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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!


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?

  • 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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