Last year a landscaper put in several different plants, including a
row of hydrangeas (they bloomed blue and purple).

The growth from last year is brittle and seems dead to me. I noticed
some new growth coming out of the ground.

Am I supposed to prune last year's "dead" wood? Do I chop it all off?

Confused,
Mitch

BTW, I'm in Zone 5a.

said:

Last year a landscaper put in several different plants, including a
row of hydrangeas (they bloomed blue and purple).

The growth from last year is brittle and seems dead to me. I noticed
some new growth coming out of the ground.

Am I supposed to prune last year's "dead" wood? Do I chop it all off?


Different varieties have different pruning requirements. As all of the new
growth is from the bottom of the plant, it's probably safe to cut back the
old branches to the ground. Cut one, and if it's dry all the way through,
then you're good to go. If it's green in the center, then give it another
week or so to see if any new growth sprouts from the old (I doubt you will
find this to be the case).

HTH
--
Eggs

-Buy one for the price of two and get the second one free!

I've gotten new growth from the ground and from the ends of those dry
looking stalks. I'd wait and see what happens - bet you'll get some
growth.


wrote:
Last year a landscaper put in several different plants, including a
row of hydrangeas (they bloomed blue and purple).

The growth from last year is brittle and seems dead to me. I noticed
some new growth coming out of the ground.

Am I supposed to prune last year's "dead" wood? Do I chop it all off?

Confused,
Mitch

yep, I got the blues and prune the dead flowers off in the fall after
the flowers die and go brown or before spring when they start to grow
again. I usually have to prune the whole bush other wise it gets too big.




wrote:
Last year a landscaper put in several different plants, including a
row of hydrangeas (they bloomed blue and purple).

The growth from last year is brittle and seems dead to me. I noticed
some new growth coming out of the ground.

Am I supposed to prune last year's "dead" wood? Do I chop it all off?

Confused,
Mitch