The most common hydrangea with white splashes on the foliage is H. macrophylla 'Mariesii Variegata'. This has a reputation for being a reluctant bloomer, however mine blooms like crazy with pale blue lacecaps.

I'm assuming from your user name you live in Walla Walla :-) Regardless, in zone 5 this hydrangea is going to be marginal for you without winter protection. It certainly is not going to produce flowers unless you do so. I'm surprised you are seeing leaf buds already, as there's barely a sign of any on mine and I'm 3 full zones warmer. If cold temperatures threaten, you may want to consider covering the remaining plants.

Even here in the Puget Sound area, we've got a ways to go before Spring arrives, groundhogs and shadows or not :-)

Hi, and thanks for the follow up. Yes I am over here in Wally world. I was surprised at seeing the buds, but they are there. We have had some warm weather and sunshine. Had some of our famous chinock winds, and the days have been getting up into the upper 40s and today is suppose to break 50. But I am a little worried about a late freeze coming and ruining everything. I have lived in the area for 30 years moved over from the west side of the state. I have seen asparagus ready for picking in late March a few years and shortly after the first of April alot over the years. We never know. The zone is weird because often we have mild winters but there is always the chance of a cold front coming through every so often but it usually doesnt last long. I know down the street from where I live they have some huge plants and I never see them protected but every year they have massive blooms. I dont know what kind they are but large bloosoms and they are greenish. We had some really cold weather back around Christmas. 2 feet of snow, the most we have had in 51 years they say. But the plants were buried in the snow during the cold weather so I guess that must of protected them.
So, as for the care. Pruning? new or old growth bloomers? Feeding? Thanks for all your help......Tami

Well Tami......I guess you are up pretty early, too :-))

You want to wait until later to prune and only remove dead wood (will be brittle and no obvious signs of life). Like most macs, these bloom on old growth so pruning now - or anytime before the normal bloom time - will remove the potential for any flowers. IMO, hydrangeas require lttle in the way of fertilizing. Mulching with compost or well composted manure is sufficient. Now that leaf buds are beginning to emerge, protecting these plants from any further cold weather is even more important. And you might want to reveiw older posts or the archives here to research winter protection for these plants - I'd really recommend it for your zone if you want flowers in the future.

I am on the west side (Seattle area) and we had record snows and cold temps right before Christmas as well. My hydrangeas - totally unprotected - are looking a little bedraggled but we've had some pretty good cold snaps before so I'm hoping for the best.

I think the Walla Walla area is great and the city itself charming! I was a sales rep for a local grower and EWA was my territory so I'm quite familiar with your area. If I lived there, I'd be visiting every winery within driving range! And do you know Green Valley Nursery? It's a wonderful place but Yvonne says her DH wants to retire and they plan on closing it after this season. It's really too bad, as I think it is the best nursery in your area.

Thanks. Sorry slow about getting back. Okay I wont mess with trimming unless i see something dead. I spent some time outside working. I noticed that most of the leaves are near the ground. Some are pretty advanced in development. I noticed leaf buds on my wild rose bushes, and my lilac tree. It has been beautiful here for the last few days. My neighbor across the street is actually mowing his yard right now. ( boy am I glad I dont try to keep up with him LOL). Yea you would have to live around here to be able to hit all the wineries. I heard not to long ago over 100 in the valley now.
So, the question. What temp do they need to be protected from? Thanks for all the help....Tami

All this talk about hitting the wineries reminded of a story... I have a neighbor across the street that, compared to me, is a wine connosieur. About two years ago, we got together for dinner; and it was like going wine tasting to several wineries. He had like over a dozen different wines, plenty of cheese and then dinner. A great evening. Unfortunately, I can no longer duplicate it at home because I lost the names of some of the good wines that I tasted/liked. Grrrrr. I even tried to keep the wine bottles but accidentally threw them away. Enjoy having the wineries so close Tami!

Hi, well I will try to enjoy them, even though I dont care for wine, okay I dont like wine, and I hate the fact that anymore it is all about the wine and tourism. So, much for us folks that live here and our needs. Seems like everytime there is an empty building it becomes a tasting room. All the resturants have become high end places to eat. Even one of my boys the other day, he saw them working on a building and said "Boy, I sure hope that isnt another winery But I will do my best to enjoy them LOL But I will do my best to just focus on my garden and surviving the current economic situation.......Tami

Well this is how it all worked out. One of the plants I busted someone sitting on it eating their lunch earlier this spring. So, no hope for a bloom on that one but it looks real healthy now. The other one has a few blooms on it, all to one side. They are all small, and white. I have them semi shaded because my back yard is like 14 hours of sun in the summer. But I am starting to think maybe they need a little more sun, but dont want to over expose, What do you think, should the blooms be further a long by now?