My parents hydrangea has only bloomed once in the +4 years they’ve had it. Is there any way we can encourage blooming?
It seems like this hydrangea got a trim last year. A lot of times, homeowners and even landscapers will prune them in the fall, thinking it will help keep them healthy. What they might not realize is that there are different types of hydrangeas that bloom on what we call old wood. This means they form their buds for next year’s flowers on the current year’s growth, so if you trim them too late, you’ll end up cutting off all the blooms.
The best time to trim them is after they finish blooming. If you need to reduce the size of a shrub that has already formed buds for next year, you can still do it. Just pick a stem, find the buds, and make a cut just above them, making sure to leave at least one or more buds on that stem. This will also help promote new growth.
