Ug! Did I kill my hydrangea plant/bush? I was trimming away dead wood from various woody-stemmed flowers. It was overdue, such as last year’s Black Eyed Susans’ stems, Cone Flower stems, Mums, and Hasta stems. Looking bare, I cut back a hydrangea as low as possible. (The stems were maybe 18-24" at best.)
Now, I fear I should not have done this. Will it recover? On then upside, there are two others I didn’t touch. If in doubt, is that the better route to go…or will they suffer once the new growth begins? (The growing season may start
early this year judging by the current, warm weather pattern the Mid-Atlantic States are experiencing.)
Cutting off too much green can kill a plant, because they green supports the life by absorbing air/light. If too little green versus roots, then trouble ensues because the plant can’t breathe or photosynthesize.
However, most bushes and shrubs can take a beating on top and use energy reserves to recover.
Even grass can be torn down to virtually no top growth and recover, but this is not the preferred method of cutting back and it increases the chance of all plants getting disease, etc.
If anything reasonable is left, it will come back.
Cut back flowering plants right after the blooms die (NOT ROSES);
New growth will NOT come from a woody stem;
Prune roses after the forsythia blooms;
Prune evergreens after the growing season;
Remove NO MORE than 1/3 of the living plant when pruning.
But the internet has more gardening than porn sites; the one above was just the first one I found. A message on a gardening board will get more answers than you could ever want.
Relax, Jinx. Hydrangeas, unlike a lot of bushes, will resurrect from ruthless pruning, even right down to the ground.
Generally, aside from roses and hydrangeas, prune flowering bushes right after flowering. Next year’s flowers come from this year’s new wood. If you prune forsythias, for example, in the fall, the next spring’s bloom will be disappointing.