One book says prune of flower heads now, another book says wait until
spring. Which one is correct?

"binkx" wrote in message
...
One book says prune of flower heads now, another book says wait until
spring. Which one is correct?


Most people prune in spring, as leaving the dead flower heads helps protect
next year's buds from winter frosts.

Bevan

In article , binkx
writes
One book says prune of flower heads now, another book says wait until
spring. Which one is correct?


The spring one.
--
Jane Ransom in Lancaster.
I won't respond to private emails that are on topic for urg
but if you need to email me for any other reason, put ransoms
at jandg dot demon dot co dot uk where you see

"Bevan Price" wrote in
:


"binkx" wrote in message
...
One book says prune of flower heads now, another book says wait until
spring. Which one is correct?


Most people prune in spring, as leaving the dead flower heads helps
protect next year's buds from winter frosts.


.... and then there are those like me that hack the dratted thing down
whenever it starts getting in the way, without ever managing to discourage
it...

Seriously, the mopheads are not all that sensitive. Unless you are up a
mountain or in a frost pocket, it's unlikely that a mophead will suffer
from having flower heads removed now if you want to.

Often if you have 2 gardening books giving conflicting advice it seems to
mean there isn't much in it either way.

If in doubt, look at the blurb and see what it says about the writers'
locations and gardens, and decide which looks closer to your own.


Victoria

--
gardening on a north-facing hill
in South-East Cornwall
--

On Thu, 20 Nov 2003 17:44:38 +0000, Jane Ransom
wrote:

In article , binkx
writes
One book says prune of flower heads now, another book says wait until
spring. Which one is correct?


The spring one.

And they flower on last year's growth, so just take the heads off half
or two thirds of the stems, and cut the remaining stems right down to
stimulate new growth from the base. This ensures a good succession of
flowering wood without the bush getting too big.


--
Chris

E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net

Spring dead-heading is best *unless* some of the heads are damaged and
starting to send rot down the stem. In this event, I cut back to the first
strong pair of buds. You may lose a few flowers (depending on which type of
Hydrangea you have) but I'd rather have a healthy plant than an extra flower
any time.
Spider
binkx wrote in message
...
One book says prune of flower heads now, another book says wait until
spring. Which one is correct?