The time to prune is late Fall to early Spring. I prune mine in early Spring. I enjoy the blooms through winter. I also prune mine to 1 foot tall. The harder you prune the larger your blooms will be! It's hard to do the first time but in the summer you will appreciate it.

WOW! Are we turning this into an Ohioan board!? LOL!

Like hydrangeasnohio, I also prune my QF in early spring, so I can also enjoy the dried branches during winter too. Listen, this is one tough plant, so you can't hurt it... :-)

hi, Thank you both for the info. Is it too early to
prune now? Do you protect it over winter? Mine is in
full sun. I didn't know about overwintering until I
read some posts in this board.
~~Thanks again~~

Oh sure, you can prune it now. There is no need for winter protection in zone 5b and that's why I grow them! LOL! I think they are hardy to zone 3.

hi,
Thanks again...I will go out and trim it today. I guess if
there had to be protection in the winter, it wouldn't
look as good as it does--lol!

I still don't know why people love this plant so much. lol

I prune mine whenever, and it still does it's thing. The only thing to really love about this bad boy is that it grows fast. Really fast. So go ahead and prune it like crazy.

****waving happy spring to Ostrich ****

It's the first one I ever bought. Got it from Bluestone
Perrenials. I love the color and how it looks. Thanks
for your info!!

mehearty!!! Hello! So we are all coming out of hibernation, huh!? :-) Happy spring to you too!

P.S. Are you still not liking QF's pantyhose color when the blooms mature!? LOL

LMAO! You remembered! You crack me up, Ostrich. Yes, the pantyhose (cheap pantyhose) color still offends my eyes. Otherwise, it's a pretty plant.

How did your babies fare over the winter? We had very little snow cover this year, so I've feared the worst. Surprisingly, my Nikkos appear green at the tips. I may even get some flowers this year. Go figure.

hi Ladies,
Just in case you see this--i will have to let you know
later how my big cut went--lol-
I thank you all for your advice, I'd like to tell you in
a few months it looks super!!
I am around the Youngstown area--in Lake Milton actally,
where are you from~~just curious.
Thanks again!

mehearty, it's too early for me to tell whether my "babies" are doing well or not, but they seem to have done well over this winter, with lots of buds on the branches.... :-)

mimilm, I am from the Cleveland area.... and I'm a guy! LOL

I used to be in the Cleve. area yrs. ago...west side.
My sis lives in Westlake. sorry about the gender
boo boo.
Happy Easter to all!!

Can I prune it during its first year?

Yes prune it during the first year. All young shrubs need pruning when they are young to build a full bodied plant.

I use to live in Youngstown. Loved in there. Use to work at Mill Creek Park.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Plant Hunter

Hi everyone ~HAPPY SPRING AND EASTER in a week!!!

Am almost done w/ the GARDEN CLEAN-UP hurray ~ still have a few H Divas to completely uncover & tidied up. Ma Nature gave us a gift this start of our 2011 season of fun here ~ had 2 days where we even hit 90ð ~ 2 weeks of mostly sunny upper 60ð-80ð & now 2 days of colder & intermittent rain ~ much needed to rest old muscles & joints kept in hibernation for months - right Ostritch?

Oh Meheary - lucky you the beigey p-hose ~ to me not as offensive as my years-old white ones ~ I started unwrapping from my bundled H Divas (I kept looking around in-case some eyes were ogling) as I did ever so quickly!!! LOL

Again HAPPY SPRING!!!