I would do nothing at all until they flower. After flowering, if you still find them uneven, you could prune them. But if you prune them early, you stand the chance of loosing almost all your flowers.

Lilyfinch- I would not touch the other hydrangeas! If the short one bothers you, find another home for it and replace it with a larger, blooming one this spring.

My mom cut her butterfly bush down to the ground in March (a few years ago) after reading it would bloom better. It died. It was a beautiful big bush and the cold air went right down to the roots and killed it...at least that's what the 'plant guy' told my mom, at a shrub class she took last spring.

So, don't cut them down, just in case, you have cold weather in March and they might all freeze. I guess it's similar to roses, if you prune them too late...the plants have no way to 'seal' the cut, before the cold air goes right down to their roots.

I'm sure DH would be happy to get you another shrub :)

Since it's the one on the end, I think it'll be fine;
it's not like there'll be a big ole gap-toothed look in the middle of the row.

Best luck, & enjoy!

LF, I ran into the same issue with some Viburnums. I was hoping for a row of 6 but when we had some tree work done a huge limb fell on one of the end shrubs. I'm going to replace it with a larger one because I don't think it will ever be able to catch up. I wouldn't cut your other shrubs down. It sounds like you already have quite a nice hedge with shrubs that height and I would leave those shrubs intact. Move it and replace it. Besides, you can never have too many limelights!

Limelight is a Hydrangea paniculata type, which means it blooms on 'new wood'. That is good news because it means they can be pruned in spring. If the one that got cut down looks out of place with the others, prune the others a bit in spring to make the transition between the short one and the taller ones less extreme. I always prune my paniculata type hydrangeas to control size and shape in spring. Once you can see the new growth buds, you can tell where to prune to get the shape you want. You don't have to worry about cutting off flowerbuds if you prune early; you just focus on getting the shape and size you want.

Did the one that got cut to the ground regrow last summer/fall - i.e. is it still alive and growing but shorter, or are you not yet sure if it will come back at all?

I agree with woodyoak here. I also own 2 limelights. I think your dilemma is fairly simple to deal with. Prune your tall hedges half way and let the last hedges catch up.

I was thinking of chopping my own limelight close to the ground so it gets bushy again and because it looks a bit too top heavy. Let me know how things turn out.

Thanks for all the suggestions! It was cut down in late august, and by down I mean down to the last inch or two of shrub! So there is a chance it won't make it anyway, I hadnt thought of that. It didnt grow too much from then on but it was alive when I last saw it. So I think I'll be seeing if it is alive, and moving it to a different spot and buying a similar sized one. I hate to cut the others height down, especially since they're just a foot or two away from privacy! Thanks for all the help, sometimes I need to hear from others to make sure I'm doing something logical!

As the incident occurred in late august the plant wouldn't be expected to branch out as quickly given that this is at the end of summer and the beginning of fall. Watch what it does this spring because I bet it will send out a shoot. Now as for transplanting.. a bit tricky since the plant is established. You can do it but I think it might take a while to recover.