Oak Leaved Hydrangea

Steady Eddie

I have a small oak leaved Hydrangea which is a couple of years old.  I am unsure how to manage it at this time of year - do I leave it alone or prune it?

I have heard they can become very large - I don’t want it to swamp my other nearby plants.
i have attached a picture but it is not that clear due to it being very twiggy at the moment.

Steady Eddie

Fairygirl

Hi @Steady Eddie  - I just prune if it's needed. I keep one of mine a bit smaller than the other because of where it's planted.
They do get big, but a good way to manage it is to do the same as for other hydrangeas, or any shrub really, and take a few stems out completely, right back to the base. I can't see your photo very well, but you can take out ones which are dead or damaged etc first, should you have any. A plant that age doesn't really need any pruning though. 
You can also still prune in the usual way, by pruning back to some healthy buds too. 

That depends on your conditions - mine are only just starting into growth again, so I'll wait and see what needs tidying in a week or two. I sometimes take a stem or two right back in summer if they're getting too wayward, but mine are about eight or nine years old, so a bit bigger . 

Steady Eddie

That’s very helpful, thank you. I shall leave it in peace for this year.
thank you.

Fairygirl

No problem - take a view on it later in the year, and you can always take a stem or two out then.
The only problem with trying to get them squeezed into a smaller space is that you end up restricting them a bit, so you get less flowering