Hydrangea – What to Do in Winter

Q: I have fifteen beautiful established hydrangeas. The freeze a couple of weeks ago did a job on them: they are all brown and lifeless looking. Do I do anything to them or just let them be until the spring?

A: There’s nothing to do at all. The dead leaves will drop off by month’s end and the stems will remain dormant until warm weather comes again. If we have terribly cold winter days below ten degrees your plants could suffer some dieback but they won’t be killed completely.