I am new to hydrangea's and have no idea how to deal with this dilemma. I have 4; 2 "Lady in Red" & 2 "Nikko Blue". The Ladies were planted last summer, the Nikkos this Feb. All have leafed out with the exception of one of the Nikkos. It is barely showing signs of life , only from the bottom, as well as one branch of the old wood. It is obviously still alive but it is my understanding that they bloom on old wood and it appears the old wood may be dead. The other Nikko is 3 feet away and is leafing out great on the old wood as well as from the bottom. The 2 ladies are also covered with leaves already. Will this slow starter ever catch up or should I just replace it now? I know my roses leaf out at different times and would hate to think I would toss one of those because it wasn't keeping up with the others, but I am used to roses, hydrangeas are a different story!
Will this Nikko Blue come back?
If you just planted it in Feb, I'd say give it some time. If you had any cold weather since it was planted that could have damaged leaf buds. There's a good chance it won't bloom this year but unless it's got a disease or something I don't see why it wouldn't be fine in the long run. You're in a warm enough zone that you shouldn't normally have trouble with them over the winter, but when things are newly planted they can be more susceptible to cold damage.
Thanks ecrane, I will leave him alone and hope for the best.