Do Hydrangea Bushes go dormant during the winter months?
I planted an hydrangea bush that had lost all its blooms but the stems seemed to be alive. I planted it in the ground in the fall then covered it with mulch. We have a hardy winter here in Maine. I see my neighbors, with full grown hydrangea bushes that handle the cold temps. Do you think my plant will survive the winter months without any growth on the bush, and regrow in the spring?
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You should leave a little wood on bush. In Spring let it be and see where it starts growing. Don’t cut it back until you see dead ends. If they’re sprouts coming out of sticks, leave them.
Hi, Deb,
Although your winters are much worse than those in SW PA, we suffer the same appearance on hydrangeas in the winter, yet they manage to rebound, come Spring/Summer. Once your temps break, stir up your mulch and make sure it's not up against center stem. Feed it half strength with Bayer Rose and Shrub food granules to protect from aphids, etc.
If you have deer problems, I'd strongly advise spraying with Liquid Fence Concentrate, before new shoots appear, following label directions, on a windless day, with no rain forecasted for at least 5 hours. It's a combination of garlic and putrescent eggs, and really works, when liberally applied.
Keep spraying as directed, to keep deer from snacking on your hydrangeas tasty new growth.
I live in SE Minnesota and have a very mature bush in my front yard. I don't cut anything down on it at all until in the spring when it is budded out. I then trim off the old dead wood and nothing else. We can have pretty brutal winters here and the bush comes back every year.