Clipping the branches to the first set of leaves will reduce the space between the internodes and also make them smaller....when they grow in..I want to avoid the branch structure I had before the chop.

Ahhh...I think I understand now. So by clipping these branches thus reducing the space between the internodes, the branch will grow smaller? Is that right?

Okay...so why wait for Spring? Why not do it now?

By letting the branches grow out for a season, you add more bulk to the trunk of the plant, and you stimulate the recovery from the blunt trimming done before; In other words: THe plant puts more 'scare tissue' over the cut, making the closing down process somewaht faster. Also, bu trimming the branches back later, you add some taper to the new branches.

In principle, when you bring the branches back to the first or second node, you get smaller internodel distances because the first sets of leaves simply are close to eachoter. Check any plant you have trimmed, and 95% of the time you will find the first few leaves to be close to the stem, and not far apart.

At the current state the Hydrangea could very easily be wired & shaped; The reason for letting it grow now would be to crete thicker trunc and help it heal the wounds.

Personally, I would now already decide which branches are not going to urvie the next trimmeng and remove them, to avoid scarring; The side-branches are still young, and the wound created now will close very easily. After the branches harden off, the cut will take longer to heal, i.m.h.o.

Ahhh...this is all making so much sense. You know, I'm finding that although I can read this in bits and pieces on various sites, etc., I find it sooo much easier to understand when it applied to the progression of a specific plant.

Thank you Lance, Youri and J for your answers and guidance. And Lance...thanks for being so patient with me taking up space on your thread.

One bad thing about this tree is if I let the branches grow longer than one season, they harden off and can't be bent. It's always going to have scars. I'll just have to pinch off the new leaves and hope for delicate branches. Ahh...it's late summer here in Maine and I already can't wait for spring.

Ahhhhh...I hear you, Lance. It is late summer here too. My favourite seasons are Spring and Fall. There's no way of getting around it... you will have to add on a solarium to your house so you can have indoor trees.

The only thing that will keep me from going crazy this winter is the work that needs to be done on my spruce, boxwood and juniper.

Here it is again. I just clipped a few branches that were out of control
One thing i love about this tree is that when you clip a branch down to a lower set of leaves, it shoots out 3 mew branches from that cut.It gives you plenty of options.

looking nice and tightly cropped. Well done.

As you are gaining experience that this species is hardy, you could experiment a little. In my opinion: Even though branched harden out quickly, that does not mean you cannot bend them, fixate them, and let the sit in the position for a few months untill they have ste. Why not give it a try?

I have already cut the branches down a few times this year. I'll post a picture of this tree EARLY spring. It's been transformed from a really ugly ting to something I am in love with.