How to prune hydrangeas
When and how to prune depends on the type of hydrangea. Prune the wrong one at the wrong time and you can lose a year's flowers.
- Time
- 15 to 30 minutes per plant
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 6
- Checked
What you’ll need
- Sharp bypass secateurs Search Amazon for bypass secateurs
- Loppers or pruning saw for old stems Search Amazon for garden loppers
- Gardening gloves
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Safety first
- Hydrangeas can be harmful if eaten. Keep prunings away from pets and children.
- Cutting mopheads and lacecaps hard in autumn or spring removes the buds that would have flowered this year.
Step by step
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Step 1: Identify your hydrangea
- Mophead (Hydrangea macrophylla): big round heads of flowers.
- Lacecap (also macrophylla): flat heads with small flowers in the middle and larger ones round the edge.
- Panicle (H. paniculata): cone-shaped flower heads.
- Smooth (H. arborescens), such as 'Annabelle': large white domes.
- Climbing (H. petiolaris): clings to walls.
- Oakleaf (H. quercifolia): leaves shaped like oak leaves.
-
Step 2: Mopheads: leave the old flowers on over winter
The RHS advises leaving faded mophead flowers on through winter, as they help protect the buds below from frost. In early spring, cut each old flower stem back to the first strong, healthy pair of buds below the dead head.
Next: step 3 -
Step 3: Lacecaps
Lacecaps can be deadheaded after flowering, cutting back to the second pair of leaves below the head, or left until spring like mopheads.
Next: step 4 -
Step 4: Renew older mopheads and lacecaps
On established plants, cut one or two of the oldest stems right down to the base in spring. This encourages strong new stems that flower well. Don't cut all the stems back hard: mopheads and lacecaps flower on buds formed the year before.
Next: step 5 -
Step 5: Panicle and smooth hydrangeas: prune harder in spring
These flower on new growth, so in spring cut last year's stems back to a pair of healthy buds. For bigger flowers on sturdier stems, cut back to a low framework about 25cm (10in) high, or up to 60cm (2ft) if you want a taller plant.
Next: step 6 -
Step 6: Climbing and oakleaf hydrangeas
Prune climbing hydrangeas just after flowering in summer, shortening over-long shoots. Spread any drastic cutting back over three or four years. Oakleaf hydrangeas need only minimal pruning in spring to remove dead and over-long stems.
Tips
- Dried mophead flowers look lovely in winter and are good for flower arranging.
- On acid soil, many pink mopheads turn blue. That's soil chemistry, not pruning.
- Water hydrangeas well in dry spells, especially those in pots.
Questions people ask
Why didn't my hydrangea flower?
Common reasons include pruning a mophead or lacecap too hard (removing the flower buds), late frost damaging buds, or too much shade or dryness.
Should I deadhead hydrangeas in autumn?
For mopheads, the RHS suggests waiting until early spring. Lacecaps can be deadheaded after flowering.
Can I cut a hydrangea right back to the ground?
Smooth hydrangeas like 'Annabelle' tolerate hard pruning in spring. Mopheads and lacecaps don't, as you'll lose that year's flowers.
Sources
Checked 9 October 2026. We wrote this guide in our own words, using:
- RHS: hydrangea pruning (rhs.org.uk)
- RHS: potentially harmful garden plants (rhs.org.uk)
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Printed from howtoguides.uk/guides/how-to-prune-hydrangeas/ · Checked 9 October 2026 · General information only. For gas, electrics, structural work, medical, legal or money decisions, use a qualified professional.