pathetic hydrangea

When I moved to So. VA 2 years ago, there was a tiny hydrangea planted in my back yard. It was very sparse, and if not for one small bloom I would not have know what it was. I cut it back that fall hoping it would fill out, it hasn't. Now it doesn't even bloom. It receives dappled sunlight and is in rich soil that everything else seems to love.
What's wrong?

Can you post a picture of it? That area sounds like it ought to be fine for hydrangeas. There are lots of explanations for them not blooming (cutting them back in the fall is a huge no-no for one thing, many hydrangeas bloom on old wood so if you prune in fall then you're cutting off where the blooms would have been) but if it's not growing either then maybe there's something else going on. Also can you give us a little more info...like what's your soil like besides being rich (is it sandy? clay?), how have you been watering/fertilizing it, are there any trees around whose roots might be in the area of the hydrangea, etc.

Also, your location under your name shows up as Yucca Valley, CA...if you're really in southern Virginia you might want to go to your preferences and change it to your current location. Otherwise you'll probably wind up getting bad advice from people who think you're in a very different climate! Or if you really are in Yucca Valley and you meant southern CA not southern VA, then your climate is less than ideal for hydrangeas so that may be most of your problem.

ecrane3
I currently live in VA (I changed it). The other an old address. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
It's night here so no photo at the moment.
The soil here is sandy but I amended it with manure and compost and it's mulched. It's thoroughly watered 2-3 times a week. It's in the high 90's here. I haven't fertilized at all.
The leaves look healthy, the plant just hasn't gotten any larger.
I haven't cut it at all in the two years following the initial time.
There are several 30-40' trees in the yard.

If it looks healthy then you may need to just give it some time--maybe it had been stressed by poor care before you inherited it, and it can take plants some time to recover from that. Is it dying back over the winter? They all go deciduous, but if it completely dies back then the old branches wouldn't get leaves on them the following spring, but new shoots will come up from the base. If that's happening, then you might try building a wire cage and filling it up with leaves for the winter, do that for a couple years and that should keep it from dying back. They typically shouldn't die back in your zone, but one that's newly planted or has been under stress might do that for a few years, and it could help give it a head start if it's protected. If it hasn't been dying back though there's no need to protect it.

You might also doublecheck the watering, if the soil is sandy and there are tree roots around then it's possible it might not be getting quite enough, and that can definitely slow down growth (and could explain also why it was looking a little sparse and sad when you moved in). I'd wait until just before the next time you were planning to water, then stick your finger down an inch or two into the soil, if it's feeling really dry then it probably needs more water than you've been giving it (or to be transplanted somewhere that it's not competing with tree roots)