Last summer I planted 2 oakleafs, one Alice and one Ruby
Slippers. It was August for Ruby Slippers. June for Alice.
Both had reliable snow cover. This spring I saw that rabbits had done a lot of
chewing on the upper branches where the snow did not cover.

I am new to hydrangeas, so obviously I have much to learn. I
will have to cage them this coming winter. I thought they were both dead.

Long after my Annabelle (much older plant) was growing like
a weed, I detected tiny nubbins of buds
way down, on the Alice: like 2
inches above the ground. Ruby Slippers also had leaf buds down low. But then Alice
continued to bud out and the buds on Ruby Slippers stopped and dried right
after we mulched them with bark.

I have seen no further growth on Ruby Slippers. Do I assume
it died and pull it out? Why would it die in the spring, if it survived the
winter? Maybe it was planted too late in the season. This was an expensive plant and I want to
give it every chance. I bought a replacement but don’t want to pull out the
previous one prematurely. I also want to make sure the second one survives.

Thanks for your help.