frost damaged hydrangea

I thought hydrangeas were pretty tough? Is it quite a newly planted one?,

Thought the same as Phoenix, ones around here don't seem to be affected by frost/snow etc. I would leave them to see what happens or even cut them back and see if new growth appears.

I've got one in a damp, clay part of the garden and it is very unhappy. I think I may transfer it to a pot. It has reduced in size over the years and is small but still alive.

I would leave it and see what happens. By cutting back you risk cutting off flower buds, also the damaged part will protect the rest of the plant from any more frost. Hydrangeas will have new growth from the base, although this will not flower this year.
Mine were looking sorry for themselves this afternoon and I realised that we’d had very little rain, so I watered them.
Maybe it’s dryness not frost.

We leave the dead mop heads on all winter to protect the new shoots and prune them back to the first two buds around March here in Wales.

I would wait and give it a chance to put new growth on, if it's an established plant as you say, it'll probably do that, they are pretty tough. You must have had a hard winter?

Lots of people assume that plants are getting enough water naturally through the winter but if you live in a dry area you must water.

It'll come back - its happened quite a few times now to us and they always come back. Just leave it and let nature take its course.

They are tough cookies!
Never had a problem with frost damage, although camellias
Are another story.?

I read somewhere that the clue is in the name - hydra means water and hydrangeas need a lot. Water it thoroughly and as mentioned above, it’s a good idea to leave the dead heads on until spring to give protection to the buds.

Hope it survives.

As others have said, be patient it probably will come back. We have a kind of hydrangea hospital at the end of our garden where poorly plants have been dug up from the main garden, potted up and given lots of TLC . They have all survived. We currently have one “on the ward” that I honestly thought was on its last legs but new growth has appeared over the last couple of weeks. I don’t think it will flower (maybe a few feeble blooms) but I bet it’s good as new next year.

OMG!!! I never thought about the watering aspect i will do that this morning and see if that is the issue rather than effects of frost, many thanks for the tip.

A couple of mine have suffered from the frost. I have cut each stem back to an unaffected pair of leaf buds. I have done this before and have ended up with nice bushy plants which do flower.

On the subject of Hydrangeas, I have ordered a pair of H. Runaway Bride in 6L pots which sound lovely.
H. Runaway Bride

Checked the Hydrangea this morning and it looks quite dreadful. Even though i gave it several gallons of water yesterday there are lots of leaves falling off, those that remain look very sorry for themselves. Its a shame as i grew this one from a cutting about three years ago and i kept in a pot until large enough to plant out which i did last year.I could kick myself that i didnt fleese it up when cold weather was forcast. Lesson learned for the future. I have three in my greenhouse that are also from cuttings and they are coming along nicely so have got a replacement, just don't like loosing plants which i have nurtured for so long.

Don’t give up on it.
I love Hydrangeas and have several rescue one in planters. All doing well.
However, I moved one that has sentimental value into the garden of our new house 3 years ago after it had spent 6 months in a pot being ‘looked’ after by someone else.
It has been touch and go, with very little growth, but it’s still alive. This year there’s loads of new growth from the base. So I’m still hoping.

I also hate losing something I have nurtured. The other day I pricked out loads of little seedlings I had grown indoors, into cells. I left them inside the french window prior to taking them up the garden to my mini greenhouse. I then got sidetracked and next time I saw them, a few hours later, the sun had come out and fried them through the glass! I am left with 6 survivors!

Don't let me anywhere near a Hydrangea. It might not die but it will look as if is about to.
I have before said I did not like them .

I tried some of the newer varieties and they just go the same way.
I do have some beautiful Iris that are blooming for the first time.
I am not a completely incompetent gardener. ???

Update to my Hydrangea.It appears to have survive. Most of the leaves right at the top perished but the those further down are fine. Nature is a wonderful thing. It killed of the extremities to preserve the main body!!!

Hydrangeas are survivors! ?

Yes, the same has happened to three of mine. The sheltered one is okay. I think the biting winds we had are to blame.