100+ Blooms. Stop. The. Cap. — My Big Leaf Hydrangea Pruning Tips+
Eight years ago I had zero interest in gardening. Zero. Now? My hubs calls me Plant Lady Chez Bracken and I have earned every single letter of that title.
My Dad always had the greenest thumb — the kind of person who could grow anything anywhere effortlessly. For years I watched and admired from a distance. And then somewhere along the way, something clicked. The dirt. The blooms. The quiet peace of being amongst flowers. I was hooked.
But this Endless Summer big leaf hydrangea? She humbled me for years.
Season after season I'd get a handful of blooms and wonder why. I watered. I fertilized. I cared. And still — barely anything. The problem? I was pruning completely wrong.
The Secret Nobody Told Me:
Never prune your Endless Summer big leaf hydrangea in the fall or early spring. Ever. When you do — and I did this for years — you are cutting off every single developing flower bud for the following season. Big leaf hydrangeas bloom on old wood. That means the buds for next year's blooms develop on this year's stems in late summer and fall. Cut them off before the first frost and you lose every single bloom. Every year. I know this pain personally.
The Rule: Only prune right after your summer blooms fade. That's your window. That's the only time it's safe.
My Second Secret: An organic fungicide spray applied when new leaves begin to unfurl in early spring. This protects against leaf spot and other fungal issues that can stress the plant and reduce blooming.
My Third Secret: Holly Tone organic fertilizer at the beginning of bloom season. Follow the package directions and let it work its magic. Your hydrangea will thank you.
My Fourth Secret: Water. Water. Water. Hydrangeas absolutely LOVE their water. I water every other day — and never let them wilt in the summer heat. A wilted hydrangea is a stressed hydrangea and stress means fewer blooms.
A Few More Tips I've Learned Along the Way:
Know your zone — I garden in Zone 8 and knowing what works in YOUR specific climate is everything. What works in Zone 8 may not work in Zone 5.
Morning watering is best — water at the base of the plant in the morning so leaves dry out during the day. Wet leaves overnight invite fungal issues.
Mulch around the base — keeps moisture in and protects the roots during temperature swings.
Be patient — eight years taught me that gardening is a slow beautiful practice. Some seasons are better than others. Keep going.
A few simple changes. This season? I stopped counting after 100 blooms.
Stop. The. Cap.
Find all my garden picks + looking fab in the garden (why, of course!) at blondiebrownieboys.com/curated
smiles + SONshine,
— SeaChelleB
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