Hydrangea mistake can lead to 'no blooms at all' next year, gardeners warned

08 October 2023 , 11:26

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The one thing you should never do in autumn (Image: Shutterstock / Tunatura)

Hydrangeas are some of the most beautiful garden shrubs, but like all plants they require care in order to bloom yearly. While their beauty doesn't last all year round, there are steps you can take to keep them healthy in the Autumn so that when summer comes around again, you'll be blessed by their unique colours once again.

If you want to keep them billowing beautifully year in year out, heed the advice of gardening expert Jessica Walliser, a horticulturist and the award-winning author of seven gardening books, who has shared the one garden task to "never" carry out in autumn at risk of your hydrangeas not blooming at all.

According to The Express, Jessica explained to Savvy Gardening that no matter what type of hydrangea is being grown, there's "no need to do any pruning" when caring for these flowers in autumn. "Whether you are growing gorgeous panicle hydrangeas like these or classic mophead hydrangeas, pruning should never be done in autumn."

In fact, "pruning in the autumn could remove flower buds for next year", she warned, depending on which variety of hydrangea you're growing. Hydrangeas are split into two categories, those that bloom on old wood and those that bloom on new wood. For the former, it's best to prune them only in the summer. Meanwhile, ones that bloom on new wood should only be pruned in the spring.

Pruning at the wrong time of the year can lead to "reduced blooms or even no blooms at all" next year. Usually, in autumn, it's common for gardeners to prune plants that they think are dead stems in autumn, but this doesn't work for every plant. In fact, this practice could result in a plant that's "more prone to winter injury and produces fewer blooms". "You could even be pruning off next year's dormant flower buds. In short, do not prune hydrangeas in autumn", Jessica warned.

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If you're looking for something that you can do to your hydrangeas in autumn, you can deadhead them - but even this isn't really necessary. Deadheading is the removal of fading or dead flowers from plants, usually to keep them looking attractive and encourage more blooms to grow. Deadheading your hydrangea blooms in autumn "will not impact the quality or size of all the flowers" the following growing season.

As such, it's really personal preference whether you choose to deadhead your hydrangeas now. It might keep your garden looking tidy in these colder seasons though.

Do you own a hydrangea? How do you keep it looking nice? Let us know in the comments.

Bryony Gooch