Smooth hydrangeas like Annabelle and Incrediball can propagate via suckers. They send new stems from the crown/base of stems once the soil is warm in spring but you may need to wait longer in cold areas. The stems tend to be winter hardy and look dead or dried by the end of winter. Not sure if you can do a scratch stem test with a tiny plant's stems. Just let the plant get the sap flowing again. A tiny new shrub may not behave exactly like an older smooth hydrangea yet. That being said, if you have wildly fluctuating temperatures and had a sustained warm spell that broke dormancy, a temperature crash overnight may have killed the stems. Another possibility, winter was dry and they did not get enough water, in which case the stem or the plant itself could be dead. That occurs often in dry, mild winters. Going forward, avoid letting the soil get bone dry and water if the soil is dry at a depth of 4 inches or so + the soil has thawed + it is above freezing. Live stems should leaf out in spring but sometimes as late as June. If you do not get leaf out nor stem growth by the end of June, the shrub did not make it. Note: I usually grow 4" container plantings for a year in a bigger container before planting them outside. Active new growth should become visible once soil soil temperatures overnight are much warmer, maybe when typically above 50F at night or thereabouts Good luck!

Hi Luis, I did the scratch test all over the plant right to the main trunk, original cutting, and it was dead as a doornail. We've had low snowfall this winter but plenty of rain. The plant was well mulched to deal with temperature changes. I am hoping that it will send up new growth from the roots. Nothing I can do about it now except wait and see. Thanks for answering the question on whether this sends up new shoots from the roots.

That is ok then. The scratch test only tells you if the stem is slive or not. It does not tell if the plant is still alive or not. For that, you would need to inspect the roots instead. So just continue waiting. Near what city are you located?

Glens Falls, NY It is zone 4b but this year behaved like a zone 5 as far as weather and cold is concerned.

It is still too cold to break dormancy in Glens Falls. Your overnight temperatures have been as cold as the 16°F and you need soil temperatures consistently around or above 50°F to promote new growth. So give it more time.

I’ve had Blush in my garden for 4-5 years. It does send out new shoots but not nearly as many as Annabelle. Mine seem to get smaller every year!