I purchased them in 1 gallon containers from Rarefind. They were not mail order. I planted them in the Spring of 2015 and this was their second winter. No issues last year.

I would go with the possibility of late frosts having zapped the leaves since there was some bad weather in May in NJ.

As long as the stems remain "green" when you check, that is good sign. Just do not go "checking" daily; maybe every 2-3-4 weeks. See also if they will generate new shoots from the base too. But if they stop being "green" then I would have a talk with Rarefind. In case it helps your position with them, do report this issue now and write a note with who you talked with and when. That way you can claim to have reported the problem "early". Some warranties have time limitations.

Updating this post. Its now August and still no leaves on 4. Scratch test still shows green on the trunk. What are the chances, that these got zapped for the year by the late snow in March, and will leaf out next Spring?

50-50. Still remaining green under the bark is not necessarily any guarantee that the shrubs are still really alive and viable. There is a lot of moisture in plant tissue and it takes time for that dry out and discolor or brown.....the signs that would immediately indicate that branch is dead. It is also highly unusual - but not impossible - for a deciduous shrub not to put out any foliage for the year and still be a viable plant.

btw, snow is an excellent insulator! If you had a late cold spell without snow, your plants would certainly be showing signs of severe cold distress, if not dead.

You can try to stick it out, but something has gone majorly wrong. It should have leafed out by May. When these things happen I've found even if the plant hasn't died it never reaches its potential. My guess as to what happened is for some reason they did not develop a good root system, and the winter did them in.

Wow, nothing still but, some green still around??? Wow again. The plants sure seem to be "trying" to stay alive. I would have expected leaves in 2-3 weeks (by the end of June). I would now contact Rare Find as I would hate to put the poor shrubs thru a Zone 6 winter. Please talk to Rare Find soon.

Without knowing exactly why this happened (winter injury, weak root system, etc) and how well the shrub is really doing, it is hard to guess if/when they will recover but... they are acting unusually: not wanting to develop foliage; not established; above ground signs of improvements are unchanged; no apparent disease or pest damage above ground; expected new leaves by the end of June and nothing yet; seem to remain alive but do not improve.

Then again, late June is close to the start of Summer, when many plants decide to go semi-dormant and it is possible that these guys decided to hold off developing foliage in June and are waiting until the lower temps/better conditions of Fall arrive, etc.... They could be busy developing a bigger root system (something we cannot normally notice unless we extract the plants). So if they went semi-dormant, you may have to wait until the season changes to see leaves. Make sure to keep the soil evenly moist and not wet. Add mulch if you haven't yet. Provide less sun than usual by using an umbrella or an outside chair.

This would be the time for curious me to peek at the roots themselves and move the shrubs into pots in "my ER" but, I am not afraid to mess with roots; don't know about you. That disturbs plants so, do not do this unless you hear it is ok with Rare Finds. I do not know what rules they have to give you returns under warranty or new plants.

I had a macrophylla that lost all leaves in August and it did not leaf out again until the following Spring but it was a mophead, not an oakleaf, and it was an established plant so its extensive root system helped.

Lastly, I do not think you meant to go thru all this trouble when you bought the plants so contact the vendor and decide how further more you want to wait. If you decide to get rid of the plants, you could always put them elsewhere in bright shade in the rare case that they leaf out really late, like in Spring 2018.

Rarefind has all new staff, new and management. The regulars, who actually had a passion for this job have all been let go and replaced by millennials with business degrees. They have also changed their warranties from a year to 90 days. In the past, they would have worked with me even past the warranty period. Not so now. Personally, I am less than satisfied with their new staff and have gravitated more to the box stores (I know thats a sacrilege with some on this forum), unless there is something I really want that is unusual or not readily available. This spring, I bought 3 gallon Satomi Kousa Dogwoods and 3 gal Rhodos, each for between $19-$30 from Lowes, all in good condition. And they come with a 1 year warranty, no questions asked. Similar size plants at Rarefied are twice the price and 1/4th the warranty.

Wow, how sad. A previously good store for azaleas and rhodies has taken a step down hill. (based on you comment about items costing twice the price and 1/4 of the warranty). I guess that is what happens when they decide to become more of a mail order company??? I read that was a big change some time ago.

I do not view whole staff replacements favorably; scares me to do business if that is done. The newbies may be 'ok' but they have not earned my trust yet and that puts the store at a disadvantage if I can buy cheaper and for better warranty elsewhere. Did you know of the people? You and the store are both in NJ...

The good news is that RS can be found locally in many places; that is how I purchased mine several years ago. I found it at a local chain with very few stores. If you decide to replace the 6 plants, check locally elsewhere of course but be aware that hydrangea stocks now m-a-y be getting low; you may have to wait until Spring 2018 for larger inventories.

I knew them well. Ron, who was there since the earliest days, and a Rhodo expert, Kitty, Jason, Ann and Glen are all gone. Irv, who handles the business end is the lone survivor.