BellaOnline Forums Home and Garden Landscaping Hydrangea Peegee? I think

We moved into our house last summer (04) and have 2 very beautiful Hydrangea bushes with long skinny branches and large white blooms on them. There are about 20 per bush. I live in Western Kentucky and the fall weather has caused all of the leaves to fall off of the bush and the flowers are drying up. Since I have never taken care of a bush like this, I would like to know when and how severe to prune so that I don't distract from next years blooms. Thank you.

We have a PeeGee hydrangea; it looks more like a tree than a bush. Are you sure it's peegee?

I found Hydrangea's get "leggy" if not pruned back each year. Even though I'm only 4 miles from Florida, my hydrangeas go dormant during the winter. My best results have been pruning as soon as the leaves start to fall off in the fall.

Even if you don't get around to pruning until Spring and there are already buds on the stalks, pruning the "leggy" stalks will encourage the bush to fill out during the summer.