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Q.After winter damage, how far can I cut back my Hydrangea

I appreciate the answer I received to my question, and I have a followup question. My question was:
I have Mophead (paniculatas) hydrangea bushes, probably 8 – 10 years old, that get covered with beautiful flowers late June and July. The harsh winter in Cincinnati apparently got them. Green branches are coming out at the base of each bush but the rest of the 4 – 5 foot high bush looks dead. Can I cut these back and how far?

My followup question is, only small new branches are appearing at the base. Should I cut all of the other branches down to the base?

Q.I need help on how to grow my mophead hydrangeas

I have put my hydrangeas in a soilless medium. I mean a mixture of coco peat, sand in 4:1 ratio but cocopeat is supposed to be rich in nitrogen. You said that too much of nitrogen promotes only lush green growth with little flowers. Suggest to me what I should do? Should I repot the hydrangeas into normal fertile soil amended with some compost or continue growing it in the same pot by adding bone meal to increase phosphate content of the soil?

Q.hydrangea has never bloomed

My three year, going on four years old, Expression mophead reblooming hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla Expression from Blewlabel.com and grown by Centerton Nersery Bridgeton, NJ.) have never bloomed. Buds occur for leaves but never for flowers. There is a great deal of shade in the area where they are planted with light sun coming in about 4:00-6:00. Could this be the problem? I'm thinking of moving them to an area with more sunlight. I pruned the first year buy never after that. When I bought them, they were beautiful and blooming. I live 30 miles west of Chicago in a suburb along the Fox River. Thanks, Sherry

Q.Hydrangea Not Blooming

We have what we believe is a mophead variety of hydrangea. When my boyfriend first moved into the house in July of 2013, the plant had gorgeous pink and purple blooms. Last year we had a cooler summer and it barely grew. In late winter/early spring, I removed all of the dead wood and cut anything that kind of looked dead, but left any growth from last year untouched. We have a lot of growth this summer both from the ground and on the old, untouched wood from previous growth, but no flowers. When the buds started coming in on the old growth, I checked to make sure I hadn't accidentally cut back a part I wasn't supposed to. The plant seems to be getting huge but just will not bloom. Not sure what to do differently?

Q.Drooping hydrangea

My grandma received a potted hydrangea as a gift. She had me plant it in the garden in front of our house this summer. I planted it according to the guidelines for the most common type of hydrangea (mophead I believe) because I don't know what type it is and I followed the guidelines for our zoning area, which is 9. We live in Sacramento, California. The problem is that the bush is not taking well to the move outdoors. The leaves show signs of over watering (drooping and yellowing) but the only time it perks up is if I give it water like it's dehydrated. I don't know what to do.

Q.Hydrangea growth

I have a Macrophylla hydrangea mophead that has grown very tall in recent years; however, there are only 6-7 long stems that are all very spread out so the plant has no bushy aspect whatsoever, very few leaves and flowers on the stems. I want it to be more round, lush and dense. How can I prune and cut it back to encourage more stems to grow?