ER, I've 2 hydrangeas in my garden..Sorry don't know their botanical names. One has firm leaves, the other softer and taller.
Don't expect much growth this time of year. If anything, you may get flowers..(mine bloom in fall)
Also, since we had such drought this yr, it really halted growth on many trees/perrenials/bushes.
Hopefully by spring of '06, you'll see new foliage..then again it depends on the type..the one w/firm leaves, (started from a seed in 89/90,) is a little over 4'..The other, taller, was basically a stick when planted, and now over 8' tall..I have to keep mine pruned on either side, otherwise we wouldn't be able to walk to the street. LOL.
So, expect new growth next yr..Toni

Thanks Toni, I will keep doing what I have been doing,(no more deadheading though), and hope you are right. If the darn things is still 16" next year this time they will be transplanted to the compost heap!

Do you know the name of the hydrangeas you planted? In zone 5 macrophyllas don't have a good reputation for blooming after a zone 5 winter. Their roots are hardy, so the bush will grow, but most bloom mostly on old wood from the previous year. During our winters they die down to the ground so there isn't any old wood. There are a few, Endless Summer and I think All Summer Beauty (or something like that) to name a few, that do bloom on new wood. Like perennials, they take a few years to grow to their full size. I've read where some people protect their's during the winter, but as so often happens here in the north, we get a late freeze in Spring and it kills the buds. So you get a nice leafy shrub, but no flowers. I have Endless Summer and Pee Gee hydrangeas, and they have made it thru my winter without a problem. Both are in bloom now. Endless Summer gets about 2 to 3 ft tall. I don't mind it being short because the blooms are worth it.
Good luck with yours!

Kat

Hi Kat,
Well that was enqouraging news. I dug out the instructions that came with my plants, and the name is "Forever & Ever".
It states that it is a repeat bloomer and blooms on both old and new woods. Now all I have to do is wait for it to start growing.... How do you handle the deadheading dilemma?
Thanks.

I've just ordered two ZoneUp shrub protectors from Gardeners Supply. I'll use one of them on a hydrangea macrophylla that blooms on old wood. I might also wrap the shrub in burlap before covering it. Then I'll cross my fingers.

Here is a link that might be useful: ZoneUp Shrub Protector

Elisabeth, I've seen a lot where they'll say a plant can grow so many inches/feet high, but that is normally for warmer climates than ours. If I see something that says hardy in zones 4-8, height 4-6 ft, I figure mine may reach 5 ft. In the warmer climates there's less die-back and a longer growing season than I have, so they'll get taller. As for the deadheading, I deadhead when the flowers start getting brown. You can cut them earlier and they last really well as dried flowers. My Endless Summer is taller and fuller than last year and I expect it'll be better next year. The leaves even look good without the flowers. I'm going to mound cow manure around it in late Fall. I'll mound it about 16" high and wide. Hopefully that will prevent a die-back to just inches from the ground. It is protected from the north and west winds though, so that helps too. I'm sure you'll notice a different next summer with its growth. It may take several years before it reaches its full height. If you deadhead I think you'll notice more blooms too. Just give it some time.
Tina, those bags look good, but you'll have to take them off when the weather gets warmer in Spring, otherwise the heat could build up and damage the plant. The thing is, where I live we can get a late freeze tha would kill the flower buds. I've read where people have had good luck with burlap and stuffing it with leaves. That has better air circulation where the heat won't build up so bad.
Enjoy your shrubs!

Kat

It is not at all unusual that your shrub has not done much growing this year. It may do only a little next year as well and as was stated earlier, it will take more than that for it to reach its full size. I would not prune it at all for the next few years including deadheading. Even the hydrangeas which bloom on current season growth (i.e. they form buds during the growing season, not the season before) will bloom if left alone- The result will be more, small blooms rather than fewer larger ones. There are four common types of hydrangeas that can be found in nurseries around here.
Macrophylla- Can bloom in a variety of colors but is only marginally hardy in northern illinois. Mophead is a type of macrophylla (the other is lacecap) with blooms like those you see in the grocery store and florist plants available in early spring (if this was a florist plant you decided to try outside, you are unlikely to be successful because they are not bred for that purpose, but I'm all for trying). Macrophylla blooms on second year growth and should not be pruned or deadheaded. You can cut out the dead stems each spring after you are sure they won't leaf out- usually late May, early June for me- or you can prune out about 1/4 of the oldest stems each spring.
arborescens- Blooms are white/green and are on current season growth. This can be hacked back hard in the early spring to get the largest blooms, but it may flop.
paniculata- a taller, thicker branching variety which will bloom on new wood (blooms are generally white but may age to pink). The blooms on this variety are usually cone shaped and each individual bract that makes up the bloom may be spaced further than on a mophead. You may get more blooms and a denser plant if you hack this back hard in the spring but it will be larger and less likey to bend if you do not.
quercifolia (oak leaf)- this variety has very large leaves which look like an oak leaf on steroids. They are tricky to get to bloom and the blooms look generally like the paniculatas. It blooms on old wood and should not be pruned at all except for to cut out dead wood. It may be late to open in the spring and will eventually be a very large shrub- most cultivars are in the 8-10' high and wide range.
I suggest you check out the Hydrangea forum to get more advice. There may be someone there who has heard of the cultivar you have.

I lived in zone 4b in MN until early this year. For hydrangea winter protection, I took a roll of chicken wire and cut a piece that when made into a circle was about 18" wider than the widest part of my Endless Summers (which I'd had for 2 full seasons by the time we moved). I "planted" the cage into the ground around the hydrangea (late October) and then stuffed fallen maple leaves inside the cage, down to the base of the plants. In that climate, I very slowly started removing the leaves in early May until it was all uncovered by the first of June. With this approach the plants grew bigger from year to year and I had new buds already very visible in late May. I'm going to try this approach with a Lady in Red hydrangea I purchased this summer and keep my fingers crossed. Winterizing certain types of hydranges in our climates can help make a difference, too. Good luck.

Thanks everyone for all your help. I feel much better about my hydrangeas now, and will give them time to do their thing! I think I will try the chicken wire/leaf cage for winter protection. If it worked in MN it should work here.

Speaking of hydrangeas, does anyone know what 2 items you add to get blue flowers? I remember reading about this a few yrs back but for the life of me, cannot remember if it was iron + another mineral or something altogehter different..Thanks, Toni

Here's a link to a good site on hydrangeas, all different kinds. Toni, if you scroll down a little, it'll have 'color change'. That should tell you what to do.

Kat

Here is a link that might be useful: Hydrangeas

I think you might be thinking of aluminum sulfate - can get at most garden centers.

Kat, thanks..I learned a bit more about hydrangeas, than just changing their flower color..Toni

Acidic soil will keep the blooms blue. Hydrangeas take LOTS of water. 60% shade is a plus. Hydrangeas that bloom on new wood, should be pruned in fall. Hydrangeas that bloom on old wood need to be pruned in the spring (this is what was suggested to me by my local nursery owner, and has worked wonderfully for me on my Pee Gee, Pee Wee, Annebelle, Endless Summer and Nikko Blue). Planting them in the NE location of your gardens, preferably as close to the house as possible, helps protect them in the winter. If you plan to pack leaves around them , make sure the leaves are absolutely dry, otherwise you can end up with all sorts of fungi and disease. Once established, these lovelies will give you years upon years of beauty.
I hope I have helped some. Enjoy

Blessings, Tina

Tina, all the ones you mentioned except Nikko Blue bloom on new wood, that's why you can prune them in Spring. The ones that bloom on old wood should be pruned right after they're done blooming. As far as I know of, Nikko Blue blooms mostly on old wood. In the colder zones it should be protected like mentioned before. If it dies down to the ground during the winter, or you prune it sharply in the Spring, it will most likely not have any blooms. Pee Gee in the northern states can take full sun. I moved mine from a shady area to a sunny area that gets sun from around 7am to 3pm. It's doing much better there. My Endless Summer gets sun from 8am until around 1:30pm. The 1st summer the leaves looked a little sunburn, but it it looking just great now.
With new shrubs I do deadhead, but don't prune for the 1st three years unless it's to get rid of dead or damaged branches in the spring.

Kat

If you really want in-depth information about hydrangeas, check out the Hydrangea Forum! They have lots of helpful people who might know more about your specific variety of hydrangea as well as tips for your climate.

Here is a link that might be useful: GardenWeb's Hydrangea Forum

I have two hydrangeas in containers that need to be repotted. I live in Northern California(Folsom) and it does get cold at night in the Winter, it sometimes dips to 32 at night. my question is should I re-pot them now while there is still some summer left or should I wait untit they go dorment and re-pot them then?

i have planted 3 hydrangeas almost 4 years ago--they were all bought at a nursery and were blooming at the time--once planted they never bloomed again!! every spring they come up growing from the ground up---they are always huge and green, but that is it---will i ever get any flowers?