Hmmm, strange indeed monsteraston. I am west of you and all my macs/serratas/oakleafs/paniculatas have leafed out. Granted, some are leafing out from the base/crown and the panics have tiny leaves (1/2 to 1") but still. Historically, paniculatas and arborescens have always been slow to leaf for me here (compared to the macs, which began to leaf out earlier in February). Make notes in a wall calendar from one year to the next so you can get a good feel what is normal but I am seeing more instances of early leaf out than in prior years, especially with the macs.

I am also noticing -this year- some winter damage on selected shrubs that face north and that are in unprotected locations. Probably due to the mild weather that was followed by cold lows in Jan 5-8. That could result in growth from the crown and dried out dead stems from any of those types of hydrangeas. Hydrangeas that loose stems that way may take a while longer to produce new stems from the crown but if the roots re ok then they should eventually do that.

When cold like January's pops up, I check my mulch levels and try to provide water before the cold period arrives but, even though I did so, the shrubs on the north side look like they got hit as temps prior to the cold front were so mild and these guys were not "protected" by the house and other things. Macs located there have dried out looking stems with no leaves (at east none so far) but, the plants have leafed out from the crown. Macs in protected locations look normal and are leafing out. Paniculatas like my Little Lime are leafing out. Oakleafs too. FYI - if no stems leaf out on a shrub by mid May and the plant does not generate new stems either then the whole plant did not make it.

For now, I would maintain the soil as evenly moist as you can and keep them well mulched. I usually fertilize at the end of the month since that would be about two weeks after March 13, our average date of last freeze. If they do not leaf out by May then they did not make it. Prune the dried out stems then. I would hope that the roots did make it though as they usually do.

If you cannot wait until May, you can lightly scratch a stem that has not leafed out to see if you see 'green'. If you see green, the roots are alive; but the stem with green may or may not leaf out. Hard to tell if it will as sometimes they leaf out and other times they do not even though they are green when I check.

Years ago, I had one arborescens that did not make it due to issues with the drip irrigation one year. It did not come back and I assumed it was lack of water during the winter as I did not notice that there was a problem until some camellias started browning their leaves in Feb-March. So it pays to water them during dry winters (but seldom, maybe every 2-3 weeks or when the soil feels dry).

While I am not in your zone and my growing conditions are quite different than yours, one lesson gardening teaches me is patience. Plants will do things on their own schedule, based on things we as gardeners may or may not be aware of. So a combination of day length and temperatures signal each species of plant to start, but this may different for different species, even within the same genus such as hydrangeas. It can be varied by the particular spot in your yard where a plant is located that can alter soil moisture, soil temperature, light levels, etc. As Luis said, if you had conditions this winter that allowed buds to start opening, but then a weather change that killed the sprouting buds, it will take time for the plant to re-form buds, but IME the mountain and big-leafed hydrangeas (serratas and macrophyllas) are far more sensitive to temperature than the H. paniculatas like Little Lime.

I have found that H. paniculatas are about as easy a plant as exists, and if it settled in reasonably last year, I can't imagine it would not have survived in good shape over the winter. Last season mine did well (even a plant that had only been in my garden one season), despite a lack of any irrigation or hand watering and our area being in a drought that left us lacking about 1/3 of our typical moisture for the year, though I am sure that in your zone you need to be more aware of moisture levels. They really are resilient. Critters never bother them in my gardens. I have found that H. arborescens are also quite able to survive a variety of indignities (crushing by snow dumping off the roof, chewing by voles and mice looking for winter food, being rudely divided) as long as they are given enough moisture during the growing season and some afternoon shade.

Regardless, if the plants went into the winter looking reasonable, I have found that few plants die when leafless since their needs are far less for such things as water and nutrients when they are dormant, with the one exception being those eaten by voles under the snow, not an issue for you I expect. So I would just sit back and relax. I'd be very surprised if they both don't leaf out when they are ready, some time in the next month or so.

Such great info, thank you all so much! I will continue to watch, I feel better just having had some feedback and can now more easily handle the suspense. :)

Hi, Was the time to cut back Paniculatas (lime) about a month ago? Mine are showing tiny green shoots/leaves but wondering if I was supposed to cut them back awhile ago?

Thanks,

Al

Not at all too late to do so now. But I wouldn't wait too much longer into the growing season to allow the shrub enough time to develop flower buds and flower on schedule.

Thanks as usual. I forgot to ask how much? All the way to the ground?

"All the way to the ground?"

I wouldn't :-) That's a bit radical and likely unnecessary. But you can prune for size and shape. Thinning out some of the lower branches will reduce the number of flowers produced but will typically increase flower size. Also heading back the longer branches has a tendency to strengthen the wood, providing better support to the heavy flowers and less drooping.

Ok, makes sense.

Thanks