Deadheading hydrangea blooms on plants like Bobo is optional. It's a cosmetic choice, not a must-do task. Your plant will bloom just as well next year whether you cut the old flowers off or leave them alone. So you can relax about this one and save yourself the work.
I leave my dried Bobo flower heads on the plant all winter long. They turn a soft tan color and look beautiful with snow and frost sitting on top. On cold January mornings, those dried blooms give my garden structure when everything else looks bare. It's one of my favorite parts of growing this shrub. You get months of visual interest without doing any extra work at all.
Here's the reason this works. Bobo blooms on new wood. Your plant forms fresh flower buds on new stems each spring. Removing spent hydrangea flowers or leaving them on has zero effect on next year's blooms. This is different from bigleaf hydrangeas that bloom on old wood. With those types, you need to be careful about what you cut. But your Bobo? Leave it or snip it. The choice is yours.
The US Patent data shows that Bobo's sterile flowers last about 4 months on the plant. That means your summer blooms persist well into fall and winter without falling apart. They dry in place and hold their shape through rain, wind, and frost. You get a long season of beauty from a single flush of flowers without any effort on your part.
If you do want to deadhead, the best time is right after the flowers start to fade in late summer. Use sharp bypass pruners and cut the stem just below the flower head. Don't cut too far down or you'll remove more stem than you need to. In my experience, a light snip right below the bloom is all you need to tidy things up.
Here's your quick hydrangea deadheading guide for Bobo. In summer, you can snip faded blooms for a clean look. In fall, leave the dried heads for winter beauty. In late winter, cut your stems back by 50% for spring renewal. That late winter pruning removes the old flower heads anyway, so you don't even need to deadhead if you prune on schedule. Your Bobo takes care of itself with just one good cut each year.
Most hydrangea bloom problems come from doing too much, not too little. Your Bobo wants you to keep things simple. Skip the fussy deadheading if you don't care about perfect beds. Leave those dried blooms for the birds and the winter views. Then do your one big prune in February. Let your plant handle the rest on its own. That's the beauty of growing a low-maintenance shrub like Bobo in your garden.
Read the full article: Bobo Hydrangea Care and Growing Guide
