Hydrangeas are popular ornamental shrubs cherished for their abundant, colorful flower heads that grace gardens throughout the summer. Many gardeners enjoy bringing these blooms indoors, which raises questions about the plant’s ability to recover. The impact of cutting a hydrangea flower depends entirely on the specific variety and its mechanism for producing the next season’s buds. Understanding this process determines whether removing a flower now affects future flowering.
Understanding How Hydrangeas Bloom
The key to knowing if a cut flower will grow back lies in distinguishing between varieties that bloom on “old wood” and those that bloom on “new wood.” Old wood refers to stems that grew during the previous summer and fall. These hydrangeas set their flower buds on these stems in the previous growing season, and the buds must survive the winter to produce flowers the following summer.
New wood refers to the fresh growth that emerges in the current spring. Hydrangeas that bloom on new wood develop their flower buds after the current season’s growth has started, flowering a few months later in the same year. This difference dictates the safety of cutting blooms, as removing a stem on an old wood variety can inadvertently remove next year’s flowers.
Cutting Flowers on Old Wood Varieties
Old wood varieties include Bigleaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla), featuring Mophead and Lacecap blooms, and Oakleaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea quercifolia). These plants form their flower buds shortly after the current season’s bloom fades, often in late summer. Cutting a stem too severely will eliminate the next year’s flower production on that cane.
If you cut a bloom from an old wood type, exercise caution to avoid damaging the latent buds lower down the stem. Only remove the spent flower head and a minimal length of stem, cutting just above a healthy pair of leaves. These leaves conceal the developing bud destined to become next year’s flower; cutting below this point sacrifices the bloom for the subsequent season. Pruning these types for size management should only be done immediately after they finish flowering in summer to safely remove older canes without risking the next year’s bloom.
The flowers you cut will not be replaced by new blooms in the same season, as the plant’s energy focuses on maturing the flower buds for the following year. If a severe cut is made in late summer or fall, the plant will grow new foliage, but those specific stems will not produce flowers until they have a full year to mature and set buds again. This pruning error often results in a skipped year of flowering for the affected branch.
Cutting Flowers on New Wood Varieties
Cutting flowers from new wood varieties is a safer practice that carries little risk of reducing future bloom counts. These types include Panicle hydrangeas (Hydrangea paniculata), such as ‘Limelight,’ and Smooth hydrangeas (Hydrangea arborescens), such as ‘Annabelle’. Since the flower buds form on the growth produced in the current spring, removing a bloom does not affect undeveloped buds.
Cutting the flowers often acts as light deadheading, and the plant will continue to push out new growth and sometimes new blooms in the same season. You can cut the stems to any desired length for bouquets, or prune the entire shrub back hard in late winter or early spring before new growth begins. This ability to regrow quickly makes new wood hydrangeas reliable for both garden display and cutting, as their flowering cycle is not dependent on overwintering buds. The plant will easily produce a replacement flower on a new stem without the two-year delay seen in old wood types.
Tips for Keeping Cut Hydrangea Blooms Fresh
Hydrangeas are notoriously thirsty once cut and can wilt quickly due to the large surface area of their petals, which allows for rapid water loss. To maximize the vase life of your blooms, cut the stems in the early morning or late evening when the plant is fully hydrated. Immediately plunge the cut stems into water to prevent air from entering the vascular system, which causes blockages and rapid wilting.
You should re-cut the stems at a sharp 45-degree angle to maximize the surface area for water uptake. To further aid hydration, dip the cut end into alum powder, which acts as a mild preservative and helps the stem absorb water. If a bloom begins to wilt, you can often revive it by submerging the entire flower head in a basin of tepid water for about 30 minutes, allowing the petals and leaves to absorb moisture directly.