My hydrangeas have huge 16" blossoms this year. The stems are bent
from the weight. They started spring with white color and turned green
color around August. Now they are rust colored but seem disease free.
What and when do I do with these pre-winter?

wrote:
My hydrangeas have huge 16" blossoms this year. The stems are bent
from the weight. They started spring with white color and turned green
color around August. Now they are rust colored but seem disease free.
What and when do I do with these pre-winter?

Find out the exact type of hydrangeas you have and prune accordingly.
DO NOT prune now if they bud off old wood. Folks in my town (Chicago)
use tomato cages or shepard's hooks to support huge blooms so they
don't flop over. Same goes with huge peonies in spring.
http://www.hydrangeashydrangeas.com/pruning.html is a good resource.

wrote:

http://www.hydrangeashydrangeas.com/pruning.html is a good resource.

Thanks. A great site for information. I had cut mine down to 5" last
fall and they came back very strong this year. And yes, the stems are
weaker.

Wisconsin back roads seem to have a lot of wild hydrangea bushes along
road sides boardering farmers fields. They almost look like Rose of
Sharon bushes. They are 6 foot or taller. I would like to get some
like that for my yard.