So sorry..have never hired anyone for yard work except for big trees..so many "landscapers" are not knowledgeable and do more harm than good..they do whatever they can to make money whether it's the right time for that type of work..they pulled out my neighbor's astilbes because they thought they were weeds!..where do you live and what kind of hydrangeas do you have?

They'll come up from the ground next spring - I've had hydrangeas freeze back to the ground and they do come back. The bad new is that they most likely won't bloom next summer. Most hydrangeas bloom on old, not new wood.

My sympathies. Perhaps a different landscaper is needed or just limit them to mowing the grass and gathering up leaves but total hands-off on the gardens and shrubs.

Since the stems are "mangled and split" I would take the time to trim them below the damage with sharp pruners. Then do the protection you were planning - it certainly won't hurt them and it may help some remaining buds survive.

As nicholsworth asked, do you know what kind or can you at least describe the plants' blooms (shape, color, and season) and the shrubs's overall growth pattern? That will help in determining whether it will bloom next year or not. Some types set buds over the summer for the following growing season, while others set buds on new growth in the spring. A few do both.

Clean the cuts, mulch well with wood chips and head out.

And hire a company with trained employees, who actually know something about plants and plant maintenance. Maybe a small gardening service where the owner operator is involved with the work, or does most of it themselves.

Hydrangeas are typically hardy and should recover from repeated "haircuts". From landscapers or from spouses. You can prune all stems to the ground before leaf out or keep a few at about the same height (you probably will get a few new ones in Spring). After tweaking the stems, do the chicken wire thing and "put them to bed."

Thank you all so much for your kind replies. I took your advice to heart and spent the afternoon doing what I could for them. Ragged edges trimmed, wire all around and mulched with plenty of leaves and a little bit of pine needles. The cretins who mindlessly did this are hired by the HOA. It's such a nightmare. I'm in western suburbs of Philadelphia, the plants are the type that produce from old growth. They are macrophylla, I believe. Happy holidays, All!

they no doubt are making every place they "work" more unattractive

In H.O.A. neighborhoods property maintenance is determined by code and committee, with everyone in the community being expected to go along. With details of even things like where you store your garbage cans or whether or not you can put up a low fence all being dictated.

Such settings do not encourage hobby gardening. At least not anything that might ever be seen as messy, or otherwise not following the rules.

Unless dead-headed previously mop-head hydrangeas are sticks with big round dead balls on the ends at this time of the year. Maybe with some blackened, dead leaves still hanging around also.

You know, messy.

Embothrium..I get what you say..I was trying to say the "pruning" some "landscapers" do is often unnecessary AND done at the wrong time..removing future blooms and leaving unattractive plants with unnatural shapes and stubbed ends..you can manicure a landscape and still have a natural look..

They wil come back. You could also turn lemons into lemonaide. If you still have them, the fallen cut stems still look good, and you want more plants propigate them! Make woody cuttings with one or two terminal nodes each. Two or three can be placed into soil per gallon pot and left outside in a protected location. If two nodes, put the one in the middle of the cutting at ground level. You might be surprized how many root and grow.

@garberja2 I'm wondering if your hydrangea came back after the hack job the landscaper did. I'm here because I stepped on and dragged a hose over a young planting and bent the main stem. I'm thinking I'll cut it to the ground and hope for the best (and put a flag there so I don't walk on it again).