How to Cut Back Hydrangea for Winter

Figure out what type of hydrangea plant you have. If the plant has pointy oval leaves and blooms white, it is the grandiflora variety. If it blooms pink or blue with pointy oval leaves it is the hortensia variety. Plants that have large oak-leaf-shaped leaves are the oak leaf variety and can bloom in any color based on the soil pH where they are planted. The final type of hydrangea is the climbing variety. The grandiflora and oak leaf varieties are susceptible to different levels of pruning, while other varieties can be pruned using basic pruning techniques. The hortensia and climbing hydrangeas are pruned much as you would prune a houseplant.

Cut back the white grandiflora varieties as much as you desire. These are the hardiest varieties of hydrangeas and can rebloom if cut back early in the season or can be pruned heavily in expectation of winter and still thrive the following spring and summer. Pruning back heavily, including cutting down all but the lower 18 inches of all stems, will promote longer stem growth on older plants during the next growing season. Cut off any dead branches and remove the dead flowers at any time.

Remove only one-third of the growth on an oak leaf hydrangea. This type of hydrangea only flowers on the growth produced in the previous season, so heavy pruning for winter will prevent any flowers from blooming in the spring. Only cut back what is absolutely necessary and cut it back as quickly after it blooms as possible. This allows time for the next season's growth to start during the current growing season.

Cut any dead branches away, regardless of what type of hydrangea you have. Cut the branches near the base of the plant or at the beginning of the dead zone if the entire stem is not dead.

Prune back any stems that have gotten too heavy to hold the weight of the blooms. This is important for all varieties of hydrangeas. Cutting these back will produce a stronger stem in the next growing season, and they will be capable of holding the larger blooms that pruning will produce.