HelpfulGardener.com

I am new to gardening and very new to hydrangeas, but I just love them. A few years ago, I planted one in the backyard...then last year a neighbor gave me a cutting of another, and then in January I hit the motherlode: another neighbor dug up four mature, large hydrangeas to give away. I got to them as soon as I could, but they had probably sat out a day or two before I found them! I crossed my fingers and planted them all in the front yard garden bed. Most of them are showing signs of life, but one of the larger ones seems dead! I'm very sad about this and I'm concerned for all of them. I keep a close eye on them and most have at least a few green leaves shooting out, but the largest ones only have a few brown buds. On one of them, I can only count 2 (two) brown buds on the whole plant which is about 3.5 feet high. It's March here in Portland, Oregon, and it has been unseasonably warm for about 6 weeks now, so I sort of expected to see more growth by now. The backyard hydrangea has tons of growth on it, as does the cutting from last year and one of the new hydrangeas. I will try to take pictures of them to post here tomorrow, but it's dark outside right now so nothing would show up.

Related question: these hydrangeas were dug up not having been pruned in any way (I'm not sure if they are even supposed to be pruned!), but I'm wondering if I should prune them now to help them survive? They still have a few spent flower heads on them. The thought of pruning the deadest one worries me because both of the buds that I found are very close to the top of the plant.

Be patient. Hydrangeas have a remarkable way of surviving all kinds of transplanting. I would not prune - Just make sure they have not dried out. This winter has been very dry - I am in Seattle - and we have to watch if the ground dries out - especially if the hydrangeas are planted under trees. Once they leaf out- then you can consider cutting some of the branches back - but I suggest just leaving them alone. Being left out with dry roots for one or two days - will not kill them. You can cut them back after they bloom, if you do it now, you will probably lose all the blooms for this year. Letting them bloom will also help you identify which ones you have - or get close - so you know when to prune. Some types are pruned right after bloom and others are pruned in Feb. When you get blooms, post them and we can try to identify them for you.

Sometimes when transplanting mature bushes, the branches will look really terrible, but the plant will put out new growth at the base of the plant - right at the soil level. Don't worry about fertilizer - just a bit of water if dry and give them a year or so.

Great, thanks!