Hydrangea Care - Ask Extension
Hi There,
Please see the attached photos of hydrangeas. I'm a Master Gardener intern, and have been approached by my neighbor with a questions about ...
Knowledgebase
Hydrangea Care #948110
Asked November 04, 2026, 5:58 PM EST
Hi There,
Please see the attached photos of hydrangeas. I'm a Master Gardener intern, and have been approached by my neighbor with a questions about care of her hydrangeas.
1. Based on the photos, what is the variety of hydrangea? It looks to be a "big leaf" hydrangea to me, however I'm not 100% sure.
2. When is the best time to trim these hydrangeas? My neighbor says they have just begun to bloom in the last 3 weeks. She said they were last pruned in April-May 2026.
3. How best to over winter these plants.
Thank you in advance!
-Janice
Frederick County Maryland
Expert Response
Yes, the hydrangea species is Hydrangea macrophylla, Bigleaf Hydrangea. The variety (cultivar) we can't determine because there are hundreds on the market, and many look alike.
Some varieties of Bigleaf Hydrangea are capable of blooming on "new wood" (growth of the current season), while others can only bloom on "old wood" (growth of the prior year). If pruned any time between late summer or early autumn and when the plant would start flowering in late spring or so, those old wood flower buds are lost and cannot be replaced. If this plant was trimmed in April or May this year, that explains why it wasn't flowering earlier when it normally would have started (May/June, usually).
Bigleaf Hydrangea does not need routine pruning to grow well, although thinning out crowded stems is fine. The best time to prune them without interrupting flowering much is whenever that first batch of blooms in spring is fading, which may be in June sometime, or possibly July. The pictured plant does not look large enough to need any pruning, so I would recommend they not trim at all unless they plant grows a lot bigger next summer. It looks like it may be in a space that's a bit snug for it, as many Bigleaf Hydrangea varieties mature in the 4 to 5 foot range (height and width), although some are more dwarf.
Some Bigleaf Hydrangeas are less cold-hardy than others, but without knowing what cultivar this is, it's impossible to tell if it's less hardy than average or not. Most of the time, you don't need to take any special steps to overwinter them, and given the bloom cycle, do not prune them during the winter or in early spring. (Other hydrangea species that bloom on new wood are fine to prune in March or so, but that doesn't apply to this plant.) If in late winter we have a warm spell that prompts the plant to start breaking dormancy and swelling its buds, then it might need to be shielded from a later cold snap with some sort of blanket or covering overnight when it's expected to frost/freeze. Many plants can be damaged, as they were this past April, by a warm-up followed by a cold snap, since once they break dormancy, they lose the cold hardiness needed to survive a freeze unscathed.
Miri
Some varieties of Bigleaf Hydrangea are capable of blooming on "new wood" (growth of the current season), while others can only bloom on "old wood" (growth of the prior year). If pruned any time between late summer or early autumn and when the plant would start flowering in late spring or so, those old wood flower buds are lost and cannot be replaced. If this plant was trimmed in April or May this year, that explains why it wasn't flowering earlier when it normally would have started (May/June, usually).
Bigleaf Hydrangea does not need routine pruning to grow well, although thinning out crowded stems is fine. The best time to prune them without interrupting flowering much is whenever that first batch of blooms in spring is fading, which may be in June sometime, or possibly July. The pictured plant does not look large enough to need any pruning, so I would recommend they not trim at all unless they plant grows a lot bigger next summer. It looks like it may be in a space that's a bit snug for it, as many Bigleaf Hydrangea varieties mature in the 4 to 5 foot range (height and width), although some are more dwarf.
Some Bigleaf Hydrangeas are less cold-hardy than others, but without knowing what cultivar this is, it's impossible to tell if it's less hardy than average or not. Most of the time, you don't need to take any special steps to overwinter them, and given the bloom cycle, do not prune them during the winter or in early spring. (Other hydrangea species that bloom on new wood are fine to prune in March or so, but that doesn't apply to this plant.) If in late winter we have a warm spell that prompts the plant to start breaking dormancy and swelling its buds, then it might need to be shielded from a later cold snap with some sort of blanket or covering overnight when it's expected to frost/freeze. Many plants can be damaged, as they were this past April, by a warm-up followed by a cold snap, since once they break dormancy, they lose the cold hardiness needed to survive a freeze unscathed.
Miri
