Yes those are buds. Did you get flowers this year? Did you provide any winter protection last year?

They are buds but not flower buds :-) Flower buds on macs do not appear in pairs on either side of stems but rather at the terminal ends. Those are instead buds of new growth that may or may not develop further this season.

Oh ok. Do you actually see the bloom buds forming in fall for next year?

I did not provide any winter protection last winter and only got two blooms on new wood this summer. Very upsetting as it was full of blooms when I bought it last year. This winter I am taking a new plan of action to winterize.

No, next season's flower buds are invisible at this time of year (latent). They do not become visible until you actually see the tiny little 'broccoli' heads forming in late spring/early summer on old growth or later in the season on any new growth.

In zone 6 and below, winterizing Hydrangea macrophylla cultivars is pretty much a requirement if you want to see any flowers from old growth.

In the North, its common to have issues with endless summer not blooming.

Sometimes you can get away with just covering the crown of the plant with mulch and leaves. However, chances are you will have to cover the entire plant to get blooms. Also, its important not to remove the winter protection too soon. You should wait till the frost free date in your area.

Finally, it should be planted in a mainly sunny location.

Here is a good thread on winter protection in your area.

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/endless-summer-winter-covered-vs-uncovered-dsvw-vd~1997764

Hydrangea macrophylla does need some sun to produce good flowering but I'd be cautious about siting in too much sun. That can cause daily wilting in summer and a loss of color (bleaching) of the foliage. The ideal setting is somewhere that receives morning sun but plenty of afternoon shade. Or dappled/filtered all day shade.

In the North it does better if it gets at least 6 hrs of sun per day. Or put another way in the North if it gets less than 6 hrs sun per day that could contribute to few blooms.

The sun, or lack thereof, is another thing I worry about. It only gets 2 hours of full morning sun in that spot., and shade the rest of the day

That's a great link, Guyground. That's exactly what mine looked like this year - the uncovered photo.

I don't understand why the garden centres don't advise on winter protection when purchasing these plants. Can you imagine how many of these plants get dug up and thrown out by homeowners, just because they weren't protected over the winter. I actually had a garden centre tell me the other day to just cut it back to 3-4" this fall to help it bloom next year. Even though I'm an amateur gardener, that advice just didn't sit right with me and I didn't do it thank goodness.

Because what sells the plants are the beautiful blue blooms , not talking about winter.

Morning sun is definitely best, but only 2 hrs of sun per day wont do it.

You may have to move it.

Ok oh. Would dappled south sun for about 8 hours be better for blooming than the 2 hours of morning sun it gets now?

Since your summer sun will not be as strong as the one in my neck of woods, I would try it in dappled sun. My oakleaf hydrangeas are in dappled sun and have not complained so far.

Two hours of sun may also be ok. I doubt we would notice when we are supposed to get "less" blooms anyways. I have seen them getting very little sun and they still bloom well; it is only in dense shade that you can see a big difference.

Protect ES if you can in order to get early Spring blooms as well as later flush in late Summer. But remove winter protection about 2 weeks after your average date of last frost in Spring.

I agree that the buds in the picture are leaf buds. The flower buds are not now visible. Think of them as being hidden inside the stem right now, where the stem will offer winter protection to the flower buds when it (the stem) hardens for winter and turns sandy or gray... later in the Fall.

If you want you can try full winter protection this year, and see what happens next season.

I've started to notice those buds on my Macro as well. I have a Nantucket blue which supposedly blooms on old as well as new. I will be winter protecting since I'm in zone 6.

Yeah, those are leaf buds. Mine are starting to show in some stems.

Billy how do you protect your hydrangea for winter? Just trying to figure out which method to use as I have 3 to do.

Hey Patti,

I have three to protect as well. I haven't winterized them yet since we have no freezing temps on the horizon yet (I check daily on my weather app). Also, my leaves are still the perfectly healthy green color. They haven't started turning yet.

As far as protecting, i'm planning on sticking 4 wooden stakes around the bush, staple burlap to the stakes and then stuff straw in and all around the branches so that the whole entire shrub is covered. Throughout the winter you may have to top off since the straw may settle from rain/snow.

You don't have to use burlap and straw. Some people use chicken wire and leaves for cage construction. Only reason i'm going with burlap is I feel like it might protect the plant a tiny bit better from the strong freezing winds where as the chicken wire, it will blow right through. Straw vs leaves. Leaves are no cost solution but for some reason I felt like straw would be a better insulator.

Visual representation of what I'm going to construct but i'll be using burlap and straw: https://laidbackgardener.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/20150625g.jpg

Is straw supposed to be better than leaves for this purpose? Maybe critters wouldn't thrive in straw like they would leaves?

Do garden centres sell straw? I am in the city and we don't have any farms nearby.

Straw vs leaves...... Not sure if one is better than the other. Just my gut feeling is straw would be a better insulator from cold/temperature swings. If it's not convenient for you to go pick up straw at a garden center, you could always order it off amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FGQ2RD6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Either straw or dried leaves can work equally well (if there are critters around they will invade either) but you really need to cram the leaves in the protective cages.

Some garden centers will sell straw as part of their fall decorations. Otherwise, you might need to take a trek out to the country to find a feed store or farm selling it.