Hydrangeas do not grow as fast as roses. Pinching may force them to become bushier/thicker plants but I am not sure it would make them grow faster. I have not tried that with hydrangeas but if you do a Gardenweb Search on the word pinch or pinching, you will see some people who have tried it (you could send them a Gardenweb Mail to see how that worked for them). I agree they will concentrate on growth if you pinch them but, ES being a rebloomer, you may still get blooms later in the growing season.

Hello, kfog1951. If you mean 'doing nothing' now, that part of the yard (and the west side as well) probably gets quite warm. My hydrangeas rarely show any growth once temps get warm/hot in May (above 85F). My roses go into hiatus and stop blooming too. I guess I cannot blame them. Some exceptions: vigorous paniculatas like Limelight, specially in locations where the sun is "weak". If you mean this year, please give us more information on their care (are they potted/in the ground, pruning - when , watering - how many gallons and how often, fertilizing - what product, when, how much, sunlight - from what hour of the day through what hour, soil - well draining, sandy, potting mix in potted plants - what kind of potting mix, etc). Watering twice a day sounds like it is too much but that is comment uttered without knowing any details...

Sorry to hear that, farmerduck. A few suggestions. Wilting is a common problem during the summer months like July with temps above 90 or it can be a sign of root rot. (1) If the plant suffers wilting and drooping during the day but recovers overnight or by the next morning, the soil is probably moist and it is a hydrangea being a hydrangea. The leaves loose moisture faster than the roots can absorb more moisture and so the shrub droops. But if the soil is moist, it recovers on its own. Recovery is made worse when days are windy or when nearby trees compete for moisture. Note that this would not make branches die (as you mentioned) unless there is lack of water issue. However, if the dropping is almost 24/7 then verify that the soil is not dry and the root ball has not dried out. If the root ball has dried out, water (slowly like with a drip) from the crown outwards and make sure that the shrubs have 3-4" of mulch up to the drip line (the bottom pic does not appear to show much mulch). Alternatively, dunk the plant into a pile of water as the dried out root ball sometimes repels water (weird, hu?) and leave it under water for 1 hour or so (if it is still throwing little air bubbles when you check, give it a few more minutes). (2) If the soil is moist and the shrub (or some branches) are wilting 24/7 with moist soil, it may have developed root rot... very difficult to fix as there is no fungicide for that. At this point, when signs become visible, some people then try controlling the soil moisture a lot and-or extracting the plant, checking the roots (do they look nice or do they smell rotten?), cutting any damaged/rotten roots and temporarily moving the plant into a pot... because they can control waterings better in a pot. Then if it recovers, you can put it back on the ground when it looks ok and the weather is fine. In root rot cases, the soil got too wet and did not drain well for long periods of time. Not necessarily a few days ago, mind you; it could have started weeks before or more time ago. Selected branches or all branches may turn to mush as the disease progresses. The leaf/branch damage can resemble sometimes what the plant looks like after an early frost in the Fall. To minimize the chances of watering too much (or too little), you can use the finger method: insert a finger to a depth of 4" near the shrub. If it feels moist then do not water. If it is dry or almost dry then give it 1 gallon of water (I add 1.5 gallons in the summer). If the soil feels wet, try to determine why the soil is not draining well (for example: did it just rain recently? did the sprinkler just finish? Or is the soil clayish? Does water and puddles accumulate/form in that area?). Use the finger method daily for 2-3 weeks so you get an idea of how often you have to water (every 3 days? 4 days? etc) and then set the sprinkler to water 1 gallon of water on that same frequency (every 3 days/4 days/etc). 3) Root damage by pests (voles, etc) can create similar symptoms to root rot. The problem here is that you then have to investigate. Carefully, extract the plant out and see if you detect their damage and-or trails. As root damage progresses, more branches get affected. Sometimes damage from one plant type to another nearby plant of a different type can signal possibility of this type of issue but it could also occur with three of the same type since they are close to each other. Luis

Is it a heated garage? Did you water it while dormant? Sorry @luis_pr for the delay in replying. The garage is not heated (the coldest I observed inside the garage was -12 C/10 F while it was -22 C/-8 F outside) and the only water it got was from 'clumps' of snow that I would put on it every once and awhile through the winter. So here it was on May 17: And today, about 6 weeks later: I can tell you that it looks lots larger than it actually is, but clearly it is producing flowers (on strictly new wood).