After being bent low by that violent storm some three weeks ago, we finally decided (on some good advice) to trim away a lot of the large hydrangea blossoms that had sunk onto the lawn and had never recovered.
Removing these blooms had a two-fold effect: it removed the weight on the branches, allowing them to spring back up into their preferred position instead of being doubled over and cracking, and it also allowed the lawn underneath to get back into the sunlight (instead of dying underneath the wet, rotting blooms as you see in the picture below. yucccck.)
So while I was sad to remove so many of the blue beauties from these bushes, hopefully the pruning will help them weather this heat wave and the rest of the summer better, and be ready for another good season next year!
PS: I took these pictures early this AM, before the heat strikes again. Everyone stay cool today!
daniellechalson.com 
We’ve got a few hydrangeas on the side of our house and dead-heading them really redistributes he plants energy into creating new blooms.
really? that is so great to know, thank you! now i’m really glad we took the pruning route.
Mission accomplished!
Sent from my iPhone
I’m so sorry about the storm damage, but they do recover, so all was not lost. Driving home from Honesdale, PA, this morning, I passed a few poor shrubs, about the same size as your own, that looked like they were melting, from the heat. The leaves were turned right upside down and drooping horribly. They looked absolutely pathetic, poor things. Yours are looking very good, considering the damage that was done by the storm. 🙂