Pruning Climbing Hydrangea

I am growing a climbing hydrangea (Hydrangea anomala petiolaris) for the first time.  After several years it finally flowered.  Do I remove these faded flowers?  When and what should I prune on this plant?

I like to leave the dried flowers on my climbing hydrangea to add a little additional interest to my landscape.  They eventually dry and drop off.  Or you can speed up the process by clipping off the fading flowers.  Cut them back to the first set of leaves.  Climbing hydrangeas are slow growers and need very little pruning.  Excessive pruning can greatly reduce flowering for several years. Prune off wayward, damaged or rubbing branches back to a healthy bud or adjoining branch.  This can be done just after flowering. 

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