Hydrangeas are incredibly colourful and pretty floral shrubs that are very popular amongst gardeners due to how attractive they are and how incredibly easy they are to take off.

This time of year is also the best time to prune climbing hydrangeas, which are hydrangeas that often cover walls, fences or trees.

Pruning, when you selectively remove parts of a plant, tends to be overlooked in the summer months as flowers tend to be in full bloom. The majority of hydrangeas need to be pruned in spring with the exception of climbing hydrangeas, which must be done in the summertime.

It is vital to prune climbing hydrangeas now in order to shape the plant and stop it from overgrowing. However, if done incorrectly it can hurt the plant and stop it from blooming next year, leaving your garden empty.

One gardening expert has warned: “Mess up pruning your climbing hydrangea, and you could end up with no flowers next year, so this is how to do it correctly.”

Michael is a gardening expert and self-proclaimed “nature lover” who enjoys sharing garden tutorials on his TikTok account @themediterraneangardener.

In one video, Michael explained the correct way to prune climbing hydrangeas and said they must be “pruned immediately” after flowering in the summertime.

Michael explained: “Most flowers appear towards the top of the plant, so try to leave that as un-pruned as possible.

“You can still remove the faded flower heads, cut back any dead stems and shorten wayward shoots, always pruning just above two healthy buds.”

For example, Michael showed off a climbing hydrangea stem and said: “I have a long stem here that I don’t want. I’m going to move done the plant to find two healthy buds and prune just there.”

Michael added: “Prune this way across the plant and you’ll have flowers next year.”

In Michael’s video comment section, gardeners praised him for his helpful pruning advice. One user said: “SO GLAD I’ve seen this! We inherited a huge one with our garden five years ago and I’ve never known how to prune it!!”

Another person asked Michael when would be the best time to prune an overgrown climbing hydrangea, to which Michael replied: “If you want to reduce the size you can prune hard in autumn/ spring. But that will sacrifice the flowers for a year or so.”

One other gardener asked Michael why their hydrangeas are not flowering this year, and Michael replied that it “normally happens” due to the weather or incorrect pruning.