5 Things To Remember When Caring For Panicle Hydrangeas This Spring

So I imagine you are getting just as anxious as I am to start your Spring gardening now that the temps are starting to rise, and the snow has melted.  The sun is starting to warm up, and being outside is becoming more enjoyable so we are beginning to find reasons to spend more time out there, and what better way than to work on your Spring clean up and caring for your plants?

Of course, there is a right time to start and for some reason every year I have to sit and recall back to what I had done the previous season. Is it too soon to begin? When can I start, and what are the steps I need to remember so my plants and shrubs have the best chance to thrive?

I hope my list of 5 things to remember when caring for your panicle hydrangeas this Spring become a good resource for you to fall back on when we just need that friendly reminder on how to start. 

So What are the 5 Things To Remember When Caring For Your Panicle Hydrangeas This Spring?

This list will be targeted towards your panicle hydrangeas because not all hydrangeas are the same, and panicle hydrangeas need different care then let’s say the big leaf type. 

1. Plan Your Pruning Around The Ideal Temperature

If you live in Zone 4b like I do, Spring seems to arrive at a later time than we all hoped it would.  There’s always that slight chance that we could get hit with more snow, so it’s important to pay attention to your last freeze date.  

Although the perk about panicle hydrangeas is they bloom on new wood, meaning the fresh green stems that emerge from your shrub that year will be the very stems you will receive those beautiful cone-shaped flowers on. 

So when is the right time? 

The way I like to look at it, when it comes to pruning some of my plants is to imagine that they are in a deep sleep, so I like to try and make sure that any serious pruning is done before it has a chance to fully wake up.  However you also want enough time for the hydrangea to begin to form this season’s buds which will show you where you can start pruning. 

Panicle hydrangeas should start forming buds around the 50 degree mark, so when you begin to see your temperature steadily rising and keeping around this temp day to day, take a walk through your garden to inspect your hydrangeas. 

If you notice they are starting to bulge then get out your pruners and get yourself ready for your first step in caring for your panicle hydrangeas this Spring. 

2. Follow The ⅓ Rule In Pruning

You may have heard or read others talk about the ⅓ rule in pruning because this is what the recommended amount that you remove from your shrub to be without causing too much shock or stress to the plant. 

If you did cause additional stress to the plant, there is a chance it may slow its growth that season and none of us want that. Also by cutting too much away, there could be less foliage, and with less foliage your hydrangea won’t absorb as much energy from the sun. Which in turn could cause it to limit the amount of flowers it would otherwise have provided you. 

So when you have your pruners in hand take a good look at the size of your shrub, and simply shorten it by ⅓.  Find the stems you plan to keep, with the shape of the plant in mind, and simply look for the nearest bud around the ⅓ mark and snip right above that at an angle. 

3. Shape and Strengthen Your Hydrangea

Now that you know how much you can cut off of your panicle hydrangea, you can begin to decide if it will require some shaping. 

I like to consider panicle hydrangeas to be a low maintenance shrub, and they really are, in my opinion. You certainly don’t have to spend a great deal on shaping these, and you could just let them be. Although by doing so, you give them the best chance of thriving and becoming a strong plant in your garden. 

I like to begin by assessing the current stems, and picking out the ones that look most fragile. Go ahead and cut those back at the base if you want, so you can encourage the energy from your shrub to focus on its strongest assets. 

This will also help you get better access to the stronger stems you plan to keep, if you need to get back in there and snip a few more branches that might be a little more unruly like shown in the image below. 

I know earlier I had commented on not cutting back too much to prevent shock or stress on your plant, but if it’s necessary to cut away a bit more than you’d like so that the stems aren’t growing against each other, I consider this the exception to that rule. You want to allow the stems room to grow and air to circulate, so you are providing it a better chance of success by snipping off those ugly branches that will eventually thicken and cause more disruption with the shape of your hydrangea. So what better time than any to sacrifice the plant for better health in the end. 

4. Clean Up The Area Surrounding You Panicle Hydrangea

After all that pruning you have accomplished, unless you were cleaning up along the way, you should now have a mess of sticks and debris surrounding the base of your panicle hydrangea. 

Regardless of pruning or not, it is important to clean up the area around the base so that you prevent any fungal diseases or insects laying nests near your shrub.  I sometimes like to surround the base of my plants with fallen leaves during the Fall season to provide extra coverage so the ground around the roots of these plants stay warmer during our cold winter months. 

Not always do I get the chance of protecting my plants this way, but even still, the wind will likely have blown leaves and debris or even trash on occasion, so it is always best to clean up or pull away from the wood base so nothing is sitting against it. 

I personally use wood mulch in my beds to keep the soil moist and prevent too many weeds from appearing, but there are times that this mulch can start to stiffen.  If you’ve worked with wood mulch you may already know what I mean, but if not, it basically becomes matted above the dirt and no longer easily moved.  When this happens I grab a garden fork or some sort of tool to break up the mulch to allow the soil beneath to breath. 

You will come to notice, I’m not a gardener that likes to purchase fresh mulch every season to replace or top dress, in order to make my beds look fresh and beautiful. Mainly because it’s added expense, extra work that takes time, but personally I don’t think it’s needed.  Yes it will look so much nicer, but is it helping the plants any more than simply mixing up the existing much I already have, as long as it hasn’t fully decomposed yet?  I think I’ll stick with what has been working and save myself the time and money. 

So whatever you may do in your own beds, just provide your hydrangeas a clean space to start growing, and this will give you a better chance of a good and full growing shrub that performs well in your landscape.

5. Fertilize Your Panicle Hydrangeas

Depending on when you got around to pruning, you may or may not be ready to start fertilizing your panicle hydrangeas.  Wait, why do I mention this?  Shouldn’t we be allowed to get all the Spring cleanup accomplished in one go? Sure, you can, but there is a chance the fertilizer you spread could be wasted if it’s still too soon and the plant wasn’t ready to absorb the nutrients yet. 

Personally gardening isn’t perfect, and the only way we are all going to learn is by finding what works for you. I think I’ve fed my hydrangeas at all different times the past few seasons since they’ve been planted and I’ve had a successful year – however I’ve also learned a bit more each year and it starts to make more sense to me as time goes on. 

But when is a good time to fertilize?

If you want to provide the best chance for your panicle hydrangea to perform well this season, I would time your fertilizing out when the buds start to green up.  This shows you that your hydrangea is beginning to wake up, and beginning to actively grow.  When it reaches this phase, it will begin to absorb the nutrients and will need the energy to continue with its growth cycle. 

I don’t have strong opinions on what makes the perfect fertilizer to use with your panicle hydrangeas at the moment, but I have started to use Epsoma’s Rose Tone Fertilizer this past Spring with guidance I received through YouTube’s Garden Answer channel where Laura has recommended this type since she’s been using it on her hydrangeas. 

Otherwise, you could perform a soil test which is always recommended when you don’t know what your soil conditions are that you are working with and it will provide you the best starting off point.  However I know not everyone will want to go through that added step, so if you find something that allows an equal N-P-K balance, you should be just fine. 

The fun and sometimes not so fun thing about gardening, is you get to know a little more about the science behind it all. If your plant is deficient in a nutrient there is a good chance it will show you through its foliage, so it is always good to pay attention through the growing season. 

If you are unsure what it may need, try snapping a photo of the plant as well as a close up of the foliage to show the exact coloring, and take it to your local garden center and ask if they are able to help you find the right nutrient that it might be needing to correct that issue. 

Well there you have it, my 5 things to remember when caring for your panicle hydrangeas this Spring, and I hope that it gave you enough to think about so that you can easily jump in and begin your gardening season with success!