If the hydrangea does not wake up from hibernation and produces no or hardly any fresh shoots, this can have several reasons. Sometimes it's care errors.
If a hydrangea doesn't sprout in spring, many garden owners worry. This is reinforced when the hydrangeas in the neighborhood seem to be thriving. But that doesn't necessarily mean that the plant is sick - the lack of green often has natural causes. Budding until mid-April is not yet unusual, but the following options are generally possible:
The variety
Both the species and the variety of a hydrangea determine the time at which it sprouts. Country and forest hydrangeas tend to be early bloomers and are usually quite ahead of panicle or viburnum hydrangeas. This is also related to the respective cutting groups, because hydrangeas in cutting group 1, like farmer's hydrangeas, have already formed their buds in late summer of the previous year. Since incorrect pruning can also cost leaves and flowers, you should definitely follow the correct rules for this.
The weather
The temperatures in spring and how much sun and rain the plant has received have a significant influence on budding. The warmer and sunnier it was until April, the faster a hydrangea will grow. The location also plays a role here: the same hydrangea variety can thrive in a permeable soil in a sunny, wind-protected location, but growth is delayed on a clay soil that is moist from rain or is in the shade.
You can find even more exciting garden topics in the regular newsletter from our partner 24garten.de.
Frost in winter or spring
Only a few fresh shoots or a complete lack of green can indicate that the hydrangea froze and died in the winter or at least suffered cold damage. This can also be due to a sharp change in temperature if, after a mild start to the year, there are a few very frosty nights and the young, sensitive shoots freeze back. The plant can usually be saved by cutting off the affected branches down to the healthy part. If none of the hydrangea shoots show a fresh green color when the bark is scratched, the entire plant may be frostbitten and need to be replaced. If only the leaves have turned brown, no action is necessary.
The pH of the soil
If the pH value of the soil has changed or was in an unfavorable range from the start of planting, hydrangeas react sensitively. The plants prefer a rather acidic soil with a pH value between 4 and 6. This can be checked using commercially available pH value tests and the soil can be acidified if necessary.
The age of the plant
Old hydrangea specimens tend to sprout more slowly over the years - especially if they have been pruned irregularly or not at all. Depending on the variety, rejuvenation pruning and, in the future, care pruning at the right rhythm will help. If the hydrangea is still very young and was planted in the last three years, it sometimes still needs to take root. In this case you should have some patience.
Transplanting
Was the hydrangea perhaps transplanted at the wrong time? If you move hydrangeas or farmer's hydrangeas to a different location in the fall, the plants' growth may be delayed the following spring. Panicle and viburnum hydrangeas, on the other hand, don't like it when they have to change places in spring.