pruning too late in the year or pruning too much, because you might remove the next season's blooms. The hydrangeas most commonly found in American gardens bloom on old wood, meaning wood from the previous season. These are Hydrangea macrophylla, commonly known as bigleaf, mophead or lacecap hydrangeas; and Hydrangea quercifolia, commonly called oakleaf hydrangea. After the plant is finished blooming, using sharp, sterile pruning shears -- they can be sterilized in rubbing alcohol -- cut off spent blooms. For shrubs producing fewer flowers only, cut up to one-third of all the stems at the base in late winter to improve flowering vigor, the Penn State Cooperative Extension -- Delaware County advises. The extension recommends pruning away the oldest stems. Younger stems provide more buds for next season. Hydrangea arborescens, or smooth hydrangea, Hydrangea paniculata, or pee gee or panicle hydrangea, produce buds on new wood in the current year's growing season. For larger blooms, the extension recommends cutting these plants back to the ground in late winter, before new buds appear.

Floral Arrangements

• To remain as fresh as possible, cut flowers must take up as much water as possible through their stems. Plants with woody stems, like hydrangeas, are treated differently from flowers with soft stems, like roses. Cut hydrangeas from the garden in the morning, before the day's heat arrives. After removing excess leaves and spent flowers, cut open the stem's base 1 to 4 inches with a clean, sterile knife or scissors. The bottom ends of larger woody branches can be hit with a hammer a few times to open up the stem, but not so much that the stem is totally crushed. Then, cut, diagonally, approximately 1 inch off of the stem under warm, running water. The University of Illinois Extension notes that hydrangeas can also be cut from the plant where a branch ends at soft, new wood growth.

Propagation

• To propagate hydrangeas by cuttings, in late spring or midsummer, using a sharp, sterile knife or pruning shears, take cuttings from a healthy hydrangea stem approximately 5 to 6 inches long, according to the North Dakota State University Extension Service. Avoid taking stems with flower buds. Remove the leaves from the lower one-third to one-half of the cuttings and any remaining flowers. This encourages cuttings to produce roots rather than flowers. Cut the remaining largest leaves down to about half their size before inserting cuttings into a damp, sterile rooting medium.

Root Pruning

• A hydrangea that refuses to bloom may benefit from root pruning, which makes the plant begin a reproductive cycle. Stick a straight-edge spade into the soil several inches away from its foliage spread and cut a circle around the plant.