Question: "I need help with my Peegee shrub. It is a beautiful plant but the blooms tend to flop downward. It looks like it has a bad case of the droops. How and when should I prune a Peegee?"
Answer: With a complicated name like Hydrangea paniculata 'Grandiflora', it's no wonder gardeners call this plant a "Peegee" hydrangea. Unlike the common Mophead hydrangea, the Peegee hydrangea produces cone-shaped blooms on new wood. This means it can be pruned severely in the winter and it will bloom nicely the following summer. Decide how tall you want a Peegee hydrangea to be each summer then cut it to half that height in January. It will have stocky central stems from which limber blooming branches will emerge. You can also leave it unpruned. Another garden favorite, the Hydrangea paniculata 'Tardiva,' produces spectacular twelve-inch long blooms in mid-summer.
Question: "I need help with my Peegee shrub. It is a beautiful plant but the blooms tend to flop downward. It looks like it has a bad case of the droops. How and when should I prune a Peegee?"
Answer: With a complicated name like Hydrangea paniculata 'Grandiflora', it's no wonder gardeners call this plant a "Peegee" hydrangea. Unlike the common Mophead hydrangea, the Peegee hydrangea produces cone-shaped blooms on new wood. This means it can be pruned severely in the winter and it will bloom nicely the following summer. Decide how tall you want a Peegee hydrangea to be each summer then cut it to half that height in January. It will have stocky central stems from which limber blooming branches will emerge. You can also leave it unpruned. Another garden favorite, the Hydrangea paniculata 'Tardiva,' produces spectacular twelve-inch long blooms in mid-summer.