Oakleaf Hydrangea Pruning southern Ontario

mary_anne55

9 years ago

I have an Oakleaf Hydrangea planted 2 years ago. This will be it's 3rd summer coming up.

I would like to see it a little bushier...just not sure on pruning.

We live in southern Ontario. Some information says to prune in late summer other in the early spring.

Can someone please let me know which way is correct?

Thank you

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Comments (6)

dbarron
9 years ago
Well, point of fact, I never pruned mine. It develops what I find to be a pleasing shape on its own. It will eventually fill out by new shoots coming up from the roots and the older stems will eventually die. So...maybe pruning is mostly wasted effort ?

If I still thought I wanted to prune, i'd do it while the plant was dormant, just like most shrubs and trees.
luis_pr
9 years ago
Have you tried pinching to make it bushier?

Oakleaf hydrangeas produce invisible flower buds around July-August so you should prune (pruning is not necessary with hydrangeas if planted where they can grow to their advertised height/width at maturity) after it has bloomed but before the end of June. That way you get to enjoy bloomage for a while at least.
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If they grow in dense shade, they will bloom poorly. If they get too much fertilizer, they will stay nice & green but will not bloom so, make sure that you do not over do fertilizer applications. Note: fertilizer drift from the lawn can cause this problem; lawn fertilizer has a lot of nitrogen. There is low priced soil kit that can be bought to determine if your soil has too much nitrogen but I have not seen it for sale everywhere, only in selected nurseries. A single fertilizer application in June (for the whole year) is enough if you live in the northern half of the country... twice a year if you live in the southern half (fertilize in May/June and again in July). The only exception is for potted plants. And you can add weak fertilizers during the growing season as long as you quit around July-August; this prevents the plant from forcing new growth just as winter arrives and kills all tender new growth. Make sure that the plant does not get too little moisture or it will abort flower buds. It is drought tolerant but only up to a point. If your winter months are dry and the ground does not freeze, water every two weeks or so. Consistently moist soil should be the goal. For example: no dry periods, followed by wet periods, by dry, etc. If you water too much, the plant can also develop root rot. Root rot prevents the top growth from getting enough water and the plant behaves as if you had not given it enough water. If root rot progresses, the plant leaves may brown out and the whole shrub could die. Pests can also eat the flower buds: squirrels, deer, rabbits are hydrangoholics. Oakleafs are hardy to Zone 5 so it would be rare for the weather to be a causal agent if you live in Zones 7-8. Pruning at the wrong time can also cause this problem. Oakleafs begin flower bud production for Spring 2012 in July-August 2011. If you prune now then you would be cutting off next year's blooms. Similarly, if LAST YEAR you pruned on or after July, you may have cut off this year's blooms. The solution is to prune after the plant blooms but before the start of July. Luis
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
They are not particularly bushy shrubs, certainly not producing the same dense, mounded growth habit as say a bigleaf hydrangea. Most will appear a little leggy. And like a bigleaf hydrangea (H. macrophylla), they bloom on growth produced the previous season, so pruning without removing the flowering potential for the next season is tricky. In most areas of the country, these don't start blooming until midsummer, so pruning back after the bloom period (lasts into September in my area) will inevitably remove flowers.

One of the better hydrangea websites offers this advice on when and how to prune both macs and oakleafs (see Method 1).
c6h5ohm
9 years ago
I am sure I have Oakleaf Hydrangeas. Big oak leaves with drooping flowers like Hydrangea paniculata (wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrangea_paniculata ) but it is budding right now and it will be in full bloom by may. the flowers turn pink later. It is a bit leggy and large (7ft?). I have lots of babies (?) underneath from my shaking the flowers under there and the seeds seem to propagate. the bark peels just like my crepe mertle or my river birch. Hmmm are we talking about the same plant? I live in Atlanta. I have never pruned it -tempted though. thank you for the web site suggestion.
mary_anne55
Original Author
9 years ago
Thank you for your help the website was extremely informative.
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
9 years ago
Hydrangeas in more southerly locations bloom earlier than those located further north. I would expect there to be at least a 6-8 week lag time between Georgia and Ontario :-)

May oakleafs are just starting to leaf out now. I won't see flowers until probably the end of June.

Oakleaf Hydrangea Pruning southern Ontario

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Oakleaf Hydrangea Pruning southern Ontario

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