The Gardener's Almanac

I would like to take cuttings from my hydrangea bush, can you give me some advice please?

August is a good time to take hydrangea cuttings.

Select the tips of firm, unflowered shoots and make the cuttings about 100mm(4”) long.

Trim each cutting just below a leaf joint.

Remove all but top pair of leaves.

Dip base of cutting in a rooting powder, insert round the edge of a pot filled with a 50-50 compost and sharp sand mix.

Place pot/s in a cold-frame to root

n.b. If cuttings are placed in temperature of 13°- 16°C(55°-60°F) rooting will be much more rapid

When rooted, pot up cuttings into 70mm (3”) pots of potting compost, and over-winter in a cold frame.

Pot up as necessary and grow on in a cold frame until planting out time.

I have a large bush Hydrangea, and the flowers seem to be getting smaller each year, can anything be done to improve their size?

If you want large flowers on your hydrangea bush you should prune it hard in March, cutting the old stems back close to their base

This will induce strong new growth in the spring, which will flower later in the season.

I have a few hydrangea bushes that have not flowered for several years.

They are planted in a bed under a large tree, with other shrubs and perennials around, can you offer me some advice?

The non-flowering is probably connected to the large tree, which is drawing on most of the water reserves in the adjacent soil.

Hydrangeas like a moist, retentive soil.

Place a mulch of well rotted manure or compost around them, feed them throughout spring and summer with a general liquid fertilizer.

When do I prune Hydrangeas?

These should be pruned in March-April or after the last frosts.

The previous year's flower heads of lacecap and mophead varieties should have been left on the plant over winter to protect the new flower buds that form below them.

Remove these and there stalks when the buds begin to swell, taking care not to damage the new buds.

At the same time, check for thin and old shoots and cut back to ground level.