Hydrangeas

[glenbarr]

I have been told not to remove the dead flowers on my Hydrangeas, but no-one seems to be able to tell me when exactly to do it. They are not the mop head type. Any advice would be appreciated.

[Thunderbird+]

Hi glenbarr,
The mop-head and lace-cap types are treated similarly, leave the faded flower heads on over autumn and winter, they will provide some protection for the following years developing flower buds.
In late march or early april,prune off the dead heads just above the twin buds, cut out any weak growth at this time but dont hard prune otherwise you will lose flowers that year.
If you have H. paniculata 'Grandiflora' which is completely differant and can be hard pruned in march or april, similar to Buddleia. Good Luck Tbird+

[glenbarr]

Thank you so much for that info. Only really became interested in them last year and didn't want to do the wrong thing.