Hi Redsox, It's OK - I don't mind talking about Limelight here, but then it's the Rose Forum!!! LOL! Anyway, I did not really prune my Limelight last year (it was planted just last year). However, though there were many blooms, the stems were weaker. I am going to prune it next spring, so that there will be fewer blooms, but the stems will be stronger and the blooms will be larger. If you search in the Hydrangea Forum, you will find some interesting and helpful information there. Some also recommended pruning some of the branches only, leaving the stronger ones behind, so you will have a nicely balanced plant that will be full and maintain a vase shape. I think it will grow back if you cut it to the ground, but the goal is to maintain a nice vase shape so you should prune it in such a way to achieve that. I also understand that with paniculatas, you should aim to achieve a strong, single-trunk structure too in order for it to look its best. Now, do you have roses as companion plants next to your Limelight? How tall and wide is your Limelight? How old is it?

HerabalBetty, Thanks for chiming in. Wow, that is amazing growth in a few years time, even with the deer browsing it. Is it as full at the bottom as it is at the top? Does it spread by runners like a lilac does? What I read says it blooms only on new wood, does that mean that the majority of the blooms are on the top of the shrb and the lower portion is fairly free of blooms? I don't want the base of a shrub that large to look like a vase of flowers if you know what I mean. I appreciate your input. Thanks Thyme2dig, I believe at full size the Pink Diamond is supposed to be about 6x10, a 4-5' x 8-10' shrub would be perfect. The continuous perimeter length (circumference?) of the garden is some thing like 200 ft., this is for sure a case where size matters! It will take a lot of them to form a hedge that long and the cost, depending, could be phenomenal! Pink Diamond is a bit taller than I'd like But I thought that I could probably trim it in late winter while it's dormant since it buds on new growth only. I think that should work. Someone tell me if I'm thiking this all out wrong, please! I have grown Spirea "Gold Mound" when I lived in zone 5 and it was a fabulous shrub. I had around 25 of them encircling my pergola/patio. They looked so smashing with the deep red climbing roses that grew on the pergola. "At this house I have Spirea Jap. "Magic Carpet". They are hardy enough to hang on every year but they have not grown more than 6" in over four years now. If I knew I was getting on that had some growing power and would be zone 3 hardy I buy it in a heart beat. I'll go search the Spireas some more. I'm sure that many more have come out since I last took a look at them! Oh, BTW, the Blue Muffin was long coveted by me. I got one little panicale of Blue seeds before it to croaked. The seeds on that are a LOT darker than they've colorized them in the catalogs. MeMo

I saw one at the nursery and it was a nice dark burgundy, not the typical dusty pink on most Hps.

I would actually check the soil moisture on the new plants, both in the original potting mix root ball and in the surrounding soil. Is the soil in both places moist, not really squishy wet or really dry when you stick a finger in several inches down? Here I don't water mine at all after the first year or two since they don't like it too wet. The best way to tell if it's too wet or dry is to actually check. You could also rig temporary shade screens for the new plants to give them a bit of a break - a strategically placed lawn chair or a couple of bamboo poles to hold a sheet or pillowcase, set so that there is shade during the most intense sun and heat of the day.