Cut Us Back, Please!!!

The Hydrangeas have been begging me to cut them back!  I really don't mind the look of the spent flowers.  They keep a pale version of their color.  I've even cut them and kept them in vases inside like that.  But the plants will really do better if I cut them back. 

 

You can just barely see the dried flower at the top of this picture.  Below that you can see the back of a large leaf covering the stem. Then below that you might be able to see some n3ew buds right at the base of the two leaves.

 



 I think you can see the new buds better in this photo.  If I cut just above these buds, they should both branch out.  As I wrote in my last post, this will make the whole plant healthier and more full.  The plant won't spend any more energy trying to maintain the old dying portion and can spend its energy on the new growth.

So I cut it back right above the leaf nodes.  Any lower and I might damage the new buds.  Any higher and I'd leave a branch to rot.  This should be just right to dry up and heal over.