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Pruning tree hydrangeas in autumn is carried out more often than in spring. A garden plant responds better to an autumn haircut, but for a successful procedure, you need to know its rules.
Do I need to prune the hydrangea tree for the winter
Garden hydrangeas are allowed to be cut both in spring and autumn. In this regard, gardeners have a question whether the plant needs an autumn haircut, or whether it only injures the crop before the onset of cold weather.
You really need to prune hydrangeas in the fall. The procedure allows you to protect the tree-like shrub from damage. If you neglect to prune in the fall, the branches can break under the snow.
Autumn haircut is less traumatic than spring
In addition, when pruning in the spring, the risks for the shrub are much higher, if you miss the deadlines and start cutting after the plant starts growing, the cut points will bleed. This will weaken the plant and, at best, affect its flowering, and at worst, lead to the death of the crop.
Why do you need pruning tree hydrangea for the winter
Trimming garden shrubs is a must. A haircut helps to preserve the decorative effect, strengthens the health of a tree-like shrub, and improves flowering.
There are several important advantages to performing the procedure in the fall.
- If the extra shoots are cut off in the fall, then more nutrients and moisture will go to the root system. This will allow the shrub to survive the cold more easily, and in the new season the hydrangea will quickly start growing.
- The elimination of diseased and weakened shoots in the fall does not allow pests and fungal spores to remain for the winter on the body of a tree-like shrub. Accordingly, the likelihood that awakened fungi and insect larvae attack the culture in spring is reduced.
- Pruning in the fall stimulates the formation of new dormant buds and has a positive effect on budding. The inflorescences of the shrub appear only on annual shoots, old branches do not participate in flowering. If you do not cut the tree hydrangea in the fall, then the nutrients will go away, including to maintain old shoots, and the budding on young branches will decrease.
In the autumn, the hydrangea stops growing and no longer expires with juice after pruning.
A garden crop cut in autumn is easier to cover before the onset of winter. This applies to both old and young plants, the fewer branches a shrub has, the easier it is to wrap it with insulating material.
The most important advantage of autumn pruning is that after it the cuts on the branches of a tree plant do not begin to bleed. But during the spring growing season, this happens very often, and as a result, the bush after a useful procedure receives severe damage.
When can you prune a hydrangea tree for the winter
Shrub pruning in autumn is carried out quite late. In the Moscow region, it is recommended to start cutting hydrangeas before winter in the second half of October or even later, in early November.
Pruning is carried out late, after the first frost.
In general, regardless of the region, you should focus on the weather. Ideally, you need to wait for the first frosts and even snow. After that, the plant will finally shed its leaves, and only dried inflorescences will remain on it. The movement of juices under the bark of the plant will definitely stop at this time, and besides, it will be easier for the gardener to understand which branches are suitable for pruning.
Pruning earlier in the fall usually does not harm the tree hydrangea. However, the procedure has its drawback. If you cut a garden shrub while foliage and live inflorescences remain on it, the process of re-growth of lateral shoots may begin. This will weaken the plant before the cold and prevent it from going to rest unhindered.
How to prune a hydrangea tree for the winter
For beginners, pruning a tree hydrangea in the fall is not difficult, it is a simple procedure. There are several schemes for pruning shrubs. Which one to use depends mainly on the age of the culture.
The method of pruning depends on the age and needs of the culture.
Pruning young plants
For young hydrangea seedlings that have not yet reached 5 years of age, heavy pruning before wintering is not recommended. Since the plant is in the development phase, the active removal of shoots can adversely affect its health and even lead to the death of the shrub.
Usually, in the first 3-4 years, only wilted inflorescences are removed from a tree-like plant. After the bush sheds its leaves, it is carefully examined and all dried buds are cut off with a sharp knife or secateurs.
Also during this period, you can carry out sanitary pruning, remove all broken and diseased branches. This procedure allows you to maintain the health of the culture, therefore it is recommended for hydrangeas of any age.
In young bushes, only faded buds are removed.
Pruning for flowering
This method of cutting is used for adult tree hydrangea bushes that have already entered the time of maximum flowering. Since the inflorescences of an ornamental bush bloom only on annual twigs, they can be completely removed in the fall after leaf fall.
The video of pruning a tree hydrangea in autumn shows that on each of the main branches, when cutting for flowering, all shoots are cut, with the exception of 2-4 well-developed paired buds. The branch itself is also shortened in length. As a result of this procedure, in the spring, the ornamental bush begins to actively develop new shoots, without wasting energy on feeding extra branches.
Adult bushes shorten flowering shoots
Rejuvenating pruning
This haircut is practiced for tree-like shrubs older than 5 years. According to the degree of intensity, light and cardinal anti-aging pruning can be distinguished.
When carrying out light rejuvenation from a hydrangea bush in the fall, all branches older than 4 years are cut off flush with the trunk. Although older branches may still develop annual shoots, they are usually too thin and weak to produce lush blooms.
The scheme for pruning a tree hydrangea in the fall for cardinal rejuvenation suggests cutting off all shoots, leaving only 10 cm from their length. If the roots have grown strongly, this process can be extended over several seasons so as not to injure the plant. As a result, in 3-4 years, the hydrangea will be able to completely rejuvenate, and splendor will return to its flowering.
To rejuvenate the bush, you can completely cut off its branches up to 10 cm.
Sanitary pruning
On an annual basis, tree hydrangeas are recommended to be thinned and sanitary cut. The procedure is as follows:
- the gardener removes all broken branches and diseased shoots;
- removes the remains of foliage and dried inflorescences from the shrub;
- removes shoots directed to the center of the bush, such shoots thicken the plant and prevent it from developing.
Different types of pruning in the fall, if necessary, can be combined with each other. In the autumn, the tree hydrangea responds well even to very intensive pruning.
When thinning, it is necessary to remove defective shoots, regardless of their age.
Hydrangea tree care after autumn pruning
Immediately after cutting a tree hydrangea, it is necessary to process fresh sections of the plant. For this purpose, you can use crushed wood or activated charcoal, Bordeaux liquid and even oil paint. Despite the fact that in the fall the hydrangea tolerates pruning better than in the spring, if there is no processing at the cut sites, bacterial processes can still begin.
Also, after pruning, it is necessary to eliminate all remaining plant debris from the site. Foliage, dried inflorescences and cut shoots are carefully collected from the ground, and then they are taken to a distant part of the garden and burned. It is impossible to leave garbage near the hydrangea, it is in the plant residues that insect larvae and fungal spores hibernate.
All pruned shoots after the procedure are carried away and burned
Since autumn pruning is carried out at a later date, after it the tree-like hydrangea can only be covered for the winter. The roots must be mulched with compost or peat with a layer of at least 10 cm, this will protect the root system from freezing. The aerial part of the hydrangea is usually wrapped with non-woven material and additionally covered with spruce branches.
Tips from experienced gardeners
Summer residents who have been growing tree hydrangea for more than a year are ready to share some useful tips regarding pruning.
Top dressing of garden shrubs is recommended not after, but before the autumn haircut, for 1,5 or 2 months. With late application of mineral fertilizers, the plant simply does not have time to absorb nutrients before the onset of cold weather. Accordingly, the winter hardiness of the shrub will decrease. It is necessary to feed hydrangeas with phosphorus and potassium in autumn, but nitrogenous fertilizers cannot be applied, they stimulate the growth of green mass.
The last top dressing is carried out a couple of months before pruning.
When growing a plant in warm regions, it is acceptable to cut the branches of a tree hydrangea a little more than the schemes recommend. Since winters are warm in the south, the plant will not be harmed or weakened by more severe pruning. But in the northern regions it is better to cut a little less than recommended, such a precaution will not hurt before a long and cold winter.
If the weather forecast still promises the onset of a thaw, then it is better to wait a while with the shelter of the plant for the winter. Shrubs should be wrapped with the onset of final cold weather. At positive temperatures, the hydrangea will begin to overheat and slither under cover, and this will increase the likelihood of rotting at the cut points.
For the winter, the hydrangea bush is better to cover entirely
Conclusion
Pruning tree hydrangeas in the fall is a useful procedure that is recommended to be carried out annually. Autumn haircut injures the garden shrub less and only strengthens its endurance before the onset of winter.
