They look happy. I think you just need to be patient. And why have they been pruned?

No miracle gro. Why are they so close to the building? I would have planted them at least 2’ further out.

Regardless, they still look very much alive and green.

Thanks for the help! I was a bit overzealous with the miracle gro so I hope that didn’t do any major damage to the plants.

I also made the mistake of pruning the stem of a dying flower, which is why one of them looks that way. I hope that fills back in as well. What do you think?

location.. big city name ...

you may have bought them after their spring growth spurt ... and that may have been about it for this season.. based on the transplant ...

make sure they dont go into winter in drought ...

otherwise.. depending on what winter is in your area.. they should be already to go.. grow.. come spring ...

unless you have sterile soil ... most plants dont need fert.. they arent children ... a little of this or that.. especially water sol.. isnt going to hurt much of anything... but its usually not requisite ...

try not to love your plants to death ...

no problem removing spent flowers ...

come spring.. look for the new buds ... and prune back further leaving just 2 or 3 ... if there is any winter damage ...

with perennials... i figured is was planting a root mass for the future.. and wasnt really wrapped up in what it did its first.. figuring most of the work.. was done underground.. in the root mass ... which i couldnt see ... you gotta have faith ...

ken

Your location is important as to how well these shrubs will do over winter. Bigleaf hydrangeas, Hydrangea macrophylla, are easily damaged by winter cold and/or late spring temperature fluctuations that can seriously impact flowering. For the same reason, pruning is also rarely recommend except to remove any obviously dead wood after the plant leafs out. Essentially what both do is to remove or destroy the latent flower buds which have already formed by now.

Deadheading or removing spent flowers is very different and just involves snipping off right below the flowerhead, or at the most, back to the next set of leaf nodes.....no farther.

It looks healthy and should be establishing a good root system for next year. Stay optimistic.

lisanti07028 i agree.

A substitute for miracle gro is chicken stool.