the way it looks now doesn’t surprise given the harsh winter you described. It will start growing now that warmer weather is fast on its way. The bad news is that Mac hydrangeas are not reliable bloomers in the north. Mac hydrangeas are old wood bloomers meaning they set their buds this growing season for next years flowers. A harsh winter is all it takes to kill off the buds and hence the flowers. You didn’t mention your zone but starting zone 6, this start to get ify with flowering. In colder zones (4-5) winter protection is the rule if you hope to get flowers

you should see foliage growth this season but don’t expect to see flowers. At the end of this season you can try full winter protection if you want a chance to get blooms.

i couldnt figure out how to add more photos throuh houzz so heres some more i uploaded

https://imgur.com/L9DBl2u

https://imgur.com/V6Ew2pi

https://imgur.com/3o095Hn

https://imgur.com/um1MUdv

Guyground: thank you for your reply. I’m in zone 5B northern Indiana, on the cusp of 6A. It has some old wood buds that are growing, its just that the growth is strange looking to me. I did forget to mention that the spring here has been crazy. it’s only consistently stayed warm the last week, but through all of April and the first half of May, temps have been back and forth. There‘d been several occasions where one day the high is in the mid 40’s and the next day it’s nearly 70!

Its typical to see growth that looks deformed coming from damaged wood , be it winter damaged or for whatever reason. That's what you are seeing. Expect New growth to come from the base of the plant which should look ok.

As I mentioned the challenging part will be to get blooms, which will require winter protection.

Mini Penny is a remontant type mac so should bloom on new growth (this season's) once it is fully established....I wouldn't expect to see anything from any old growth, provided any survived the winter. The misshapen leaves don't really bother me.....looks like some cold damage as it was starting to leaf out. I'd expect them to grow out of it as the season progresses

However, if you want to maximize flowering in your zone, you should provide winter protection.

thanks for the replies everyone! Guess I’ll wait and see how it does this year as far as blooms go, though I’d be happy with just a few blooms. So what are recommended ways to overwinter hydrangeas?

check this thread out

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5670024/winter-protection-results#n=25

@guyground: sorry for such a late reply lol, but thanks for linking that thread. I’ll definitely bookmark it for the future. I do have just one question; do you or anyone else think pine needles would be a just as effective alternative to oak leaves and/or hay for stuffing around the plant? reason I ask is 1. I don’t have any oak trees and I’m pretty sure there aren’t even any around the neighborhood and 2. I have a plethora of pine trees so I basically have an infinite supply of pine needles, so it’d be very convenient if they‘re a good alternative.

nicholsworth, sounds like you are expecting blooms from new growth now. New growth needs to get tall and old "enough" to trigger development of flower buds and it is too early for new growth to do that in Indianapolis. Development usually will happen -guessing- in early Summer and blooming of new growth will happen by the end of Summer. So do not look for new growth now; do not expect broccoli until July-ish or August-ish; do not prune the new growth before then.

luis..no I'm not expecting blooms on new wood..let me explain why I check for flowerheads..first I'm always hoping!! Lol..I have a few stems that are growing from the side of old short stems that have been cut..I look at those thinking maybe(?) I could get a bloom there..I've never had a bloom on new wood since owning Endless Summers (2005) so I've given up on that..our season's too short..

Sounds like you are doing what I am doing with a Nikko Blue over here then. No blooms either on that one!!! Sigh.

macrophyllas can be so much trouble!!