These seeds come from a beautful plant that was trained to be a tree. As it grew, the bottom branches were cut off, and bark formed. The nursery told me that they can also be trained as a vine, though I haven't tried that. The seeds are viable and easy to grow...this will be my 3rd year growing them. Here's a link to a pic: http://www.elicriso.it/come-coltivare/ortensia/hydrangea-paniculata.JPG Email me if interested, but copy and paste my email addy via your personal account, as GW email doesn't work for me. If any one is interested, I'm looking for: *lupins(any colour, but pink,red or purple) *any echinacea (other than purple coneflowers) *rudbeckia black beauty *day lilies any type, except Stella D'Oro *any clematis

Here's what I do with mine - I trim each stem back to the point where you have only 2 or 3 sets of buds on each stem. also remove all the smaller thin stems that make exist. Once you get growth coming from the buds, keep the strongest and most upright growing stems - prune off the others. And remember the blooms normally appear on the end of the stems. Paniculata don't like dry conditions so if you experience that, water once a week - I like using one of those Ross root feeders and water deep. Fertilizer - if your soil is decent, none. If your soil is poor I'd suggest a balanced formula like 10-10-10 or any good garden fertilizer. And top dress with compost every year.

There is nothing unusual in such behaviour in a first year after planting for the most shrubs. They had been 'programmed' by growers to be as much attractive as they could be: fertilizing, growth control hormones, ideal lighting and watering conditions etc, etc, etc. The very first and sometimes 2-3 years on their own shrubs spend all possible energy on roots establishment. Flowering is a secondary issue for them. Be patient, especially with paniculatas, oakleaf and climbing hydrangeas. They'll reward you in a due time.

Thank you everyone for taking the time and care to advise! Though I must say now I'm still a little confused about what to do. :-D I have read online to move plants early enough so that the root system re-establishes itself before winter dormancy, and then other articles about hydrangeas specifically that state one shouldn't move them UNTIL dormancy. That's why I thought I'd ask here. But it seems like there are folks having success either way, so maybe they are hardier (and/or heartier) than I imagine them to be, at least with the right amount of TLC. One other option I have considered is doing something similar to what hyed has done and prune and reshape the hydrangeas under the window, fronting them with some miniature boxwood type shrubs. But I would still have to end up moving two of them (albeit just steps away rather than several yards) because they aren't lined up and are growing out into our very small yard. I also spend almost all of my available time in the back yard gardening and playing with my veggies and flower beds, and really want to keep it that way. So I question how "good" I will be at keeping these shrubs a manageable size if they remain in the front. I really do think they would be great as a screen in the back yard along the fence line between my house and the neighbor's house, so my inclination is to move them and let them do their 10 foot spread with abandon there. One additional question once I've settled on the question of "when or whether" I should move them, is what kind of fertilizer do y'all recommend to help them along? Thanks a million!