luis - do u think I'll get new growth?..don't see any tips or anything..

On the same plant, I too had some late leaf out and no leaf
out in the middle Spring. The plant had new growth from the crown as well. But
it was a plant on the backyard, kind of hidden so basically I forgot about it.
Next thing I know in the summer, new leaves had grown.

Deciding what to do can be a pain as you end up with some
stems much larger than the new stems. Gives it a weird look but when fully
leafed out, I could not tell the new stems from the larger ones as the original
set of leaves had gotten large and covered the "new" smaller stems. I
thought I would give it a buzz cut just before the end of June to get all the stems "in sync" length-wise but, oh well.... I
forgot about this until you posted!!! If it helps, I did get some bloomage that
year from the old wood.

luis - was happy to finally have some old wood survive but what a bummer that the shrub is bare at the base..so the crown could still grow?..this shrub is still recovering from last year..had to cut it to the ground & it grew back "open" in the middle..could be permanent damage?..was a bargain & a little ugly when I bought it..

'Bare to the base' reminds me the look of some paniculatas by the end of the summer when they show their feet!

Your shrub may throw new stems out of the crown but, it does it on its own schedule. This season; maybe next season. Who knows. I wish we could force it to grow stems by doing something. I force growth/leafage/etc in roses by adding alfalfa meal (alfalfa has a growth hormone called triaconatol) but hydrangeas are not as responsive to amendments as roses are. Have not tried adding alfalfa on them to see how they respond.

You know, "open in the middle" is not necessarily bad as it lets air and sun inside (helps prevent fungal issues) but, wait until early Summer to see what does it look like and see what additional leaves have developed. Then consider whether you want to prune to improve the look (prune by the end of June or so).

luis - I need to plant something fast growing around the base haha..will post a pic later when I see what develops..

Nicholsworth, why do you NEED to plant something around the base? I grow lots of Hydrangeas and this happens. I would leave it and let the base get sunlight. It should recover this season and then you can cut some of the longer branches in the fall. Put the cut longer bare branches in a pot of soil and keep moist and they will all probably root nicely for you. Then if you decide to pull the old plant you will have a couple new ones to put in the spot - and perhaps some to plant elsewhere or give to friends. Branches root nicely - just leave the leaves at the top of the soil. Put in partly shady spot and water when it gets hot and dry.

ophoenix - was kidding..see the haha?..was disappointed that I didn't get new growth but it should bloom on the old wood & could still look nice..

Nicholsworth, Please give this baby some time to grow up! The leaves will appear - it is early spring and I bet by summer you will love the plant in all its glory. I have a Golden Dragon that I practically decapitated with the hose two years ago. Last year it was a ground cover and this year there is a bloom head on almost every terminal branch! Will post pics when it blooms - right now it is just starting to show color in the a few of the blossoms! One of the stems is almost 8 feet tall!

Ok, I just have to ask... how does one decapitate a Golden Dragon Lily (if that is what you meant) with a hose. LOL!!!

Sorry, got the name wrong it is a Golden Crane® Hydrangea, not Golden Dragon. I will answer this in another post because I want to do it with photos to show the recovery and how resilient Hydrangeas can be in our PNW climate.
Here is how it happened........ The short story is that the hose was looped around the main stem and I pulled the hose across the lawn and - oops - took the top off of the newly planted Golden Crane® Hydrangea! I didn't even have the sense to put the top of the plant into a pot to see if it could be rescued. Just looked at the bare stem sticking up from the soil and said - 'sorry Golden Crane - you are now on your own!' lol

The crown growth normally *always* catches up to the top growth eventually. Usually give that til about mid-June and it looks a lot better. Hydrangea macs are slow starters compared to stuff like hostas and lilies, etc.

The mid-April 19-degree freeze I had killed just about all top growth on everything *except* TnS's parent Lady In Red, which puts out nice flowers herself. It only lost a few lateral buds. Mine is almost completely leafed out from head to toe. Impressive!

I think we might need some Zone 6 testing for Golden Crane, btw. Monrovia's catalog says it's hardy down to that and blooms the earliest of any.