Dear Neil: My hydrangeas have been beautiful this year. I did not cut them back last year. When, and by how much, can I cut them back this year? Light pruning only on these beautiful hydrangeas.
Don't mess with success like this. Dear Editor: Well done! Those are lovely. Frankly, as beautiful as they are, I’m not sure I’d feel compelled to prune them much at all.
I would trim off the brown heads after they have finished blooming. If you have a branch or two that extend out beyond all the others, they could be cut, too, just to even things up, but otherwise just leave them alone. I wouldn’t mess with success like this.
Dear Neil: We have a crape myrtle that was planted in 2018. Until Spring 2023 I trimmed its branches back in mid-February each year and it always bloomed beautifully. I did not trim it back last year or this year.
It is now fully leafed out, but it is only blooming on one side. It bloomed as usual last year. What could the problem be? Here is what a crape myrtle looks like that has been damaged by one of the recent winters.
Dear Reader: It's difficult to answer without seeing the plant. The past three winters have seen significant freeze damage to several varieties in some parts of Texas (notably Natchez, Tuscarora, Country Red, Sioux, and Muskogee). Of those, Natchez and Tuscarora were hurt the worst, but I’ve even seen normally reliable types like Catawba hurt.
Tender types leafed out and bloomed one year, but were obviously weakened by the cold. It wa.
