pruning

Can anyone advise me when it is best to prune Hydrangia, and an apple and plum tree?Thanks

What kind of hydrangea is it? If it's a macrophylla that blooms on old wood or a serrata, prune it just after bloom. They bloom on old wood so if you prune now you'll cut off next year's flowers. If it's a reblooming macrophylla like 'Endless Summer' or if it's arborescens or paniculata, then it doesn't matter when you prune because they bloom on new wood.

I wish I knew. It's been in the garden for longer than I've owned the house - 31 years!

Well, it's almost definitely not a reblooming H. macrophylla in that case, those are much newer introductions. It's most likely H. macrophylla because those are the most common, but you could take a look at it and the others I mentioned in Plant Files and see which one you think it is. Your safest bet in any case is to leave it alone now and prune after it flowers.

I prefer to do apple as soon as possible, just before the last leaf drops. But before December ends.

Better dormant spray coverage can be done due to that also.

No real reason, but I like Feb. for Hydrangea.

mdvaden--you probably have one of the types that blooms on new wood, so pruning in Feb is fine for those. dun1kirk--I would not recommend pruning yours in Feb until you figure out what kind you have--if yours bloom on old wood and you prune in Feb you'll take off all the flower buds.

Okay, thanks. One last question. The flowers are still on it. Yes, they are a little old and worn, but still there. So under those conditions, prune now?

You can prune out the branches that have flowers on them now--those branches wouldn't bloom next year anyway if it's an old-wood bloomer. But leave the non-flowering branches alone, that's where next year's flowers will be. Of course if it blooms on new wood then you can prune anything you like anytime! If you post a picture of it (with flowers) here someone can probably tell you if it looks like H. macrophylla/serrata (old wood bloomers) or H. arborescens/paniculata (new wood bloomers).