Cutting climbing hydrangea: when and how?

Climbing hydrangeas reach heights of 15 meters and widths of up to five meters. Regular pruning measures ensure that the trees stay in shape and shine in lush blooms every year.

time

Young plants do not have to be cut regularly until they are eight years old, as they grow slowly and do not yet bloom. Older ingrown climbing hydrangeas can grow by one meter per year, so that regular pruning becomes a necessary conservation measure. Pruning measures should be based on the flowering time, because climbing hydrangeas form fresh buds after flowering in autumn. They bloom on annual wood, which is why you should avoid cutting measures that are too late. The latest time to cut is shortly after flowering, before new flowering systems are developed. This is what your average calendar looks like over the course of the year:

• Parental allowance: possible between February and March every year
• Precision cut: every year shortly after flowering between May and July
• Topiary: regularly in spring from the eighth year
• Rejuvenation pruning: for older climbing hydrangeas every four to five years from February to March

Note: When pruning young plants, you should use scissors in late summer. In this way, interfaces can close until winter sets in and you prevent frost damage.

Observe the Federal Nature Conservation Act - According to §39 of the Federal Nature Conservation Act, it is between 01. March and 31. September not allowed to radically cut trees. Shaping cuts are permitted as long as no breeding birds have nested in the wood. Therefore, before every pruning measure that you have to carry out in summer, check whether nests have already been created in the thicket. If this is the case, you will have to wait until the end of the bird breeding season.

Education and needs cut

As the name suggests, a cut takes place when necessary. The measure is closely related to the upbringing pattern. Both pruning methods are used to promote the vitality of the climbing hydrangeas or to keep the plants small. If the ornamental flowering perennials grow on a house wall, you should pay particular attention to protruding branches. If these are not shortened, they can gain considerable weight over time and pull the entire plant away from the wall. Remove everything that disturbs or robs the plant of strength:

• Remove dead inflorescences directly above the first pair of buds
• Cut dead and diseased branches at the base
• thin out weak and disturbing shoots
• Cut off frozen and balding branches
• Keep branches sticking out from the wall small

Tip: Clean cut edges are the be-all and end-all, because this allows the plant to close its wounds faster. Apply the secateurs straight to keep the cut area as small as possible.

Topiary

If your hydrangeas are out of shape, they will no longer appear aesthetically pleasing. If the plants carry too much weight on one side, they tend to tip over. Shaping cuts are necessary to free the plant of excess ballast and to ensure better ventilation. This ensures a dry microclimate in which neither fungal spores nor pests feel comfortable. Follow these steps:

• Completely cut weak shoots
• Remove brittle wood as a precaution
• Thin out branches that are too close together
• Cut deadwood at the base

Taper cut

Since this cut is radical, it should be done purposefully and with care. This drastic rejuvenation measure is necessary when climbing hydrangeas slowly lose their ability to flower, their vitality declines or their height is to be restricted. A rejuvenation cut stimulates growth, because the lack of main shoots means that the blooming must be dipped drive out of the sleeping eyes created in the early stage of growth and create a new framework to develop. Depending on the thickness of the branch, we recommend using pruning shears or a saw. How to do it right:

• in order to maintain the size, cut long side branches onto short cones
• For height restrictions, shorten the scaffold drives by a maximum of two thirds
• ideally cut back main branches to 2.5 meters
• do not shorten all the main shoots so that the blossoms do not suffer
• it is better to cut back a few branches over several years