Is it the stems that are flopping out onto the yard, mybrownthumb? You can stake them or put a peony ring around them to control the flopping & keep them more upright.

You can always prune to control the size. I might wait until after they've bloomed but if you need to control them now, prune them. Just remember, you're likely cutting off flowering stems & will have to wait until next year for blooms.

I worry when you say dig out the growth that you are attempting to remove only some of the plant. Not sure you can cut into it successfully & transplant parts. I would worry about damaging the plant.

The growth I am talking about is from the plant growing and spreading. There are lots of stems that are growing out of the ground about a foot outside of the landscaping edging. I don't know how long these hydrangeas have been here, but they are decent size. 3'-4' tall and 5' or more wide. I'll try to post a photo.

I hope there is some way to control them. I don't want them meandering into the yard at their leisure! Transplanting would have been a bonus though.

You can certainly dig up the spreading growth you don't want to be part of your main shrub. I've done this several times with my Annabelle over the years and have been very successful. Just be careful to dig carefully to get as much of the roots so it doesn't grow back and you'll need the roots for transplanting the growth to a new home if that's what you want. Best of luck to you!

Annabelle suckers so you need to make plans to dig these children out before the mother plant leafs out or just as it is starting to leaf out every year. Some people dig them out and others cut them with a sharp shovel about 8" away Obviously, using the shovel you run the risk of damaging some roots of the mother plant but anyways, that is what some people do... I am not sure how well it would work if you surrounded the main plant with a metal barrier to impede the spread of the suckers (don't know how deep they grow) but if you try and find out, let us know.

I've dug out and given away many Annabelle suckers. I whack them off short to make them easier to handle, and the suckers always look fairly dreadful, but they adjust and grow well in their new spots when watered in well and not allowed to dry out. They are enthusiastic in trying to take over as much territory as is available in my relatively light soil, a tendency that no one who markets Annabelle ever mentions. To keep them in check, it is easiest to remove suckers annually since as time goes on the suckers root in more solidly and take more muscle to remove. Mine had gotten way out of control before I attacked them this past fall, so it's a clear case of do as I say, not as I do.

Wonderful news! Just to be clear, if I want to transplant can I do that right now or I should wait?

Now should be fine as long as the ground isn't frozen where you are.

gumneck, would you say your Annabelles and Incrediballs sucker the same or does one sucker more than the other?

Luis:

The two Annabelles I have are younger and smaller than the Incrediballs, and the Incrediballs have far more suckers. They have really spread and I was planning to do the same thing the original poster asked about. Last year was also the first time the Incrediballs flopped when it rained so I am wondering if I need to do something else as far as pruning some limbs. I think the topic of flopping has been covered in this forum before so I will look through some old posts.