Hi,

I've got a plant growing around my front door which is getting a bit wild and needs a good prune. I was waiting for it to lose its leaves, but by the time it lost them new buds were already out. Could anybody help identify what this plant might be and advise me if I can prune it hard in January?

Any advice very much appreciated.

Mike

Can you describe the leaves? Do you have a photo in leaf? It shouldn't make any difference unless it is a flowering vine. Then you may cut off next springs flowers.

I wonder if this is climbing Hydrangea?
Climbing Hydrangea (Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris)

Thanks for your responses on this. I don't have any pictures of the leaves unfortunately but a Google of climbing hydrangea shows images which look very familiar. If this is what it is, would hard pruning in winter be appropriate? And should I be worried about cutting all the buds off?

Thanks again for the help.

Mike

Oh, I think you're right Tiffany, those do look like hydrangea shoots.

Its best to prune after bloom as you may be cutting future flowers off as they flower on old wood.

Happy to suggest. If that is what it is, I put one in my yard once but moved before it got big enough to need any maintenance and that is why I didn't offer any pruning info.

Hard to say if it is a climbing hydrangea without foliage and blooms. Climbing hydrangea (H. anomala) and its close cousins (Decumaria, Quelpartensis, Seamanni and Schizophragma) should already have invisible spring 2022 flower buds at the end of their stems so pruning it now would impact your spring 2022 blooms. So-called "buds" -if visible now- would only be leaf buds. Thus, I would limit pruning to areas that really require pruning as it normally does not require annual pruning if grown in a location where it can attain its size at maturity. Examples: to remove dead wood; for safety reasons; etc.