It looks like the plant needs a bit more time until it produces its next buds, as the stems look like they are trying to get longer first (refer to young leaves sprouting from the ends). The amount of sun it's getting seems fine, and should actually help in producing buds. Looks like there's slight insect damage to the leaves here and there (not counting what kinds of conditions can also make those types spots on leaves - not many of which are major). Unless there's some major infestation, insects won't cause much damage; just a few chewed up leaves by end of season. If a leaf has completely dried out, you can just pick it off - a healthy plant might get a handful of these each year, once again for many reasons. I know this sounded vague, but I'm getting at the fact that the plant appears generally healthy. If you apply some slow release fertilizer now, that should be all it needs for the rest of this season and should help with flowering.

I agree with you, sfsuperstar! You have a big powdery mildew infestation and it is spreading. The brown color is probably due to either: the arrival of fall, another fungal infection or root rot. Because the magnolia leaves do not have the brown color too, I hope that the arrival of fall is THE reason: as the plant prepares to go dormant and gets less sunlight, it absorbs less water through the roots and the blooms/leaves dry out. The other two causes are hard to diagnose unless you (a) send a leaf sample out for analysis or (b) pull the plant out and inspect the roots. I would not do either. Powdery mildew is a fungal disease so ask yourself what is going in that part of the garden that is making it so easy for the fungus to flourish so much. A lot of moisture and little wind -for example- would help this fungus develop as well as it has. Then consider what measures you can take to make things worse for the fungus. 1. Water only when it is necessary. To start, do this daily: insert a finger into the soil to a depth of 4". If it feels dry or almost dry then water. If it feels moist, do not water. If it feels wet, the soil may not be draining well so take appropriate measures. After a week or so, you will notice a watering pattern developing (every two days/three/four days). Set the sprinkler to water 1g of water on that frequency. If the temperatures fluctuate up/down by 10-15 degrees F, re-check this way again. In the spring, 1g of water will be enough but in the summer you will either need to increase the amt of water or the frequency. And of course, in the fall you need to reduce them as needed. During dry winters when your soil does not freeze, water once every week or once every two weeks. Do the same around the magnolia. Consider replacing the existing mulch with new mulch. The mulch is probably full of spores. While replacing it, add between 3-4" of it, not just 1" as you now have. This will conserve the moisture longer so you do not have to water often. 2. Other measures/hints: the plant leaves should not be watered if you can help it; instead, water the soil. Plant debris should be picked up regularly as it helps hide spores. Fungi laden debris should be thrown out in the trash and not in the compost pile. Things like dried leaves and blooms is what I am talking about but twigs and all sort of things can also end up under the plants. As soon as fall causes your plant to go dormant, deahead the spent blooms and carefully pull out the dried leaves. For the hydrangea, the problem "goes" away when the leaves fall but the spores will stay in the ground, the stems and nearby plants like the evergreen magnolia. Decide whether your soil moisture corrective actions will allow things to get well by themselves. Because the hydrangea may start going dormant soon and the leaves will be drying out, use the evergreen magnolia leaves as a way to tell how the infestation is being brought under control. 3. If the above does not help, consider more measures such as adding more sunlight to the area or making it easier for wind to flow in this location. Adding more separation between plants improves airflow. And if the plant does not get "enough" sunlight, this may let the fungus develop. Aim for somewhere between 2-4 hours minimum. If the problem had occured in the spring, I would have said that higher summer temperatures and less summer moisture by themselves would bring the problem under control but, I doubt temperatures will be doing that now... so, these are alternatives worth exploring. 4. If progress is lacking or you want quicker improvement, apply the fungicides per directions in the label. Consider using fungicides specially suited to deal with powdery mildew. Those fungicides have active ingredients with these chemical names: azoxystrobin (Heritage), fenarimol (Rubigan), parafinnic oil (Sun-spray Ultra-fine Oil) and thiophanate-methyl (Cleary's 3336). All have to be re-applied until the infestation is brought under control but Heritage can be re-applied the longest nbr of days (every 14-28 days... versus either every 7-10 or every 10-14 days for the others). Does that help you, sfsuperstar? Luis

It looks normal for a plant that used to be green and then was subjected to cold temperatures. Sad looking but it should be fine. The leaves will not recover but the cold weather will make the plant really go dormant now. Not sure about the flower buds. Those probably developed in the Fall and depending on how cold it got, they may still be there alive. If it got too cold then they may have suffered but you will not know for sure until the plant leafs out again in Spring 2013. If this a rebloomer, then I would not worry much: if the early Spring blooms are affected, you still will have blooms later on. The stems are woody so they can handle a lot of cold so I would think that for this one event, the stems will be fine. But as winter progresses in your zone, they may or may not be affected. Should they die, the roots will send new shoots in the Spring. And talking about the roots, I would add 3-4" of organic mulch to protect them and conserve moisture. Good luck, milkyj! Luis

In the hot and drier summer months, hydrangea leaves loose moisture faster than they absorb it thru the roots. If the soil is not kept evenly moist at all times, the leaves will eventually turn brown from the edges inwards. "thank" the sun, wind and temps for that. When potted, the shrub may need to be watered more often than it is watered now. To minimize the drying effect of the black plastic pot due to heat from the sun & wind in this location or due to not enough water, make sure the shrub in is morning sun only locations, make sure the location is not windy and test the potting soil several times a day. Consider the effect some walls and surfaces have to "throw" indirect sun/heat towards the locations where the pot resides (if there are any nearby). The plastic pot itself absorbs a lot of heat and roots in contact or near the pot may be getting hot; I placed some black plastic potted hydrangeas in mostly bright shade instead of morning sun to prevent problems and reduce watering needs last year. The leaf damage does not appear to be a big/threatening issue yet, especially considering that the shrubs will soon go dormant and loose the leaves "soon". Just try to keep the potting mix as evenly moist as possible (less times where the top of the pot dries out then it gets wet when you water, then it dries out, etc).