AT A GLANCE
Autumn is the best time to harvest hydrangeas successfully. The root ball is exposed, runners and shoots are separated from the mother plant and then planted in acidic substrate at the new location. Cutting off is used to reduce, multiply or remove dead shoots.
When is the best time to cut off hydrangeas?
Autumn is the best time to cut hydrangeas. Ideally you wait for the wood to be sheds foliage. In the growth dormancy that follows, a hydrangea tolerates the intervention without injuries.
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A second time window opens between late winter and early spring in connection with the annual pruning. The disadvantage of this choice of date is that with most garden hydrangeas you have to reckon with a failure of this year's flowering period.
What is the correct way to cut off hydrangeas?
You need a spade, a digging fork, a saw and a spade to cut off hydrangeas acidic substrate, preferably rhododendron soil. The following brief instructions explain step by step how to cut off a hydrangea correctly:
- Shovel off runners or ground shoots with roots at the edge of the root ball.
- Push in the digging fork and loosen the ball piece.
- Cut off the roots with a spade and lift them out of the ground.
- Separate unruly runners from the rootstock with a saw.
- Dig a planting hole in the semi-shady location and fill it with substrate.
- Plant the cut root piece, press on the soil and water.
- Cover the planting site with leaves and brushwood for the winter.
Why do you want to cut off hydrangeas?
There are a number of reasons why it can make sense to cut off your hydrangeas. Hobby gardeners rate the special advantage of this measure: inside, that the mother plant is the best location remain can. These are the four most common reasons for cutting hydrangeas:
- hydrangea shrink
- Divide hydrangea without transplanting.
- Vegetative propagation by runners.
- Remove dead shoots in the outer root ball area as a result of frost damage.
Can you cut off all hydrangeas?
Basically, all hydrangeas are suitable for cutting. This applies regardless of whether you want to shrink a hydrangea, clean it of frost damage, or split it.
For the Propagation by stolons however, only a few hydrangea species come into consideration. Farmer's Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla), panicle hydrangeas (Hydrangea paniculata), climbing hydrangeas (Hydrangea petiolaris) and most hydrangeas (Hydrangea serrata) thrive as bushy, compact shrubs. In contrast, snowball hydrangeas (Hydrangea arborescens) and Korean hydrangeas (Hydrangea serrata f. koreana) long stolons that you can cut off and transplant.
Tip
Propagate hydrangeas carefully by cuttings
Cutting off hydrangeas for the purpose of propagation means a brutal intervention in the rootstock for the mother plant. Head cuttings are more gentle. Ideally, in early summer, take a cutting without buds, defoliate except for a pair of leaves and cut into lean ones seed soil plant. Put a transparent hood over the growing pot, which you ventilate every day. Hydrangea cuttings will also root in a vase of rainwater.
