The before-and-after on my hydrangeas this year was wild...

I used to get these sad little greenish blooms every June, but after I started cutting them back in late March instead of fall, the difference is night and day. This year the flowers are huge and that deep blue I've been chasing for 3 seasons. Has anyone else seen a big change just from shifting their pruning schedule?

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leo_campbell5mo ago

I switched to a late March prune two years ago and my hydrangeas went from pitiful green puffs to these massive cobalt blue globes that look almost fake. The key is waiting until you see the first tiny buds swelling, then cutting back to just above them. I missed that window the first year by pruning too early in March and got nothing but leaves. Third season was the magic one where everything aligned perfectly. The color change shocked me too because I had been adding aluminum sulfate for years with zero luck. Are you seeing the same deep blue or did yours go a different shade?

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margaret_nelson5mo ago

Yeah, I had the same exact thing happen with my hydrangeas. I used to trim them in October and got nothing but tiny green blobs every year. Switched to a hard prune in late March last spring and this year the blooms are the size of my head. It's all about giving them time to set those buds.

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