Overview
- Millcreek Gardens specialists advise continuing deadheading through the season into early autumn, then stopping about a month before the local first frost to protect next year’s buds.
- Trim each faded hydrangea bloom just above a pair of healthy leaves or at the next set of large leaves using sharp pruners.
- Sterilise secateurs with an alcohol-dampened cloth and wipe blades as you work to reduce the risk of fungal infection.
- Clear fallen leaves from around shrubs to limit pests and avoid excess nitrogen release that can overfeed plants.
- The task takes under five minutes and helps produce stronger plants with more abundant blooms next spring.