Trimming Hydrangeas

If you’re wondering when to cut back hydrangeas in Zone 5, the timing depends on the type of hydrangea you are growing. In this post, I’ll walk you through exactly what to do, including how to prune hydrangeas in spring and what I’ve learned from growing hydrangeas in Zone 5b.

When to Cut Back Hydrangeas in Zone 5 (Spring vs Fall)

The age-old question comes into play…do I trim my hydrangeas in the fall before winter? Or in the spring? I’ll be honest, I’ve done both. I’ve trimmed my hydrangeas all the way down to the ground in late fall as well as in the early spring, before new growth appeared.

Truthfully, I have never noticed a difference in the growth of new blooms or the sturdiness of the stems.

But here’s the important thing: this really depends on the type of hydrangea you have! When it comes to cutting back hydrangeas in spring vs fall, both can work—but only if you know what type you have.

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Can You Cut Back Hydrangeas in Fall or Spring? (My Experience/What Actually Works)

After our first year living in Wisconsin (zone 5b), fall rolled around and my hydrangea blooms dried out. I figured I should “clean things up” before winter, so I cut the entire plant all the way down to the ground.

Honestly? I had no idea what I was doing – I was just guessing and hoping I was doing the right thing!

Winter came and went, spring arrived… and my hydrangeas came back giant and full!

The next year, life got busy. Fall passed, the blooms dried out, and I never got around to cutting them back before winter hit. So I waited until spring, after the snow finally melted, and trimmed them then.

And guess what?
They bloomed huge again.

Then came the third year.

I planned to cut them back in early spring – but that year, the weather in Wisconsin was all over the place. Spring took forever to show up, and before I even had a chance to get outside and prune, I noticed new growth already starting at the base of the woody stems.

So I had to carefully trim around the fresh growth, trying not to damage anything.

And once again…
those hydrangeas bloomed big and beautiful.

So needless to say—while there are definitely guidelines for when and how to prune hydrangeas, the rules aren’t quite as strict as they might seem.

Yes, hydrangeas can be a little tricky and even delicate at times – but in my experience, they’re also surprisingly resilient when it comes to pruning.

Types of Hydrangeas: Old Wood vs New Wood (Why It Matters for Pruning)

Some hydrangeas bloom on new wood (this year’s growth), and some bloom on old wood (last year’s growth). If you cut the wrong type at the wrong time, you can accidentally remove all of your blooms.

Annabelle Smooth Hydrangeas

I have grown hydrangea plants in all of the states I’ve lived in. However, when I moved to Wisconsin, our yard was filled with beautiful giant bloom hydrangeas.

I had never seen such large white blooms before and I didn’t know what kind they were. Thanks to handy dandy iPhone, I was able to easily identify what type I had – Annabelle Smooth Hydrangeas.

Annabelle hydrangeas bloom on new wood, which means you can safely cut them back in late fall or early spring without affecting blooms.

Bigleaf Hydrangea (Endless Summer)

When we lived in Georgia, we reinvented our entire front landscaping. We added decorative landscaping blocks and planted tons of hydrangeas. They were gorgeous, for a short while…but then the HOT Southern sun taught us that hydrangeas don’t fare particularly well in those conditions. Oops! We were outside early in the morning, and then again when the sun was going down watering, every single day. No joke. It was such a time-consuming task!

I honestly don’t think we ever cut these back! We were so young, had no prior experience, and the internet wasn’t what it is today! So we truly learned by trial and error!

Bigleaf hydrangeas bloom on old wood (and sometimes new), so cutting them back at the wrong time can reduce or eliminate blooms for the next season. Because of this, you’ll want to avoid cutting them back in early spring – instead, only remove dead wood and wait until after they bloom if you need to do any shaping or trimming.

How to Know When Hydrangeas Are Ready to Be Pruned in Spring

Before you start cutting anything back, it’s important to know when your hydrangeas are actually ready. In early spring, your plants will still look dry and woody, with last year’s blooms often still attached. This might make them look dead—but they’re not.

What you’re looking for is the transition out of winter: snow is gone, temperatures are more consistent, and you may start to see small signs of new growth at the base of the plant. That’s your signal that it’s time to begin pruning.

How to Prune Hydrangeas in Spring (Zone 5 Step-by-Step Guide)

First and foremost, living in Zone 5b, our springs come late. So I don’t even start cutting back my plants until mid to late April, depending on the year.

1. In the fall, I let the flowers and stems dry out and endure the winter months
2. In the spring, once the snow has melted, I clean off my Felco F2 pruning shears and carefully snip each woody stem at an angle until I see green inside the stem
3. I repeat this process for the entire plant
4. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ If you see new growth at the base, be extra careful not to cut it!
5. Then I toss all of the clippings into my compost pile so they can break down into soil over the year and be used in my garden the following season

Here’s a look at what the pruning process actually looks like—from cutting stems back to live wood, to identifying the green inside the stem, to what the plant looks like once it’s been trimmed back.

When cutting back each stem, keep trimming down until you see green inside the stem. This means you’ve reached live wood, which is exactly where you want to stop.

Here’s a look at my hydrangeas mid-prune so you can see the difference between uncut stems and stems that have been cut back.

Final Tips for Pruning Hydrangeas in Zone 5

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this:

You don’t have to overthink it.

As long as you know what type of hydrangea you have, they’re actually pretty forgiving.

And if you’re anything like me… sometimes a little trial and error still leads to big, beautiful blooms.

Once your hydrangeas are blooming, don’t forget to enjoy them indoors too – I love using them for decorating with hydrangeas throughout the house.