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Hydrangeas
hzdeleted_8498375

Pinky Winky and Strawberry Vanilla Hydrangeas

10 years ago

I planted some Pinky Winky and Strawberry Vanilla hydrangeas from a nursery about a month and a half ago. They have large blooms that I would like to cut for a party I'm having next weekend. The vase I'd like to use is pretty tall- approximately 15". My question is will cutting them that much negatively affect their growth this spring? I know they need pruning, but wasn't sure if taking so much off was okay or not. Regardless of whether I use cut flowers now or not, my intentions are to prune them to be full bushes on bottom with less height. I have googled and read all kinds of information, but wasn't sure what was best. Any information is welcome. As you can see from the photos, some are already brown, but a few are still colorful. Thank you in advance!


Featured Answer
  • 10 years ago

    Select is right that the pruning won't hurt either of them. I don't know much about SV, but my PW has had strong stems from early on, so it doesn't require pruning for stem strength IME. Your PW looks to be too close to the house wall and the window (assuming it's the second and third photos.) It's a BIG shrub - mine is about 12' wide by 8' tall, and though I don't prune it, the plant has the potential to grow several feet a year once the roots have settled in. So even if you prune off 2/3 of the shrub, it still will get quite large each year and will take quite a bit of work to keep in bounds. Here's my PW at 4 1/2 years old from a tiny cutting. For scale, the spiral trellis in front of the right side of the arborvitae is ~5' tall, and the PW is planted about a foot or so lower than the trellis due to the slope.

    Comments (9)

    • PRO
      10 years ago

      Actually you will be doing them a favor as they need a hard pruning to develop stem strength and to cause some more branching coming from the base of the plant. Also, a decent pruning every year will give you larger blooms. Pruning is better done in the spring so after this time it would be better to wait. Both plants may appear floppy for a couple years until the stems become strong enough to hold the flowers up. Keep them very well watered and you will be fine!

      User thanked Select Landscapes of Iowa
    • 10 years ago

      Thank you so much for the answer! Do you think it would be best to just wait since they're so young?

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    • 10 years ago

      Wow, that is stunning! My bed is approximately 6' deep and the hydrangea are planted right in the middle. I knew I would likely need to do a lot of pruning to keep it smaller when it gets older. It also has 3 feet on each side to grow. Here is a better shot of the space. It's a new house so everything is young. I guess I should probably prune it pretty far down to keep it from getting huge? But wait until end of March/beginning of April? Please forgive my ignorance- I've done well with knockout roses but wanted to move on to more difficult plants :)

    • 10 years ago

      My SV are 9 feet tall!!! And this is after our killer winter where they split in half. So, I am thinking I should leave them alone and cut them hard in the early spring. What do you think?

    • 10 years ago

      I don't have an old enough Pinky Winky or VS to know for sure, but if they're anything like Limelight, you could have a 5 - 6' shrub even if you pruned nearly to the ground each spring. If you want something that won't cover your windows, which look fairly low to the ground, you might want to try a shorter variety and move those to a different location.

      User thanked ruth_mi
    • 10 years ago

      Hi everyone,I live in the Boston area my PW is about 8yrs old and the VS about 4 upper pictures from last summer lower taken today

      User thanked hyed
    • 10 years ago

      Hyed, it's amazing to me how much less floppy the PW is when compared to the VS. Do they get similar sun exposure?

    • 10 years ago

      The PW gets sun all day while the VS gets morning sun maybe 5 hrs...as you can see I have pruned all lower canes branches off both plants

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