Do Hydrangea Bushes go dormant during the winter months?

Deb
by Deb

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?

  3 answers
  • Barbdella Barbdella on Jan 31, 2019

    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.

    • Deb Deb on Feb 01, 2019

      Thank you. I guess you are right about leaving the plant alone this spring and see what happens with it. I will have a better idea of what to expect the following year.

  • Oliva Oliva on Jan 31, 2019

    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.

    • See 1 previous
    • Oliva Oliva on Feb 01, 2019

      Hi, Lindy,

      Not sure about caterpillars, but at least check out the label on the Bayer products. They make one in granular form for flowers, and it only needs dug into the soil and then watered in every 6 weeks. Not much work but great results, because it's absorbed through plant's stems, so the entire plant is treated.

  • Nancy Turner Nancy Turner on Feb 01, 2019

    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.