Hydrangea a bit of help please

[WelshDragon]

It’s the first time I have ever had a Hydrangea in my garden. I bought it last year and it was around a foot high and buds were fully developed. As it’s deciduous it lost its leaves over Winter and then started to put new shoots out on the existing branches. Here’s the problem. All that new growth has died and now there are leaves growing from the base of the original bare branches. There is nothing on the branches at all.

Is this normal?
Should I have cut the plant down, although it says that’s not necessary?

I have seen people with lovely big hydrangeas so how will it grow if it only puts leaves out from the bottom?

Any advice about the plant greatly appreciated!

[Gimlet]

Got the same problem with a hydrangea in my mother's garden. It dies down to the ground in winter and only leafs up at the base. Then it takes all the next growing season just to grow six inches before dying back to the ground again.

It's probably because it's a variety that isn't fully winter hardy. Lacecaps and mop heads are the most tender, Paniculatas are the toughest. The delicate ones can survive if they ever get big enough, but it's getting them to that stage.

The best option is to over-winter the plant. Don't cut anything back in autumn. Knock some stakes into the ground around the plant in before the first frosts and wrap some wire netting around them to form a cage. Tie the plant up if necessary to keep it compact so you don't need a huge cage. Then encase the cage in fleece and tie it up. On some US forums people stuff dead leaves or straw down onside the cage as well for added insulation but their winters are probably a lot colder than ours. If it's surviving the winters unprotected but just never making any progress in the growing season perhaps just the fleece will suffice.

In spring remove the fleece during the day but wrap it again at night in case there's a frost. Don't prune anything until fresh growth appears on the stem. Then when it's sprouted as much as it's going to trim the dead wood on each stem back to just above the highest set of new leaves. Little more than dead-heading effectively.

I've seen huge lace caps that survive perfectly well over winter. I think the tricky bit is just getting them to that size and then they can cope. Maybe it's better to keep them in pots and take them inside over winter until they become too big to lift and only transplant them at that stage.
Worth checking where you've planted it too. It could be right in the middle of a frost pocket. Our garden has definite cold and warm spots.

[WelshDragon]

Got the same problem with a hydrangea in my mother's garden. It dies down to the ground in winter and only leafs up at the base. Then it takes all the next growing season just to grow six inches before dying back to the ground again.

It's probably because it's a variety that isn't fully winter hardy. Lacecaps and mop heads are the most tender, Paniculatas are the toughest. The delicate ones can survive if they ever get big enough, but it's getting them to that stage.

The best option is to over-winter the plant. Don't cut anything back in autumn. Knock some stakes into the ground around the plant in before the first frosts and wrap some wire netting around them to form a cage. Tie the plant up if necessary to keep it compact so you don't need a huge cage. Then encase the cage in fleece and tie it up. On some US forums people stuff dead leaves or straw down onside the cage as well for added insulation but their winters are probably a lot colder than ours. If it's surviving the winters unprotected but just never making any progress in the growing season perhaps just the fleece will suffice.

In spring remove the fleece during the day but wrap it again at night in case there's a frost. Don't prune anything until fresh growth appears on the stem. Then when it's sprouted as much as it's going to trim the dead wood on each stem back to just above the highest set of new leaves. Little more than dead-heading effectively.

I've seen huge lace caps that survive perfectly well over winter. I think the tricky bit is just getting them to that size and then they can cope. Maybe it's better to keep them in pots and take them inside over winter until they become too big to lift and only transplant them at that stage.
Worth checking where you've planted it too. It could be right in the middle of a frost pocket. Our garden has definite cold and warm spots.

Hi Gimlet Thanks for the comprehensive answer. It certainly seems to be a shorty but I’ve still got the label on, so I’ll have. a look at what I’ve actually bought. That would help wouldn’t it! Doh!
It’s exactly as you say. Sprouting new leaves at the bottom now, although it did seem to out out a few new shoots on the existing shoots from last year. We had such a miserably wet winter that I hadn’t been paying any attention to the garden - couldn’t get into it, so there’s a distinct possibility we’d had one frost after things had started to grow. I posted on TRC too and someone said they like water and our ground is like a sieve here! Hopefully a combination of paying it lots of attention this year and keeping it protected over winter will mean I have a stronger plant next year. Thanks again for taking so much time to answer.

[WelshDragon]

Well it’s gonna be wearing a t-shirt for the next few nights, given we’re forecast zero at night!

[Gimlet]

Like my marrows and spuds should have been last night....

I think the spuds will survive, not sure about the marrows.

[Dodgy69]

My Tomatoes are coming on nicely. Followed closely by the Pepper's and then the Chillies. Two of the Chillies were late showing for some reason. Plenty of times to catch up though.