Is It Always A Good Idea To Remove An Old Dead Stock From My Hydranega Plants?

Question

I have Endless Summer hydrangeas and want to break off the old dead canes. Is this ok, or will it keep the plants from blooming?

Answer 1

It depends. This species of hydrangeas breaks dormancy first by only growing new stems from the crown/base of the stems. About 1-2 months later, the leafless live stems break dormancy separately and leaf out. Because the leaf out time can be quite late in some years, consider not pruning the leafless stems until the end of June in Ohio. If you prematurely prune, you may be reducing or eliminating the spring blooms. However, the second flush occurs in the summer/fall once the new stems that started growing in spring 2024 attain sufficient height to trigger flower bud set and immediate blooming. Dormant flower buds begin to develop inside stem endings close to the time that the last flower bud of each flush opens.