Did the harsh winter kill my oak leaf hydrangea?

[arin01]

Hi all! I have the most beautiful oak leaf hydrangea's in front of my house - planted them 10 or 12 years ago. They get plenty of sun and have flourished over the years with me doing little to nothing. I've only pruned them once. They get some water from the sprinkler system in the summer. They *usually* appear like clockwork in the spring. Once they took hold after the first few years, I did little to nothing and they grew and grew. (maybe this was my problem?)

Like many in the midwest (I'm in Omaha) we had a particularly long, cold winter...the worst I've experienced in 15 years. I'm not sure my hydrangea's made it out alive. They still look like their winter selves - brown sticks protruding from the ground - while everything around them (hastas, trees, peonies) are budding and blooming. I have Annabelle hydrangeas in the back yard, and those appear to be making a comeback, although one (out of 7 or has one small leaf and no other buds.

Can water alone save these?

[valley]

Hi arin, Yep, I'd water them, they should come back. I don't know how long it's been since the weather warmed up where you are. Unless the ground where they are living in turned to a bog you should see sighs of life soon. You've had good luck with it so far, that means it likes what you have going for it. You might see it peek from the bottom first.

Don't forget us, let us see a picture of your plant, keep us up on what's happening, and hopefully the new growth. Talk to you then. Good luck.

Richard

We had a great showy Hydrangea at the folks ranch, when I was a little one, they used to drive nails in the cluster at the bottom, the flowers turned a different blue from the iron.

Or was my sister just telling me a story.

[rainbowgardener]

My oakleaf hydrangea made it through the winter just fine. But I don't know if your winter was (even) worse than mine. And local conditions make a difference, how exposed to wind it was, or if there was water/ snow melt pooling around it. But it is not a good sign if other hydrangeas are leafed out and that one is not. You can try breaking some twigs to see if they are green inside.

It was a very hard winter, and I did lose a number of shrubs including a butterfly bush, a beautyberry, and perhaps one rose of Sharon.

[luis_pr]

In my neck of the woods, the winter temperatures per se were not a problem as they went down only into the 20s at their worst, something that an Annabelle or an oakleaf can handle. Rather, the wild temperature swings and the sheer number of these swings probably started the hydrangeas thinking it was wake up time. As their stems began to change and absorb more water, the temps went down and killed the stems.

H. macrophylla was the one most affected here. Depending on its location (protected versus not), the mopheads are showing a lot of growth from the base but when I checked the stems, I found green on some of the dead looking ones (on Sunday). So, I am just watering as usual. Added some mulch in some places. Will recheck in the latter half of May again.

One arborescens, an Annabelle, has not awakened though. Strange for such a sturdy plant so I am thinking it may be dead. Again, I continue watering it and will decide in late May.

The oakleaf hydrangeas were not fazed even though one was in the north side of the property and another in the south, partially protected by the house and other shrubs. They are now blooming. Not sure how paniculatas would have fared this winter here though. I killed mine with a drip irrigation problem two years ago.

The beautyberry bush did well but it had a lot of dried out parts at the ends of the stems. A butterfly bush that had been pruned also did well. Several Rose of Sharons also did fine. The camellias did well but I have seen leaf damage in some that are planted in Zone 6.

My Oleander tree did take a wallop and still looks dead until you get close, and then you see green coming off the woody stems so the all important tap root must still be doing ok. It is one of those hardy varieties, which always makes me laugh... needing a hardy plant in this zone with our 100+ degree summers. Broooother..... Since the temps got down to the 20s, I expected leaf loss but, sigh, it will take a long time to regrow the leaves and look nice.

It is too early for some of those hydrangeas to be opening their flower buds if they are getting growth from the base (remontant macrophyllas should still bloom around late June or so but, eh, who knows about those that bloom on old wood). My oakleafs started the broccoli stage about a week ago or so.

[rainbowgardener]

yeah, you did have a different winter. We had temperature swings, but we also had temps down around MINUS 30 degrees and long stretches where it never got above zero as well as twice as much snow as usual (but not constant snow cover, which is protective).

[ElizabethB]

Do a scratch test on the stems. Use your thumb nail to scratch through the bark. if the stem is green it is still alive. If it is brown and brittle it is dead. Start checking the stems close to the root. If it is green work your way up the stem checking ever 3" or 4". If the outer portion of the stem is brown trim it back to just above a leaf node in the green part of the stem. Remove any dead stems.

Good luck

[arin01]

Thanks for all the advice. One of the oak leaf h's has growth from the ground, but still no new growth on old. The other sadly is not showing any growth, but we did break off one of the stems and it is green inside...so that gives me hope! Just continue to water and give it time? I ill try the scratch test! That's great advice since I've always been a bit nervous about trimming back.

Good news on the Annabelles! They seem to be slowly, but surely, coming out!! Interestingly, all at a slightly different pace.

As far as the winter goes, I do believe it was the wind that did the damage more so than the cold. I now have a patchwork quilt of yew bushes -- some made it, others are brown as dessert sand. (My father passed along many things so me, unfortunately, his green thumb was not one of them!)

[valley]

Hi, Glad to hear one is starting. Maybe your Papa's green thumb just needs a little more time and will come around. Every now and then something will go wrong in our gardens, guess that's part of it, to keep us humble. We have big winds here too, I'm thinking of setting up barriers to slow it down a bit to protect the garden. Good to hear some are things are coming back, let us know when that thumb takes a turn to the green. Have a fine day.

Richard

[luis_pr]

Hello, Richard. What kind of 'barriers' would you set up to slow down the wind? I notice that some of my hydrangeas and shade plants tend to suffer in an area where I sometimes notice the wind and have wondered (1) how to monitor this better (other than being outside myself) so I can decide that wind is dessicating plants and (2) what/how to do something about it. I have transplanted almost all the shrubbery that seemed sensitive elsewhere.

[valley]

Hi, Re: wind barrier- well, here I plan to sink 2" X 4"s in the ground that I can slide pallets over, standing up. Staggered pallets outside the fence of the growing area, should buffer the wind or slow it down, pallets are about 3' X 3'.
You, living in a residential area would want to install something a bit better looking. You might set up a single upright, the size you need 3' or 4' wide, or even box in a single plant. similar to a picket fence, paint it white like a fence. Long term, a row of trees or bushes on the windward side maybe. Think it over, I'm sure you will see what will work. Like to see what you come up with.

Richard