Have I killed my hydrangea?

Hi all

I am totally new to gardening and really don't have a clue about plants but would like to start having container plants on my patio (sun in the morning, shade afternoon) and decking (sun all day). My daughter bought me a hydrangea plant for mothers day and I have re-potted it and put it in the garden, after a short while, the blooms turned brown and I read that I should cut them down to the next set of leaves which I did. I also think I may have overwatered it. As you can see from the photos, it's looking awful and I don't know what I can do to revive it if this is possible. Any advice greatly appreciated.

Thank you, Viv

 

Looks like it was a forced plant and very soft growth.
It's been frosted.
Could still be alive but I think you will get a lot of die back.

 

Thank you, should I just leave it alone and see what happens?

 

Yes probably best, try not to get any more frost on it.
Hopefully it will shoot from lower down and then you can cut it back to the new shoots.

 

I would keep the plant "as is" and observe what happens. You can possibly help diagnose by confirming whether you recently had overnight weather that was very near or below 0C.

If it was hit by frost, the foliage tends to change colors and eventually turn brown or an almost dark green/black color; the stems may or may not be affected. Affected stems may die and brown out altogether or only the ends of some stems may brown out. The plant will develop new foliage soon but not overnight, maybe in 2-4 weeks. The plant may also develop new growth (stems) from the crown/base. Existing stems may brown out partially or completely; wait until May to see how are they looking. If they leaf out, they survived. If they do not leaf out and all foliage is brown then prune them all the way down.

If this macrophylla blooms twice a year, it may bloom later in the summer months or close to them.

Warning: another frost could re-occur if today's date is before your average date of last frost. Be ready to protect the plant if another temperature drop is forecasted. You probably will not be able to move the half wine barrel to a warmer location temporarily but you may be able to water deeply and cover the plant with either frost cloth of blankets.

Some of the damage that frost produces can be minimized by watering the plants before and after the event so maintain the soil as evenly moist as you can, make sure the plant gets sun until 10-11am and protect the plant if the location is windy.