Prune Only Hydrangea's Bare Branches

By Phran Novelli

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Finally. A flower. A single blue bloom on only one of my many big-leaf hydrangeas which normally are a riot of pink and blue puffballs starting in May.

Even the 'Endless Summer' variety, which are capable of blooming on new branches during the summer, have been really stingy about flowering this year after last winter froze their buds off. Some big leaf hydrangeas in very well protected areas bloomed a little bit better, but most are just full of lots of green leaves this year.

If you still have any totally bare branches sticking out of your hydrangeas (I've been seeing a lot of them around), you can cut those dead branches out. Either cut them down to the ground, or cut them back as far as they are bare, until you see some green growth on the branch.

But other than bare branches, don't start snipping and pruning your big leaf hydrangeas now! Any pruning you do now will cut off the new flower buds they've been making all this summer and any chance of having any blooms next year. If, that is, they can survive the roulette wheel of winter weather in the months ahead….