Hydrangea help

owd potter

Hiya all
A friend has a climbing Hydrangea (I think). 
It appears to be thriving to one side of the root stock yet struggling on the other side, which looks to have a lot of dead wood but is still showing new growth above and around the dead?
Can anyone; confirm what this plant is and advise what is going on and what should be done to revive or rejuvenate this?
Many thanks
Owd

K67

It's a wonder it has survived so close to the wall and with all the paving. I suspect the really  hot summer last year and dry spring has affected it badly. Not sure if it will recover or its best to cut out the dead areas, water well and see what it does next year,

Joy*

It almost looks,  from your photo that the green shoots originate in the limb which is alive. If this is so, I think that the dead section is just that,  dead. In that case, it would look better removed. This would give you the opportunity to evaluate how you might train a new piece to replace it. I  don't know how much root they make but it looks very close to your house. Perhaps the roots had used up all the available space so could not support the huge amount of growth. 

owd potter

Thanks both for your response.
This is a friend's plant, not mine.
I was looking at it today and the higher green growth is from the central stem, which is the odd thing about it.
I'm not even sure that the 'dead' wood is dead, it is not dry and brittle.
The smaller twigs are still pliable and tear rather than break off, but neither are they fresh and green.
I wondered whether this is a disease and/or the shrub has somehow gone dormant in part ?

Inglezinho

I think this is just a very old plant. The good news is Hydrangea is dead easy to grow from cuttings. Just take a (or several) tip cuttings without flowers, about 3-4 inches in length and pop them in water. As soon as roots begin to appear you can pot them up., although it will be a couple of years before you get a decent flowering size plant.

Fairygirl

I'd agree with @K67 and @Joy*. I think it would be better to wait and see if it revives in that central area, and then go from there. If that green growth doesn't spread, or dies back, it would probably be better to remove most of that old framework, and encourage  some growth from the section under the window - just tie it in across to the old main stem initially. With a bit of luck, it will then cover the old part and go from there.

They do like plenty of moisture, so the proximity of all the hard surfaces around it,  and the house wall, won't have helped during prolonged dry weather last year, and then this year if you've had more dry weather. Just keep it well hydrated - and cross your fingers 

owd potter

Many thanks all.
I guess the clue is in the name re water demand and which makes sense. 
Last summer is having a lasting effect.