Monty Don’s March Tips Help Hydrangeas Bloom More Each Year

Hydrangeas are prized for their lush, colorful blooms that brighten gardens from summer well into autumn. Yet, many gardeners struggle with when and how to prune these shrubs to encourage the best floral display year after year.

While hydrangeas are generally low-maintenance and tolerate shaded spots, improper pruning timing or technique can reduce flower production. Sophie Law, editor at Spare Time, grows four hydrangea shrubs in her shade-filled garden. It wasn’t until she adjusted the timing of her spring deadheading based on expert advice that her bushes began blooming abundantly.

Garden authorities Monty Don and Alan Titchmarsh offer clear guidance to help gardeners distinguish between deadheading and pruning—two often confused but distinctly different methods. Deadheading involves cutting off the faded flower heads once blooms have finished. Monty Don advises making this cut just above the top pair of healthy buds below the spent bloom. This technique removes the old flower but preserves the stem’s potential to produce new growth and flowers.

Some gardeners leave dried flower heads on their plants through winter, as these can protect developing buds from frost and add seasonal interest. They are then removed in spring during a gentle tidy-up.

Sophie previously removed all spent blooms in winter to tidy the garden but found that delaying deadheading until after the final frost in late March brought better results. According to Monty Don’s March gardening recommendations, cutting back faded blooms at this time ensures the plant is waking from dormancy, and any winter-damaged wood can be safely pruned without harming future flower buds.

Alan Titchmarsh echoes this advice, emphasizing that removing old blooms once they deteriorate helps the plant focus its energy on healthy growth while improving its appearance.

Pruning differs from deadheading as it involves cutting stems further back to control size, shape, or health. Both experts caution that pruning must be done carefully because many hydrangea varieties, especially the popular mophead (Hydrangea macrophylla), bloom on old wood—buds formed on stems the previous summer. Heavy pruning in spring can inadvertently remove these flower buds, reducing summer blooms.

Instead, for mophead hydrangeas, light pruning to remove dead or weak stems and spent flowers in early spring is recommended. More substantial pruning, if needed to reshape the plant, should be done after flowering in late summer.

Thanks to following these expert tips, Sophie now enjoys a prolific summer display. By deadheading hydrangeas in late March right after the final frost, gardeners can protect delicate buds and promote vibrant blooms season after season.