Ouch, sorry to hear that! You need to discuss ways to prevent this again in the future with DH or if you engage a landscape company to mow the lawn.

I agree that now it would not be wise or worth it to winter protect as the flower buds that you protect have been cut off. Rebloomers may produce blooms but not until they leaf out and the stems get old and large enough in the Summer or Fall.

I was totally fried when I saw it! I had even written on my note, "not the hydrangeas" . (I write notes because he gets up pre-dawn and usually likes to work outside before he gets too tired). He said he didn't know what the hydrangeas were. In my mind he should know by now. But not everyone wants to bother to remember this stuff.

I think from now on I should only ask him to clean up by pointing at things. Maybe say, "No shrubs". I can't do it all myself: too much. Right after this happened, I did go out and put tall stakes by the Oakleaf hydrangea and the Black Lace Elderberry, with tags on them saying "do not cut". Last year the elderberry also got cut to the ground and I had no blooms this spring.

People who don't know the plants in the garden shouldn't work in the garden--hired help or DH.

Well, I can understand DH 's work time. It gets awfully uncomfortable here in the summer (after 10am) so I can be seen working pre dawn too.

Unfortunately, the brain is not wide awake at pre dawn hours and one can pass by a sign and not notice it because one is not fully awake... Sigh.... and there is not enough light.

In this case, trimming should be done in the day time after you two go thru the list of plants to trim and not to trim.

There is NO reason any woody based plant - a tree or shrub - needs to be cut back hard (or even pruned - there IS a difference) in fall! And now is not a desirable time of year to be doing so, either.

I'm going with laceyvail on this........if you do not know the plants then how you can you possibly provide the care that plant requires? A routine whacking back to almost ground level of anything that apparently is showing any sign of life in mid fall is a preposterous practice in the first place. Even with perennials that die back fully in winter. What is left in place at the end of the growing season protects the plant from winter cold and often will provide food for birds and other creatures.

You need to do some serious educating of your garden 'helper' on how and when to tend to your plants. And the difference between pruning and just a wholesale cutting back to ground level. Or take over the responsibilities yourself.

I have cut ES and TS to the ground in Spring and they have come back

Thanks. Luis, I put signs by the remaining woody bloomers AFTER I saw the other hydrangeas cut down. So he did not miss a sign. I just thought he already knew not to cut the hydrangeas. Having helped me to cage and uncage them for 4+ years. I am just going to say, “No shrubs” from now on. I’ll go over woody plants vs. perennials too.

Thanks, Hyed. Good to know. Maybe there's a chance for some blooms on new wood.

Ruh-roh! Sounds like a common problem with gardeners and non-gardening spouses. I can't trust my wife with pruners or a hoe - HAHA!

Put a cage around your babies until they get big enough to be mistaken as a weed, or a steel rebar stake (perhaps painted glowing orange) as this will really mess up a mower or chainsaw, etc.

Also keeping a circle of mulch or even bare earth around any trees, shrubs, and perennials will help ID treasured plants, so serious minded weed whacking spouses/hired help won't kill your plants by stripping away the cambium layer of trees and shrubs or "whacking" down perennials.

there were times.. i would have dreamed of having ANY help in the garden .... regardless of result ...

thinking outside the box ... perhaps you could get some landscape flags ... and just walk around the garden one evening.. and just green flag everything you want cut down ... and let him at it ... remove the flags later.. and store for next season ...

you usually see these flags after miss dig / utilities marks a lot ... or surveyors ... etc ....

just tread carefully ... in dissuading him from helping .. imo ...

ken

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=green++marking+flag&t=ffcm&iax=images&ia=images

25 for 5 bucks at lowes .... but magenta .. lol ..

https://www.lowes.com/pl/Marking-flags-Safety/4294559264

Flagging is a good idea. But I think I'll flag things to NOT be cut down. There are less of them, and more perennials that do need cutting down.

Funny thing about flags. Some short orange utility flags were thrown out after he helped me at an art fair. He took them home and marked where the cable line is at the edge of our property: because he KNEW my plantings were getting ever closer and that line is barely under the ground. He has told me verbally but I WILL forget.

I do have to tread carefully. He will no longer plant things ever since I said the wrong thing after he did some. He does like to work outside and most of what he does is good.

how i picture it .... 2 cups of morning hot coffee ... and the 2 of you stroll the garden ... and you stick in the flags as you walk ... and those are the ones he is to work on .... after the coffee is gone ...

kind of a double attack.. verbal and then visual ...

ken

ps: isnt he the circular saw pruning guy from way back ... lol ... glad to hear he is still out there ...

My suggestion would to dig out the two Endless Bummer. Start with something new next Spring forget the Winter protection Z5 is tough

I haven't read this forum in awhile..Hi everyone!..after reading this post I was reminded of my frustration with macs..the winter protection..improper pruning..failure to bloom..some things never change..sorry linnea..going forward could you prune and clean up in the spring?..it's easier to see what should come off..

OOPS!! Linnea, I feel for your frustration. My husband has cognitive issues and fortunately never was interested in gardening. As others have said, they will come back but most likely will not bloom next year. Many years ago in my old garden in CA, my husband asked if he could help. I was planting about 150 daffodil bulbs and dug wide holes to plant them in large groups. I gave him a bucket of bulbs. He stood about 10 feet back from the holes and tossed the bulbs, one at a time, into the holes. I thanked him for all the help and then spent the next 30 minutes righting each bulb and spreading them out evenly at the bottom of the prepared hole. Covered them and tried to keep calm! Of course all summer and after he explained to visitors that he had planted the display of daffs and was very proud of his accomplishment. It is funny now, but not at the time. Some events just need a historical view to be appreciated.

I do a partial cleanup in the fall in part to get rid of mildewed plants. Plus If I leave everything til spring - which has happened before - I will not get to everything before shoots come up. Then I end up mutilating new growth.

Nicholsworth : yes, I will not buy any more macs. I actually bought 2 hydrangeas for a newly revised bed (removed perennials for shrubs) this fall. I asked a lot of questions at the nursery before buying. Yet I see macs offered at every nursery around here. Zone 5b. There must be a lot of disappointed people.

In the the past I have always pruned shrubs in the spring. Hydrangeas and others. Next spring that won't be necessary.

One of my neighbors stopped by yesterday while I was planting bulbs. Asked why his hydrangea did not bloom this year. I gave him the short version.

linnea..I made the same decision (no more macs) years ago..I have lots of paniculatas but not enough sun so they're disappointing too :-( but I love my wooded setting, my hostas, my ferns, my wildlife and my summer tropicals..I'm more blessed than deprived :-)

My Bloomstruck hydrangeas bloom great every year. They die back nearly to the ground up here.