Hello, rosies. You were not sure what kind of hydrangea you have so I will assume it is a hydrangea macrophylla. But I am not clear... exactly how long has the plant been in its current location? If it was transplanted to your new home recently then it may take 1 to 2 years to get established. For example, if you cut too little of the rootball when transplanting it, the hydrangea could react by developing a root system first and little growth above ground. Has it been there more than two years? Another root-related question... do the roots have competition for moisture and food from nearby trees or other plants now? If the shrub is planted too close to others & to trees, all these guys could be stealing water and food from the hydrangea, thereby stunting the shrub's growth.

Also, while I realize you do not know the name of this variety, do you know if this plant is zone hardy on its new and colder home? If it is not hardy in zone 5 then winter could be killing some of the flower buds & drying many of the stems, thereby forcing the plant in spring to always grow new stems from the crown. It would have a hard time growing as tall as it used to be in your previous home. If the weather in your new zone is not a problem for this shrub then most of the stems from prior years would leaf out in spring and a few others would grow from the crown in spring. Can you tell us which applies here?

Another possibility that I suspect does n-o-t apply here: old hydrangeas more than five years old sometimes need to be revitalized by pruning their stems during three consecutive years. This is done by first pruning off the oldest 1/3 looking stems in Year 1; the next 1/3 oldest in Year 2 and the rest in Year 3. But usually this is needed on a large old shrub; a 1.5 to 2 feet tall hydrangea would hardly qualify.

I think you are concerned about too much sun in its present location so let me ask you a few questions about that. Are the leaves suffering from sunscald in its current location or do they look the normal dark green? The further one goes north, the more sunlight the plants can take. Even full sun! So, if the leaves look normal then I would not worry; it is probably fine.... from a sunight standpoint. If the plant was getting too much sun, the top surface of the leaves near the top of the shrub would react by turning whiteish or yellowish. They would brown out at times.

Other questions.... Is your soil well-draining? Or is it sandy or clay? Is the shrub in standing water when it rains? I am trying to determine if there is a fungal issue at the root level here. How much and how often do you water it? How much and how often do you fertilize? Colder regions are usually ok with one fertilizer application in June using manure or cottonseed meal.

Have you done soil tests in this home ever? If so, what were the results? Is the soil low on phosphorus? If you know, what is the pH of your soil?

I would not transplant yet until you get a better sense of the cause of this problem. After all, if it turns out to be that it is too cold there for the plant, transplanting from one end of the garden to another would not help; winter protection techniques would be required instead.

Besides, transplanting shocks the plant and is best done when a plant is dormant (the leaves and blooms dry off) in the fall or winter. In the case of a heirloom hydrangea like this one, I would also propagate it with cuttings, in case something happens and it does not survive the move. The link below discusses this too.

Have a great day, rosies.
Luis

Here is a link that might be useful: Hydrangea Care and Propagation

Luis,
Thanks for your reply. It's been in this location for probably 3 years. The top of the soil is garden soil but the bottom is clay. Where it sits it probably gets some north winds coming down the side of the house. It dies back to the ground every winter and gets new growth every spring.
I think the new location I have in mind for it will be much better for it so my plan is to protect it this winter and move it next spring. I have some 1 1/2 inch sheets of stryofoam insulation and thought I'd try making a box over it out of this and it would be kinda like the rose cones only thicker. Do you think this will work? Should I wait till it frost to cover it?

Based on that comment, it is too cold where you live for it so some type of winter protection technique will be required every year. Moving it because of the winds would help prevent the stems from drying during the winter but you still have to deal with the cold temperatures killing the stems. Whatever you do, you can wait until the plant begins to dry out the leaves and blooms. That is a signal that the plant is going dormant.

I have not heard of the styrofoam insulation box concept so I cannot comment. My only concerns with it are (a) how much temperature protection will it give and (b) would it prevent the roots from getting moisture. While hydrangeas are dormant, their roots need some moisture, especially during dry winters and when the soil does not freeze.

The other techniques that I am aware of are: (a) gently press down with a cardboard until the cardboard lies flat; use rocks to hold it in place; top it with about 1 ft of leaves packed solid (b) place chicken wire mesh around the plant about 6-12" past the stems; pack it again with lots of leaves. Both approaches should be used when the plant starts to go dormand (the leaves start to dry out, etc). The link titled winter protection techniques (in my previous reply) takes you to Hayseedman's Posting with pictures of what he does.

Luis