Help me save my Hydrangea bush

My hydrangea looks like dead, peeling sticks...help! What went wrong and how do I save it?

Re: Help me save my Hydrangea bush

John..my gardener said ''cut it back to the roots'' taking away all the dead wood..if the wood is still brown near the roots..you have lost it..but if it is green inside..there is hope..

Re: Help me save my Hydrangea bush

I would gently scrape a few shoots to see if they're alive and the ones that are brown and very dry then cut them back to the ground. This hard cutting back should be done on older wood every year, leaving the newer shoots.
I inherited a very old hydrangea and did this and last year it was full of health and flowered its socks off.
However, since you live in the USA, there may be an underlying cause that we here, know nothing about.

Re: Help me save my Hydrangea bush

I'd say much the same as Lilac and Cranberry.
It's difficult for us to know your growing conditions in America but I did find this American link for hydrangeas
http://www.almanac.com/plant/hydrangea
Hope it helps