There is no one answer for all hydrangeas. How to prepare the plant for winter primarily depends on which hydrangea you are growing. Some of ours endure winters without major problems, while for others, the frost can cost not only part of the shoots but also the flowers of the following year.
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First, find out which hydrangea you are growing
This is the most important rule because different hydrangeas produce flowers on different shoots.
In Lithuania, panicle hydrangeas (Hydrangea paniculata) and smooth hydrangeas (Hydrangea arborescens), including the well-known ‘Annabelle’, are very common. They bloom on new shoots grown in the same year. Therefore, even stronger early spring pruning does not take away next year’s flowers.
These hydrangeas are also among the most reliable under our climate conditions. The VU Botanical Garden indicates that smooth and panicle hydrangeas can be grown throughout Lithuania.
It should be handled quite differently with bigleaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla). Many of them form flower buds for the next season on last year’s shoots. This means that cutting branches in autumn can also cut off future flowers.
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