I read through some of the older posts and I'm not sure that I know
how to do this. I have to Hydrangeas around six years old that are
getting close to 2 meters in diameter. Unfortunately the path to the
front door lies between them and I fear that a machete will be needed
to enter th house.

Right now the blooms are beginning to fade way although I understand
that early spring is the time to prune them. I realize that cutting
them way back now will probably result in no flowers next year, but it
is getting out of hand.

How far back can I cut the stems and still have flowers next year? Do
I cut every third stem just about back to the ground in order to start
the round-robin type of pruning which will always have two thirds of
the plant flowering? I wish I had known this a few years ago. Oh well.