Want Better Hydrangeas Next Year? Gardeners Say You Should Never Skip This Important Task

The large, long-lasting blooms of hydrangeas make them a colorful showstopper in your yard. Removing faded flowers from these shrubs maintains a tidy appearance and promotes healthy growth.

When and why you deadhead varies depending on the type of hydrangea you’re growing, local conditions and how you want the bush to look.

Knowing when to deadhead hydrangea in summer—and when not to—will help you make the most of the beautiful blooms during this season while setting your shrub up for successful flowering next year.

Should You Deadhead Hydrangeas in the Summer?

You can—and, in some circumstances, should—deadhead hydrangea in the summer. However, whether this is essential, beneficial, or problematic depends on the type of hydrangea you’re growing and what your deadheading goals are.

Unless you have a reblooming hydrangea variety, deadheading won’t encourage more flowers during the summer growing season. However, removing faded blooms encourages a tidier appearance, and it can promote strong and additional stem growth, leading to bigger blooms the next season.

For new wood hydrangeas (such as panicle or smooth varieties) that bloom on new stems produced in the current growing season, stopping any deadheading by mid-August minimizes late-season plant stimulation and new growth.

You want to help your shrub to settle as it prepares to go into dormancy, and the tender new growth might not survive this cold period. 

For old wood hydrangea varieties that bloom on stems grown the previous year, don’t deadhead later than the end of July. If you snip stems too late, you could remove late-setting flower buds, leading to a disappointing bloom season the following year.

The earlier you deadhead reblooming hydrangea varieties in the summer, the better. This minimizes the risk of missing the seasonal reblooming window.

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How to Deadhead Hydrangeas

Learning how to deadhead hydrangeas in the summer isn’t tricky. Follow these simple steps for the best success.

1. Sterilize your sharp pruning shears or secateurs to prevent the spread of pests or diseases.
2. Identify the faded hydrangea flower, then cleanly cut the stem directly above the next set of healthy leaves below your spent bloom. Don’t cut too far down, as this can cause problems with next year’s blooming.
3. Do this for all faded, brown, or drooping blooms on the shrub.

How to Revive a Hydrangea Without Deadheading

If your hydrangea is not blooming abundantly or suffering from wilting, browning, or yellowing leaves, this can be a sign of plant stress.

Deadheading won’t help revive a stressed hydrangea, but, provided your plant is not too unhealthy, there are measures you can take to revive your shrub.

Adjusting your watering habits can help—you want the soil to be evenly moist but not soggy. You can also provide temporary shade cover during periods of intense heat, and prune away dead or damaged branches to minimize the risk of pests, poor air circulation, and hydrangea diseases.

5 Tips for Keeping Hydrangeas Thriving

Hydrangeas are relatively easy to care for, but the following tips will help to keep them blooming profusely year after year.

• Select a variety suited to your conditions: Hydrangeas are sun lovers, but some grow better in shady spots or colder climates than others.
• Water deeply: Rather than shallow, daily irrigation, water hydrangeas less frequently and for longer. Allow the moisture to penetrate deep into the soil so that it promotes even moisture and the development of strong, drought-resistant roots. 
• Consider plant position: Pick the right partial shade spot to keep your shrub happy. Too much direct, intense afternoon sun in hot climates can stress your hydrangea, as can excessive shade. 
• Feed with a rose fertilizer: An early spring feed with a bloom-boosting rose or hydrangea fertilizer is usually sufficient for most mature shrubs. However, additional feeds up to the end of summer can benefit young plants or those growing in colder climates. 
• Protect from winter cold snaps: Surrounding your shrub with a wire mesh enclosure filled with leaf litter can help to protect your hydrangea against frost injury.