Does anyone one know when to cut them back? Fall or spriing? May in Jersey

May It depends on what kind you have. Do they bloom on new or old wood

Had to go and take a look, looks as if they bloom on new branches. May

Then I would wait until after the last freeze in the spring. With you being in the NE area it will start getting cold up there soon and if you cut them back now it could damage the bush. and it could die due to the expose cuts. Hydranger are one of my favorite plants. They just don't do here like they do up north. I think its just too hot

Actually, you can cut the stems that have bloomed right now as they will die anyways. You get new growth each year for the blooms. If I get around to it in the fall, I cut the whole bush back to about 2 feet tall. If I wait until spring, I have to be careful not to cut the new branches or I won't get flowers.

I read in a Martha Stewart mag. that she prefers to prune bushes or plants that bloom in the Fall, prune in the Spring. If they bloom in the Spring, prune in the Fall. I go by that for my Hydrangeas and they've done very well for years. So usually Sept. 1st - 15th, I trim mine back quite a bit.

Thanks gals. May

I don't cut back my hydrangeas anymore. I did it the first year because it all looked rather "gone". Well, no flowers the next year! Now I wait until spring and cut out the dead ones only. btw, they all look rather dead for some time, so you have to be patient. :)

Ok can I but in here. Do I need to feed mine. It is two years old. This year it actually grew some, hoping for blooms next year. I planted teo rather large cuttings. Of course they went in reverse. This year one grew quite a bit, then a deer got under our fence & ate it almost to the ground. Now it came back. The other one still looks like a twig. I think theres life in it, so it stays till next year.

I help a neighbor out with yard work. In early spring this year, we pruned her hydrangea that had not bloomed in several years. It bloomed this spring.

Mine is only a couple years old. Bloomed nicely & the deer pruned the blooms right after they bloomed.