Gardener's three simple rules to ensure hydrangeas 'bloom like mad'

Gardeners can watch their burst into stunning blooms by following three easy tips from green-fingered expert, Ben Hayman. With these plants adding a pop of colour all year round and deemed ideal for those with a passion for , Hayman has become a sensation sharing his wisdom on how to help these beauties flourish.

Famed for their resilience against the cold, hydrangeas offer a gorgeous variety of shapes, such as globe-like flowers or sleek cones. Ben Hayman, an authority in the of gardening at Hoselink, has turned to TikTok to bestow his pro insights on nurturing healthy hydrangeas.

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His viral clip hints that judicious pruning is key to eliciting "spectacular blooms" in these eye-catchers. Delving deeper in his online masterclass, Ben lays out steps to prune Hydrangea Paniculata – the popular hydrangea variant craved by many.

In his video instruction, he details: "Today I'm going to show you how to prune and get masses of flowers on your panicle hydrangeas, or as you may know them, hydrangea paniculata."

He goes on to say that these much-loved plants, which boast big, cone-shaped blossoms perfect both in the garden and in bouquets, should be pruned in "early spring", aiding their floral show.

Ben's advice for gardening aficionados is to start by stripping away any dead, damaged, or diseased sections of the plant, reports . After clearing these parts, it's time to shape the plant back to a sturdy base structure.

The next step is to thin out dense areas to let light and air into the centre of the plant, before tackling its height. The aim is to trim it down to 30 to 40cm from the ground to promote new growth.

In a TikTok video, the expert advises pruning just above a double bud for "as many flower stems as possible".

The gardening pro assures that there's no need to fret over errors, explaining that this type of hydrangea is very forgiving - you can prune it above rot or below the 30 to 40cm guideline without any damage.

Hayman comforted viewers: "Basically, you can't get it wrong as it flowers on new wood. So that's it, one of the easiest jobs in the garden done, and I bet you it was nowhere near as scary as you thought."

One TikTok user commented: "This is very helpful." Another shared: "I have two colours of hydrangeas – pink and blue sky. I hope I have yellow, red, purple, and fascia pink soon."

Hydrangea colours are determined by the soil's pH level; acidic soil leads to blue flowers, while alkaline soil produces pink or red flowers.

Purple blooms often come from more neutral soil, so with a pH kit, you can predict the colour palette of your garden's hydrangeas.