Leaf out had been occuring quite early for me down here. Say, February or March for the last 3-4 years but in 2019 it went normal (mid-to-late March). So no, they have all leafed down here. Oakleafs have been blooming and macs' flower buds are opening. Good luck!

My Annabelles are on their way. I am a bit concerned about the oakleafs -- just a few leaves on those bare sticks. I am in SE Mich. Rough winter, cool wet spring...

Granted shrubs of all kind break dormancy at various rates. But man, such a huge difference. The ES that has leafed out in full on old and new wood is full of broccoli. That's what sorta started the more observed observation on the others which should by now show a inkling of leafout

My Bobos have buds but have not leafed out which is odd. Hope they will be ok.

everything - one oakleaf, paniculatas, arborescens and macrophyllas are all leafed out..arborescens have some flowerheads..no leaves on the old wood of my macs..

Annabelle, most macs, and all oakleaf varieties are in bloom or very close to blooming in the Atlanta area. Paniculatas are all leafed out and growing like weeds so some need some severe shaping.

some old fashioned mac and Lady in Red behind it (much bigger) 3 days ago

The only reason this one is pink is it is in a pot.

Annabelle

Little Honey

Ellen Huff

some of mine this morning..

Paniculatas:

Limelight - was the first to show buds. Currently leafed out. New growth is roughly a couple inches.

Vanilla Strawberry - was second to bud. Currently leafed out. New growth is roughly a couple inches.

Pinky Winky - was last to bud, Leaves haven't fully opened from the buds yet.

Macros:

Nantucket Blues - Very leafy. Currently has baby blooms all over the shrub (winter protected)

May we all be blessed with a blossom filled garden this summer ;-)

The compacts I planted 2 yrs ago seem to have rooted/settled in. New Growth has exceeded the old wood this spring. Now let's see what the whole bloom on new wood effect does or does not

Lotsa old wood confirmed not leafing out. Me-Thinks , the lack of snow (even though it went dormant and woody) - lack of moisture did them in. Can't recall a milder winter ever.

I guess we can't just be content. If we're not complaining about the cold, then we're complaining about the lack of *snow* ;-/

hc mcdole..your hydrangeas look great!..even the ones you consider a slow grower and in too much shade still have blooms and look nice..lucky you..

I am leaf envy.

Going to go to Pruner town this weekened. Can't believe I'll be removing so much old wood that was healthy last year. Was actually thinking the opposite - no snow, no bitter chill temps, it would be a gangbusters of blooms this year. Brownie points for the panics, even though I prefer those round blooms

I’m jealous of all your fully leafed out plants. I planted 4 Little Limes last summer and they have tiny sad leaves so far. My Endless Summers that were covered this winter are fully leafed our and starting to get broccoli.

Any know if this amount of tiny leaves is normal for this type of hydrangea in late May, zone 5? Should I prune it to encourage new growth?

I'm wiped out. Started around 12:30 on a 55+ year old mac . Took 2 short breather-water breaks, and by 5:30, I finally managed to remove the old shrub out. The crown was literally about 2 Feet Wide x 14 inches Wide X 15 Deep. Don't even ask how many and large the roots were...

I must be getting old or I'm just getting slow.

Took another 3 hours after that to prep the hole, remove as many old roots within means, put new shrub in.

no don't prune other than removing the dead stem tips if you want. The plant is still really small so don't expect too much this year. What you should see is that it grows and by next season it will at least double in size. Then you'll have a better chance of getting blooms.

I'd estimate it will take at least 2-3 seasons before it gets to be a decent size.

They grow pretty fast.

Here is my oldest limelight last year - maybe 10 to 12 feet high and equal spread. I finally pruned some of it back a week or two ago as it was encroaching on other hydrangeas and azaleas.

and purchased in 2011 from HD

That’s limelight. Little lime is a dwarf limelight so growth not so vigorous.

Yes, I knew the differences between the two. The point was to show how fast they can grow. I don't have Little Lime but instead have Little Lamb and Bombshell.

Thanks @guyground! First year with this type of hydrangea and wasn’t sure what to expect. They were huge in the 3 gallon buckets when I bought them last summer. I was just getting a little discouraged at the small show this year. Gardening is forever teaching me patience...

Paniculatas are slower to leaf out than the macrophylla types. I can’t say I’ve ever had a paniculata not bloom the first summer after planting. Just give them time with our rather slow, up and down spring.

The little lime is fully leafed out. The leaves are just small because the plant is small. Its got plenty of buds , but the buds are tiny, because the plant is small. With buds that small you may not get flowers, but as the plant gets bigger in subsequent years you will.

I was in denial. Major denial. Could not believe 85% of the macs - that all the previous year wood was dead to the ground. Especially with the mild winter. Off to start another thread on winter kill and what triggers it cause I was thinking the opposite - aka, bloom gangbuster with lack of snowfall and not bitter ice biting temps this winter.

That denial finally registered the minute the other 3 of the macs fully budded out and some even started blossoming. that's when reality set in that all that wood was goners.

a1an..welcome to my world..dead to the ground macs is routine here..BUT you do have some that will bloom!!!

I've never had complete winter dieback. Sure, I expect to remove dead canes post mid-spring but never complete dieback. Heh, 2 ES, 1 Bloom struck and all the panics have blooms. We'll see if the reblooming does actually work or not for me at least on the compacts. All the compacts as well, dead to ground but this more like year 2 1/2 years in ground, so the new growth is nicely established and stems seem stronger than last year. I think it's rooted and settled in so maybe or maybeeee not the rebloomers will work. I know many here don't agree with the rebloomers.. I had to plant some to see.

A1an so far i'm very impressed with my Nantucket Blue ( rebloomer on old and new wood). I planted it last spring and I got three waves of blooms. I purchased it with blooms already on the shrub end of May. Then I had another wave around beginning of July and a final bloom around mid to end of August.

I winter protected it from Nov to April and as of this morning, the shrub is completely covered in broccoli heads.

I'll have to re-read the older threads to see what the disdain for the POV of rebloomers over at GW.

On my Compacts, I'm pretty sure it all died to the ground unless I missed some details....I did wait until leaf out was higher than the old wood before I went in and surgically pruned out all the dead wood.

Anyhow, I am seeing brocolli here and there on what I believe is ~new wood~

Waiting impatiently!

She's coming along Billy. I just listed my ES forsale on FB . Ha. She's got blooms galore but even in late spring, in the location/siting it is in, half of the shrub seems some sun, and I guess it's too intense as it show's a late wilt that does recover around this time of the day.

Heh. Hyed is slowly making inroads on me