There are cold weather issues that could result in no or fewer blooms old old wood hydrangeas. You could winter protect to ensure spring blooms. You can also do a soil assay to see if after 50 years, the soil is nutrient deficient. If the shrub is very large and producing smaller blossoms, you can use rejuvenation pruning to encourage larger blooms. Avoid pruning leafless stems before the end of May in the south or the end of June in the north. Stop fertilizing 3 months before your city’s average date of first frost. Monitor the area for deer, squirrels and rabbits. Begin fertilizing in the spring after all danger of frost has passed.

Luis, I know I overpruned it about 3-4 years ago. I didn't get any flowers the firsy year after that. There have been only a few since then. I'm not sure how long its been since i fertilized it but I'm sure it has been a long time. What should I fertilize with?

After your average date of last frost, you could use a general purpose, slow release fertilizer with a NPK Ratio of around 10-10-10; a cup (or several ones if large) of organic compost, composted manure or cottonseed meal. Follow directions for re-applying. Varieties that bloom on old wood will develop buds inside the stem ends by late summer and you should be able to see flower buds near the stem ends now.

floraluk, I don't know what kind of hydrangea it is. It looks like the ones I see in my neighbors' yards and all over Kentucky. I do have pictures but I'm not savvy enough to get them on my computer to show you!

Are the blooms white? Or are they blue or pink? I'm asking because if they are Hydrangea macrophylla, rather than H paniculata or H arborescens, they may have been affected by cold winters.

My guess is that you have a classic mophead hydrangea. They must be pruned immediately after flowering or else you risk prunining off next year's blooms. This is a really common issue with gardeners and mopheads (macrophylla).

If you have a paniculata type, you'd want to prune in late winter as that one ONLY blooms on new growth.

" They must be pruned immediately after flowering or else you risk prunining off next year's blooms. "

That will be rather location dependent. Here, mophead hydrangeas continue to bloom until well into late summer and often into early fall. Pruning at that time - anything more than deadheading the old flowers - will pretty much guarantee no blooms the next season. Generally, the only pruning necessary for these is to remove any dead wood...that's it!

Well, what I said is still true. If you prune right after they're done blooming (I'm in Portland)--whenever they're done, they will have not made buds for next season. And if you need to keep the size in check, you will need to prune beyond just removing dead wood.

Fifty years is a long time! Much can change in that time. Perhaps something has changed with regard to the plants’ siting. Has an adjacent tree grown so much as to leave the plant in deep shade or has a tree been cut down to place it in full sun? Has a nearby structure been erected or removed? Have you employed a garden service to do Fall or Spring cleanup? If so, perhaps they are pruning it improperly.

They most certainly will have formed next season's flower buds by late summer or early fall!!. Being in flower does not stop the development of new growth! Because of these latent buds produced on the current season's growth in summer, pruning of Hydrangea macrophyllas is typically suggested to be limited to only deadheading or the removal of any dead wood. Rejuvenation pruning or the removal of up to 1/3 of the oldest stems over a period of several years can help to keep size in check while allowing flowering on the remaining stems but a wholesale cutting back will eliminate any flowering for at least a season.

Based on Google: “Hydrangeas are long-lived shrubs, sometimes living for up to 50 years if properly cared for.” So… I guess this is it… Maybe you can take some cuttings from it.