so sorry christine..your plant was beautiful last year..I also live in zone 6..for years the in ground shrubs died back to the ground then grew from the base but NEVER bloomed..could be what will happen with yours but to me - in a pot on a screened porch would be colder for the plant than in the earth..last fall I put my hydrangeas in pots and overwintered in my shed..just went out and took this pic..hoping desperately for blooms..have a chance..my buds are alive!..the dead tips on the one in the teal pot were dead last year..was a $5 clearance plant in sad shape..held off cutting it back much..will fix it in May when it's leafed out..if yours survives I wouldn't leave the pot on the porch unprotected next year..

Just 99 cents?..wow..hope your plant recovers..

My Easter surprise, I didnt have the heart to throw her away and she rewarded me with new growth, should I cut back the old dead wood or should I just let her grow as is?? Thank You again for any advice

Let it continue to grow until it is fully leafed out.......or as fully leafed out as it will get :-) That may not be until sometime in May. At that point, you can prune out all the woody stems that are not showing signs of life and cut back those that only are showing growth at the base.

You may not get flowers this season. It depends on if this is a hydrangea that can bloom on new wood as well as old (do you have a cultivar name?). But if you care for it well this season and protect it over winter, it should flower next year.