Deadheading should not affect bud formation in Spring. Most people try to get some wire fencing. Even dead branches from elsewhere in the garden could be used to prop up the weak stem but you need to place them securely so the wind will not make them fall down too.

Okay, thanks. That made me think of another option, I might be able to get one of those peony rings around it in the spring. Do people prune it early in the spring by cutting all the branches back to a foot off the ground or all the way to the ground? I definitely want to cut off these flopping stems. I wonder if I could do it now?

Yes, peony rings will also work. My pruning comments depend on whether your Annabelle stems leaf out in Spring or the existing stems dry out and grow back from the crown.

If you were to leave the stems alone and if your stems leaf out in Spring then, in future years, they would be sturdier and less prone to flopping.

If they regularly dry out and come back from the crown in Spring, I would leave the stems & blooms out there for winter interest. And as soon as I see signs of leafing out from the crown, I would prune the stems 1" high or as close to the ground as you can. You can use the decaying blooms as mulch.

'Prune now?' you also asked. Well, Annabelle does not develop flower buds now but, rather, in the Spring so you can safely prune now too. However, I am not sure if that might trigger it to create new stems now; it may depend on how long your growth season is and when your plant begins to go dormant. Perhaps wait until mid to late September or when you notice the leaves starting to dry out.

Luis, thanks. My Annabelles, one is in it's 1st full season and one is in it's third. I seem to remember that last year, the stems were about 2 feet off the ground and they did grow along the stem and not just from the base.

I think the weather will be warm enough for long enough that probably the shrub would start growing and putting out new growth if I prune it now. I will be happy to wait for another month to do it. Believe me, there is no winter interest. [g] It's a mess and all the stem tips are bowed over with the flowers on the ground. I couldn't leave these stems as is even if they leafed out next spring. The shrub is looking very out of shape. I could prune it back to a 2-3 length on all the stems at the end of September, and just leave it that way in the spring. Sound right?

I like to leave the blooms on - I find the dried blooms very attractive in the winter landscape.

Whether you prune Annabelle now or in the spring makes no difference - blooms exclusively on new wood. Really, it's best to leave shaping/pruning for the spring, though, as what you do (or don't do) in the spring will dictate the shrub's growth habit for that season:

Harder pruning = fewer, but larger flower heads. I prune all stems down to ~6 inches.

Lighter pruning = more, but smaller flower heads and floppier/sprawlier (is that a word?) growth habit.

Good morning p~m - My Annabelle is in her 2nd full season- I read a suggestion in this forum early Spring about keeping her from flopping/splaying after a rain. I used 2' tall (plasti-coated) garden-wire-fencing cage ... allow enough room, I had to replace with a wider encagement as she filled pretty quickly. The wire cage didn't even show as smaller/thinner stems went thru & covered ... worked much better than the peony ring I used the previous year (I used landscaping pins to hold down). My Annabelle (4'10") seemed to have grown taller than most I have seen around here, DK why.

I intend to leave mine unpruned ... she is planted in my N foundation bed, a corridor, where NW wicked winds come thru, she'll help as a barrier for others, considering her height, full of blossoms.

Happy Fall! Â;)

Annabelle's do get new blooms if you deadhead as soon as the blooms start turning green. I keep white blooms inot the Fall this way. usually there is a few weeks in between where you don't have any flowers, though.So I usually leave just a few on there for aesthetics and gradually prune them off as more flowers develop.

thanks, exactly the info i was looking for!

In all honesty, Annabelle doesn’t need winter protection since it is far hardier than zone 5. Mine doesn’t blink even when winter temperatures are below 0 F for a couple of weeks like last winter or get below -20 F like many of my winters. The plant as a whole is hardy to zone 3 and since it forms flower buds in spring on new growth (unlike the big leafed hydrangeas, H. macrophylla which overwinter flower buds) you will get blooms regardless in any zone where the plant survives as long as its general needs are met. So trowelgal, you can save yourself the work of dealing with a cage of leaves if you want to, as well as not having to look at it if it is in a prominent spot.

I agree - with NHBabs! Like you trowelgal the cage is simply to hold her upright w/ her plate-sized blooms. I still end up clipping blooms into buckets & offer them to interested passers-by! My wish is for my Annabelle to be as short as those I see around ~ she grows to 4.5"!

Hi trowelgal, no need to Winter protect here are few pictures of Annabelle & Incrediball a few years ago.... my granddaughter a few ago... the othe picture a Incrediball that can get very large

I replaced my Annabelle with another hydrangea that doesn't need staking or caging. I have Mdmse Emille Mouilier instead. I had 3 years of unhappiness with Annabelle and I'm much more satisfied with this particular hydrangea.

Thumbs up prairiemoon2 and glad for you! I can no longer look at, nor hear of another newly created/developed beauty, I am out of real-estate with 39 different ones as it is & couldn't give the 12 divas among them their usual burlap-winter coats ~ they've out- grown them! Sigh!

What zone are you in ditas? I am in zone 6a and none of my plants get a burlap winter coat. I try to get low maintenance as often as I can. I have a couple of evergreens, that I try to tie with string in the fall so they don't split with the weight of snow, but that's it. I have tried to only buy Hydrangeas that bloom on new wood. And even then, and in my zone 6a, I still have years when I get very few blooms on my hydrangeas. I bought a "Little Lime" last year and that is supposed to stay compact, have large blooms and is one of the paniculatas that are hardier and take more sun. I have a lot of part shade in my yard and I end up being dry a lot of the season, because of a lot of tree roots around my property. The 'Little Lime' is very young and I'm not sure if it will bloom this year or not. I don't think I am ideal for Hydrangeas as much as I love them.

This year, I've finally understood that there is no such thing as 'low maintenance' though. [g]. As much as I take low maintenance into consideration when I choose plants, trying to keep a garden looking good, is a LOT of work. And I only have a small property.

Sounds like you have a huge collection of Hydrangeas! That bloom for you! I'm sure you are enjoying them!