is this dead?

[cabeatty]

Last year I bought and planted 2 mopheads and they did well last summer. I'm not sure what they're supposed to look like in spring, but I'm scared they're dead since we had a terrible winter (weeks of negative temps). This is what they look like.. sorry the stems are hard to see within all the clover.

[evtubbergh]

Look around the bottom for shoots coming out of the ground or near the bottom;



Really you should protect them in winter. I managed to make up something but then saw it here anyway - wrap in fabric, plastic or wire cage and fill with leaves. We manage with just a cage and leaves but I think whre it's so very cold as you mentioned you might want to do frost fabric or plastic.



Go read this:

https://www.hydrangeashydrangeas.com/winter_protect.html

[rainbowgardener]

You didn't say where you are. Location/ climate makes a big difference for all things gardening.

It was a harsh winter through much of the US. My oakleaf hydrangea made it through just fine, but some people farther south lost hydrangeas. (And I lost a number of other shrubs and plants. ) Location and micro climate makes a difference and also how well established. You said you just planted these in the spring, so they were new plants. The one in the picture is the only stem that plant had? That suggests to me that it wasn't really thriving even before it went dormant for the winter.

It should have looked something like this:


https://scottieluvr.com/galeria_de_jenew ... ea-yr1.jpg

Sadly, I'm thinking that it wasn't thriving and wasn't well established and then was winter killed.

[rainbowgardener]

Incidentally, the stuff around your hydrangea is not clover, it is creeping Charlie (aka ground ivy), a common lawn weed.

Some people consider it a pest, but bees like those flowers, and it is in the mint family and edible:

Young leaves can be eaten raw or cooked. The leaves have a mild bitter flavour and can be tossed into salads to add a slight aromatic tang. They can also be cooked like spinach, added to soups, stews, or omelet. Tea is made from the fresh or dried leaves. https://www.ediblewildfood.com/creeping-charlie.aspx

It has been used as a medicinal herb.

[rainbowgardener]

Clover has the typical shamrock appearance, 3 leafed clovers (or occasionally if you are lucky, a 4 leafed one )



https://vanputte.com/wp-content/uploads/ ... -mulch.jpg

(they are clearest at bottom right. There is a bit of grass and wild strawberry mixed in to this picture.)