It's gotta be the squirrels then. If they're looking for water, I have a fountain in the back yard that they're welcome to (actually I know they use that). So, they must be getting something else out of the hydrangea stalks. I'll give the bounce sheets a try if my, er, "more natural" method doesn't work. ;-)

Prune it before the end of June, Lainey. In the South, pruning should be done by June. You probably have some more time than I do but this is a moving target controlled by Mother Nature as they say so, for sure, you will not sacrifice 2010 bloomage if you prune before July. After July, you probably have a few more weeks when it is ok to prune but it becomes more difficult to be accurate. It would definitely help if the plant sent an email saying it has started developing flower buds but oh well... :o) While you are at it, consider if you need to transplant it since you will eventually have to prune again to keep it in check. Alice for example, can grow 8'x8' by year 10. Both transplanting and pruning can be done now but it will cause a lot of transplant shock to the plant because of the hot summer temperatures and reduced humidity. You could prune now and transplant when the plant has gone dormant instead. Some bloomage may still be lost due to transplant shock but hopefully, it will not be a total loss. Luis

They look in great shape to me. As a matter of fact, I would expect to see bloomage now. My Pee Wee looked a bit smaller when I got it and it had blooms (then again, the greenhouses do wonderful things when the wholesalers want to force plants to bloom! Ha!) Not sure why you do not have any this year unless the landscaper cut them off. Not a BIG deal though. Just a minor thing; I actually prefer that the plants use the time in year '0' to develop a good root system instead. Oakleaf hydrangeas develop invisible flower buds in July (down here) thru August (up North) so, keep them well mulched (3-4" of mulch) and keep the soil evenly moist... until the ground freezes. The buds will remain invisible until they open in Spring. As soon as a finger inserted to a depth of 4" feels dry or almost dry, give them either 1.5 gallons of water in the summer or 1 gallon at other times. Once they go dormant, you can water once every two weeks if there is no rain. Being hardy to Z5, they usually should be fine with just 3-4" of mulch and need no winter protection. But two reasons I can think of for winter protecting them are (1) they were planted late in your growing season or (2) if the winter weather is unstable and temperatures go up and down a lot, the plant could break dormancy and you could then loose the flower buds. I actually had #2 happen last winter even though I am in Z8: one oakleaf had no blooms (Ruby Slippers) and another had blooms (Pee Wee). A cousin of mine in Illinois always tells me that she prefers to plant the shrubs in the Spring due to her cold winters so, I would winter protect this year since they were planted in late July. And I would -optionally- winter protect on other years to prevent issue #2.

That information was not correct, kcandmilo. You do not have to prune oakleafs unless you have something you need to address, such as a safety issue or branches that cross or a need to get some sun in parts of the bush. As long as you place them in a location where they can attain their estimated size at maturity, that is it for pruning. When pruning is needed, you can do this after they have bloomed but no later then the end of June in the South or the end of July-ish in the North. Those are estimates to prevent you from cutting off the invisible flower buds that they develop from July to August. For example, now I should not prune them but someone in the northern states still can. Deadheading, a different thing, can be done at any time. I typically cut the petiole that connects the bloom to the stems. Luis