Will a frozen hydrangea recover? Before you write it off, try this gardeners’ trick

garden plant in many varieties often appears in our gardens, delighting with its lush flowers in summer. However, the conditions in Poland mean that it often freezes even though it is covered for the winter. It’s all because of the spring weather and frequent frosts, and above all, because of flowering on last year’s shoots.

What to do with a frozen garden hydrangea? Check if the frozen hydrangea will recover

There can be several problems with hydrangea. The plant may not produce buds or the buds may have frozen during spring frosts. The frozen hydrangea will not bloom this year, even if it recovers. This is because it forms flower buds in August and blooms only the following year. For this reason, it is important to carefully inspect all the shoots and check whether there are any buds on them.

To make sure that the shoots are healthy, you can use a sharp knife to cut them at different heights so as not to damage them. This is an old gardening trick. Green tissue is a sign that it may bloom again. Fresh and green shoots are also visible as a sign. Even if they all freeze, there is still a chance the plant will recover if it has healthy roots. However, it must be taken into account that in a given year there will be no flowers there.

Pruning garden hydrangeas is an issue that puzzles many garden owners. photo: shutterstock / Cristina Ionescu

How to save a frozen hydrangea? Check which shoots to prune

Old, dry shoots without leaves or buds should be cut off at the ground level with sharp pruners or scissors. However, it is best to do this in batches, checking at the same time whether the shoots are still alive. It is still worth removing shoots that are three years old or older. If you notice living tissue, make the last cut above the bud facing outwards. Thanks to this, new shoots will appear during the season and buds will appear in August.

If the plant often freezes in a given place and the problem occurs every year, it may be a sign that it is better to change the garden hydrangea to another, more frost-resistant variety or another. Such varieties include, for example, tree hydrangea and bouquet hydrangea, which are exceptionally resistant even to severe frosts. If you feel like it, vote in our poll below.