Just a touch of frostbite....it'll recover, although you may need to remove some of the most damaged foliage.

If you cover it at night, you will sustain much less damage.

Get some frost cloth or cover it with mulch. Your area is expected to have another freeze on Monday Night so you will need it. The average date of last frost in SE Michigan is around the last 7 days of May so you may still have more frost coming up later.

As ugly as the leaves look, they will get replaced with new foliage but if newer additional frosts keep hitting the plant after leaves are replaced, it may take a really long time to get the leaves that will last through the rest of the year. So protect them now to minimize leaf damage and do this anytime when they break dormancy too early.

peter. Y. would anyone buys MACS IN THE NE OR MW

" Y. would anyone buys MACS IN THE NE OR MW "

Because remontant or old AND new growth flowering hydrangeas were developed specifically for these colder areas. While the first of these - Endless Summer Original - does not have a great track record, newer introductions, like LA Dreamin and the Let's Dance series, are much more reliable in colder climates.

And one can always take the effort to winter protect to minimize any cold damage and maximize flowering potential.

That's why :-))

Again GG U have never winter protected. We seem to have something going on West vs East

bottom pic.. note the unaffected growth ... so its not dead ...

i would look inside the plant.. for more of such ...

i would leave it alone for a few weeks.. then remove all the uglies...

if you have a cardboard box laying around.. that would fit over it.. cover it when temps are supposed to fall ... but i wouldnt leave it on all day ...

in my world.. its an experiment.. and we can learn for how it recovers ... etc ...

on the other hand.. if its going to piss you off every time you look at it ... well.. lifes too short ... you have money to burn.. burn it ... and throw this one out back .. where you cant see it ... and in early fall.. move it back to a favored spot.. for next spring ...

ken

What difference does that make?? I have been participating on this forum for more than 20 years and lot of NE gardeners over the years have reported growing even non-remontant macrophyllas successfully just by utilizing some simple winter protection. George (ego45) was a very frequent poster here, lived in CT and grew all manner of macs!! It ls not that hard to put forth the effort if you want these to grow and flower, even in colder zones!!

And scores of midwestern gardeners have experienced the same or are successful with the reblooming cultivars.

I really do not understand your persistently Negative Nelly attitude.

btw, I've winter protected my share of cold sensitive plants.....hydrangeas just do not happen to be one of them.

WOW, I have been Hydrangeaing for 25 yrs what I have leaned .. is from you and this forum...but I’ll stick my gun... MACS ARE VERY IFF IN THE NE ...I have over 50 Hys ( 3 ES) that are 20+yrs and may get 5 Blooms in September... yes no more ES... OR Macs ... I get Thousands of blooms on my other varieties...I respect your comment

Still a zone 6....which would require winter protection anyway to ensure flowers on any old wood blooming mac. And that is even the case in many zone 7 locations that may be subject to late spring frosts or freezes.

The point is that macs will grow and bloom perfectly well in colder climates IF one can be bothered to provide winter protection. If you can't be bothered, that's fine but but don't question why folks bother to grow them....when they can and do!!

You know why False advertising...most these people are NEW to Hydrangeas... see blue then wonder Y no blue blooms

I'm glad someone is sticking up for the macs.

I've been very happy with my Bloomstruck hydrangeas and so far so good on Summer Crush in Zone 4. Both part of the Endless Summer collection.

I think climate change and extreme weather have made macs a fools errand in my zone 6b New York. For six years I have laboriously tried to protect mine. Only one year (when I didn’t!) was I rewarded with significant blooms. Mine are just too big to successfully wrap, encase in leaves, cover with blankets. I’m really at the end of my rope. I think it’s a service to warn people what they are now up against,

My only macrophylla is tucked up by the foundation of my house in 6b and sheltered from wind by spirea and a paniculata. I planted it from clearance for $3 and it rewards me with ridiculous blue and pink flowers on the same shrub yearly. I knew it might not survive or bloom but I can afford to lose $3. I say only, but really there's two others I don't even count because they are Blue Enchantress and bloom on old and new wood so even if they get frozen, they just bloom later. They were a clearance rescue and its accidental self layering offspring, too, come to think of it. So I guess my thought is why wouldn't I grow macrophylla hydrangeas if they are being practically given away? It's fun. Speaking of given away, that reminds me of someone in my area who had huge hydrangeas she was giving away because her realtor told her to get rid of her garden. No one could cut them out, so she was having people just hack out roots and take them with the other plants she was giving away. So I have another macrophylla I forgot which is regrowing from a small root chunk and has about 4 leaf rosettes so far this spring. In my particular 6b Pennsylvania area, dumb luck seems to be sufficient protection!

peter..do macs bloom for you without winter protection?..

I'm one of those that feels scammed by the hype of Endless Summers..I have some that are 15 years old..my season is too short for blooms on new wood..I've had minimal quantity of blooms on old wood when I gave them some winter protection..if there were macs blooming anywhere here I WOULD notice..I only see blooms at garden centers and nurseries..macs are not a good choice where I live..hyed and I speak out about macs because we want people to realize if they plant macs and let them be they will NOT bloom in cold climates..

besides Endless "Bummer" Original I have Twist-n-Shout and Bloomstruck (let's call it Blooms-suck haha) and still no blooms..

I'm in zone 6 Massachusetts and I have had at least 5 different varieties of Hydrangeas. Endless Summer, All Summer's Beauty, Mme, Emille Mouillard, Annabelle, and one more I can't remember. I rarely get blooms on Endless Summer and then only a few here and there and I have three of them in different locations. The other two give me a few more often but nothing consistent.

I bought two Hydrangea paniculate 'Little Lime' two years ago and I'm now prepared to replace all my Macs with paniculatas. I love them. And I don't feel I ever really enjoyed the bright blue in the garden anyway. I enjoy the white, the lime green and the pinks.

We all get sucked into seeing those in the South with a garden full of massive Hydrangea blooms and while you can keep the plant alive, consistent blooming, is advertising hype.

And I don't winter protect. If it's supposed to be hardy to zone 6, then I shouldn't need to. And that's my policy. Any shrub that needs winter protection needs to be in someone else's garden. [g]

Here is one of my remaining ES ....stands 65” high & 90” wide ...try Winter protection this baby

I'm finding all this talk about Hydrangeas really interesting. I'm new to them and growing 3 Hydrangea macrophylla 'Color Fantasy' in Pittsburgh zone 6b.

They once were believed to bloom on old wood then later the sources said both old and new wood.

They are all still fairly young plants, and the only protection I've given them was a wire cover to stop the leaf buds from being devoured...and I got some blooms on my very young plants.

I've learned a lot reading all of your comments on this post- all very informative to read what gardeners say instead of what the nursery catalogs say.

Sue, you bring up a good point. These Endless Summer Hydrangeas are supposed to bloom on new and old wood, aren't they? So then why would you need to protect them? Let's just say you have a lot of die back from a bad winter/cold spring. You have plenty of growth at the base, so you cut it back to the new growth. That's all new growth, which should produce blooms. So, again, they do not perform as advertised from my point of view. Which is hardly something new from a lot of patented plants.

Sue this why many of us refer to them as ...ENDLESS BUMMERS

Endless Summer The Original was the first of the remontant or reblooming hydrangeas to hit the market way back at the turn of the Millennium. It was developed by Bailey Nurseries in MN so trialing the plant in such a cold winter climate seemed to promise good results for growing blooming macs in similar cold climates. However, it never quite lived up to its promise and the "Net is filled with reports of its failure to flower well. And pretty much regardless of location.

Fast forward to the countless new remontant macs on the market and the results are quite different.....even with the later Endless Summer introductions. Bloomstruck, Summer Crush and Blushing Bride all have much better track records for consistent new growth flowering. As do the Let's Dance series or the Forever and Ever series.

Instead of dismissing ALL macs as failures in colder climates, maybe it is just a matter of picking the right mac for your location!

Checking in from NJ. I've had success covering individual plants with large flower pots and galvanized buckets when a late frost is expected. You can put a heavy rock on top, if you want. I covered one of those very tall hostas with a tablecloth and still had some damage, but it didn't help that we had a wet rain AND snow that particular evening. Also, as mentioned above, the cardboard box works--as long as it doesn't blow away. I did not cover the hydrangeas--(Annabelle)--I really was focused on the hostas and the (I know, I know!) annuals. The hydrangeas up against the house--no damage. The ones along the driveway, well, they will survive, but they got bit, for sure.

PS - I'm a zone 6, but I only buy plants hardy to 5--I'm too cheap to take a chance.

Sorry GG , BLUSHING BRIDE IS TOTAL ZERO IN THE NE ...of all The ES series this by Far IS THE WORST

GG - Glad that the industry tries to go back and improve upon their mistakes, but I'm not so willing to give them a pass. I bought ES because it was advertised as able to perform and it didn't. Period. I spent my money on that plant and might as well not have. Not the first time that's happened to me. I bought at least four different varieties of Echinacea that were pretty expensive at the time, that were duds. I'm sure I'm not alone or that these are the only examples of duds. Coreopsis hybrids comes to mind, another whole series of plants that were a waste of money. And I'm not talking about small disappointments. That left a bad taste in my mouth.

I really have pulled away from purchasing patented plants as much as possible. The new smaller Hydrangea paniculatas being a recent purchase after many years of avoiding patented plants. I used to try to purchase Proven Winners which I had better luck with than other brands, but haven't bought those in a long time either. I have gotten into the habit of buying at local plant sales from other gardeners and feel much happier with that experience.

And btw, when you say it is a matter of picking the right Mac for your location, you're really shifting the responsibility for failure to the gardener instead of where it belongs with the brand promoting these plants as zone 6 performers.

Had a couple for Blushing Brides for 5 years NEVER GAVE ME one BLOOM...needless to say they are in HYDRANGEAS HEAVEN

Proven Winners is only a plant broker. They are not a breeder or developer and the same plants are sold by countless other distributors.

btw, it is always the gardener's responsibility to pick the best plants for their locale! This argument comes up all the time for various reasons - plant toxicity, aggressiveness or invasiveness, hardiness issues, etc. - and it all comes down to research.

If you want to whinge about cold hardy reblooming macs, that's your prerogative. But assign the blame where the blame is due. Not with any patented plants but with lack of proper research on the gardener's part.

Lots of opposing views here and in a way you are all right.

Also don't forget microclimates and how they effects plants.

For example my neighbor was hit hard by frost two days ago and my plants were not, and they only live like 6 houses away.

Love hearing all the opinions and wisdom shared here.

I planted my Endless Bummers in east facing locations sheltered by my garage..morning light..no afternoon sun..no westerly wind..I mulched with homemade compost..and they DIDN'T bloom..I gave them ideal conditions and they did NOT perform as advertised..2 of mine are Bloomstrucks..you know the "improved" variety..I do feel scammed..

LOL, WE THE PEOPLE go to garden centers looking FOR hydrangeas they Push the ES.... HAD 3 Gal ES FOR mother’s & Dad Day ... non hy people see BLUE ...WHAT A RIFF OFF...AGAIN THIS IS MY NECK OF THE WOODS.....LOL

Well, GG, you work in the industry, correct? You don't have a persuasive argument that disputes my experiences in any way. Echinaceas are a native plant that before they were hybridized were performers in the garden. And you can go back into the GW old posts on the subject of Echinaceas and find many gardeners who were upset about the complete failure of the new hybrid Echinaceas that were promoted. Gardeners from lots of. different parts of the country where an echinacea should grow.

I disagree with you completely that it was some failure on the part of the gardener to not do enough research on plants. I have ideal conditions for Echinacea - full sun and normal/clay soil and they are supposed to be hardy to zone 3. So where is the failure to understand what the plant needs? [g] Echinaceas didn't fall because of toxicity, aggressiveness, invasiveness or hardiness issues. They were duds advertised by the industry in a less than accurate and careful way. I had Echinaceas that were not new hybrids that performed perfectly well in my garden. I had to divide them because they spread after just a couple of years.

And was that 'whine' you were typing? Seriously GG? You're resorting to being offensive because I disagree with you and am offering my personal gardening experience as a resource to other gardeners here?

gardengal..anyone that bothers to be a member of a gardening site is probably more than a casual gardener AND does research..we're not whining..we're sharing our experiences with dud plants..it's good to know what plants are winners and losers in your zone..you can NOT rely on plant tags or nursery websites..their goal is to sell plants..if the plants fail YAY!!..we can sell replacements!!..

I would like to respond to the topic of ‘research’. Where and how, exactly is a person supposed to research? As noted above, you can’t rely on the garden center or the producers website. Almost everyone on this site hides behind a user name. We have only the word of the user that they are a professional-so we are to rely on an unknown citation here? (And GG, I am not trying to undermine you, I have read enough on this site to believe you are indeed a professional.). But the question remains.

I don’t mean this to be snarky. I seriously would like to know how to find valid and reliable information, as shrubs especially are too expensive to not get what is advertised.

Look at any website with a .edu suffix. These are generally extension service websites and are science based. Also places like MOBOT, Great Plant Picks, Chicago Botanical Garden trials and the Morton Arboretum (and others) have high quality information not influenced by sales or marketing.

There is also this old fashioned thing called a 'book' :-) You'd be surprised what accurate and valuable gardening info can be found in these antique tools!!

Indiana GG- I am in LOVE with Dave's Garden-google it. Lot's of gardeners writing about their experience with specific plants--it's like Trip Advisor for plants.

If your plant is surviving every year, then it is hardy in that zone. Most Hydrangea macrophylla around here are mostly used as a decoration and then sent outside to either be a foliage plant that might flower or babied. Most people I know around here do not expect the flower buds to survive the winter unless they're specifically taking actions to protect the plant or have a space with a reliably warmer microclimate.

These hydrangeas are sole a lot for Mother's Day and such ... because they're pretty and look great for the occasion. They sell baskets of annuals, too. Most Mother's Day presents are picked because they're pretty for the occasion. I get my mum anything from lilac bushes to pansies to food to a book, but I'm most looking for what she'll like that won't end up as clutter, no big impact item required. My dad used to get his mum a hanging basket of flowers every single year ... it was designed to look great for Mother's Day; he didn't think about much beyond that.

I mean, there's a reason that my Sunshine Blue blueberries are in the basement ... they're hardy to zone 5, too, but if there's warm weather, they start coming out of dormancy, and then a May frost comes along ... it would kill all the flowers and therefore fruit. Is the plant hardy to zone 5 still? Sure. Would one get berries reliably in zones 5 or 6? Nope. Hardy and practical are not necessarily the same.

Dave's Garden is really no different from Garden Web....a collection of hobby gardeners with varying degrees of plant knowledge and experience writing about their plants in their gardens. If you can't get the info here, you are not likely to get any better info there :-)

I'd also dispute the notion that participation on a gardening website like either of these necessarily indicates more than a casual gardener. There are ALL kinds of posts on GW that make it painfully clear that the poster has no idea of what they are growing or how to grow it. Lack of plant knowledge or any previous research is flagrantly abundant!!

On a different tangent, expounding more on the usefulness of antique tools like "books," I just have to share this old Ikea video about their catalog. Genius satire, really an Ikea video, poking fun at all the digital media compared to books. Watch it and laugh!

My Bloomstruck June24, 2019 after a winter with 2 nights of -30f. No wood ever survives the winter except for the little bit under the snow if it comes early enough. Did Ok. More flower later in the summer. No protection, just sprinkle some 10-10-10 fertilizer around them in the spring. Wonder what I'm doing right?

And Summer Crush. Not too shabby.

It seems Hydrangea "Color Fantasy" ,as it's known in USA. (aka in New Zealand as Hydrangea macrophylla Merveille Sanguine aka Bloddy Marvelous aka Raspberry Fantasy.)..seems to be sort of ignored compared to the names mentioned above. I've only found them for sale at 3 places online.

So I just wanted to share what I know about them...just something to consider for those who love Hydrangeas:

They are smaller than most Hydrangea, but that could be a good thing.

They have gorgeous leaves, thick with hints of red depending on how much shade or sun, and they actually like bright shade, dappled sun- not direct.

They are not pastel colors they are either deep red or deep grape purple.

They are my first attempts at growing Hydrangea for the past 3 years... and I chose them after much research.

I don't have any complaints with them except the groundhogs or rabbits like to eat the new leaf buds, but once leaves sprout they leave them alone.

Photo below of one in my garden showing flower buds, BUT- this plant was planted this year with a head start from a nursery, and those growing from last year in my yard are not this far ahead at this time- especially because of the unexpected animal snacking on buds this year.

I like 'em, maybe some of you would too.

I like Dave's garden--it's a snark-free zone, no arguments. When people describe their experience with a plant, they are an expert on THEIR experience with THAT plant they bought that did or did not grow for them. Period. If one is reviewing, say, a certain carpet, the reviewer need not be a broadloom expert in order to say whether the carpet met/did not meet their expectations.

I use Houzz and Dave's Garden...are there more places like these for gardeners? If so share!

Too add to what Sue said about microclimates, one Zone 5 is not like the other. I live in zone 5b. But my zone 5b is basically high desert. It's very dry here, low low humidity, cold in the winter and blazing hot with mile-hi intense sun throughout the summer. Not to mention our crap-clay alkaline soil. What grows in zone 5b in the midwest or east doesn't necessarily grow let alone thrive here.

I saw someone loading up a pickup with Endless Bummer hydrangeas at the big box store yesterday and I was just imagining her disappointment later. Then I thought well maybe she just wants to grow them in containers and enjoy their blooms this year.