The climbing hydrangea holds on to the ground with adhesive roots. The flower plates with the showy, white flowers appear from June to July. The plant prefers nutritious, humus-rich and moist soils. Older plants can grow up to ten meters high, younger ones grow much slower and are even quite lazy.
When and how should you prune climbing hydrangeas?
Climbing hydrangeas are cut in the spring before they sprout, between mid-March and early April. Remove excessively long side shoots to short cones on the scaffold and, if necessary, shorten the scaffold shoots by half to two thirds to rejuvenate the plant.
Parenting cut not necessary
Systematic training of the climbing hydrangea is not necessary. After planting, fix the long shoots to the wall so that they can anchor themselves. Young shoots on the ground often form immediately, adhering to the wall, and they usually overtake any existing ones in growth.
Growth of climbing hydrangea
The climbing hydrangea builds a strong, gnarled structure that does not age even after years. The flowers appear from easily recognizable, thick tip buds on annual side shoots.
Adhesive roots can come loose
The climbing hydrangea's adhesive roots are only viable for a few weeks and then turn woody. Once loosened, older shoots can only be connected to the climbing aid through new growth. It is best to redirect shoots that have detached from the wall to deeper shoots that are attached to the wall. Remember that the remains of dead roots remain on the substrate. Remove last year's inflorescences down to the first side shoot.
Rejuvenate climbing hydrangeas
Only the side shoots protruding from the wall bear the flowers. After a few years they become longer and longer, then redirect them to short shoots close to the wall. Climbing hydrangeas are generally grown in the spring before budding - i.e. H. between mid-March and early April – rejuvenated. You only remove the extra-long side shoots to short pegs on the scaffolding and leave the size as they are. Alternatively, you can also shorten the scaffold shoots by half to two thirds. This measure greatly stimulates growth, but the wall with the remaining roots looks unsightly at first.
Tips & Tricks
The adhesive shoots of climbing hydrangeas can hardly anchor themselves on very smooth surfaces or on wall paints with anti-algae additives and keep falling off.
