If you’re looking for a flower that you can see from a block away because it’s bigger than your head, then ‘Annabelle’ hydrangeas are the shrub for you. This type of hydrangea grows well in shade or part shade (4 hour or less of direct sun); mine never gets direct sunlight in its nook on the north side of the house.
Read below how to identify your hydrangea, reasons to prune an ‘Annabelle’ shrub and how to trim the plant back.
How Do You Know You Have an Annabelle?
‘Annabelle’ has huge, rounded flowers and is white (not blue or bright pink).
Note: Blue and bright pink hydrangeas are another type called macrophylla. They bloom on the previous year’s branches and shouldn’t be pruned the same way as ‘Annabelle’. ‘Annabelle’ hydrangeas are a type called arborescens. They produce flowers on the new stems that grow in spring.
Why Prune Annabelle Hydrangeas?
- Grows stronger stems that are less likely to flop.
- Displays larger flowers than if left unpruned.
When to Prune Annabelle Hydrangeas?
- Prune in late fall or early spring.
How to Prune Annabelle Hydrangeas?
- Cut all the stems to ground level with bypass pruners. The shrub will grow new sprouts from the base.
- Remove the pruned stems by lightly raking them from the area.
What tasks do you struggle with in your garden? Drop a comment below!
Hi! Thanks so much for your site and video/ pictures to help guide us.
We are in Southern Sweden at about 48F temperature/end of March.
I’d like to try out ‘your technique’ this week. There are no buds on these hydrangeas yet (but there are some buds starting on another type of hydrangea in our garden). Is it possible to trim down at this time of year and have them grown full for summer?
I transplanted my plants last spring around this time, although I’ve had them for about 5 years.
In all this time, I’ve never cut my plants down to the ground and I am nervous to try it;)
Thanks so much!
Erica
Hi Erica,
You’re welcome! Only prune your hydrangeas down that are the large, white-flowered Annabelle type. Annabelle-type hydrangeas produce flowers on their new growth, but other types of hydrangeas produce flowers on last year’s growth. I trim my Annabelle hydrangeas near the ground or the first set of buds about this time. It was also about 50F where I live today.
Hi Tamara,
Yes-they are the Annabelle-type.
I’m going out now to give it a try.
Exciting!
Thanks so much for responding so quickly. It helps A Lot!
Warmly,
Erica
Hi Tamara, we recently purchased a home and the annabelles were not trimmed down in the fall. The previous year’s dead blooms are still there. It’s April 24 here in Chicago and I’m unsure what to do since I believe it’s too late to prune them all the way down since the stalks are turning green. Should I just clip off the dead blooms? Thank you. Sorry for the novice question, but I can’t find an answer.
Mike
Hi Mike,
Since you didn’t have a chance in fall or early spring, it’s okay to clip off the dead blooms back to just above the 1st set of leaves now. It will be a quick and easy way to tidy your Annabelles without cutting them way back.
Thank you!
I’m in IL. It is May 13th. can I still prune my Annabelle? If I do will it still bloom this year?
Hi Katherine,
It’s a bit late in the season to prune it all the way to the ground. You can cut away dead stems at any time, but I’d let the stems that sprouted leaves continue to grow. There’s always next year!
Hi there, I have Annabelle’s and they have never been cut back to the ground. Can I cut them this coming fall to the ground and if so how big /tall should they grow next spring? I own a wedding venue and they are looking sad….but I love them and don’t want to ruin them. I’ve never cut them because I was afraid they wouldn’t grow much .
I’ve tried both. No matter if I prune my Annabelle hydrangeas in fall or spring, mine grow the same height. Since you have concerns, maybe you could cut half the stems and then the other half the next time.
My hydrangeas aren’t healthy looking . I live in Jacksonville, Fl. How much do I prune them
Do you know what type of hydrangea you have? Many types won’t need any pruning, but Annabelle hydrangeas do well if they’re trimmed back once a year. Maybe you need a heat and humidity resistant variety for it to do better in Florida.
Hi, hope you still see the comments here. I have an Annabelle Hydrangea that I love. It is REALLY old. I planted it sometime after I moved into my condo so it could be as much as 20-30 years old. I prune it every year, but only 12-18″ – didn’t know any better. It has spread outward too much and the center of the plant is now empty. All the stems in the middle have died. Is there any way to revive the middle? I don’t have the room for it to keep spreading. Thanks for any advice.
If 18″ pruning has worked well for your Annabelle all this time, then there’s no reason to change. You could dig a few sprouts from the outer perimeter and replant them in the middle.